All Forum Posts by: Caleb L.

See my post on some of the best growing places in Texas: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

In this post, I give you some of the best places that are growing that's close to Austin.

Hope this helps!

If I had the money, I'd buy that house from you. It looks amazing. Unfortunately, I don't know that market, so I couldn't tell you the problem.

Have you asked your realtor about it? They would know more than any of us.

Most importantly, does the house match up to the others in the neighborhood? Meaning, it might be to expensive and fancy. Remember what J Scott says about flipping, "Don't buy granite countertops when the rest of the houses have tile countertops, it's just not what people are looking for". I probably butchered it, but that's the general idea. 

First of, I need a lot more info. A lot more! I couldn't help you with this project, but I'm sure somebody will be interested.

But, just as a heads up. I recommend adding some more info, the deal analysis worksheet, location, etc.

I know many successful wholesalers that run million dollar wholesaling businesses in Florida. If you use the right contract, and don't market the property as if your selling to a married couple, you should be fine. You shouldn't have to market it anyway if you built up you cash buyers list of investors. And if it's a good deal, you should have no problem assigning it.

Also, run the contract you plan on using by the title company that your going to use, to make sure it's assignable and that they don't have a problem with it. You can find the right title company by asking other successful wholesalers in your market. 

A lot of property managers around me use software like Buildium, Appfolio, Tenant Cloud, etc. To manage the properties. But, sense they're using the same account to manage as me, I can go into my Appfolio account, which is the software many PM use, and see what's going on.

When looking for a PM, make sure that they have good software that you can access anytime.

I'm surprised Tenant Cloud hasn't been mentioned much? It's a free to start, but you can upgrade and get more tools. But, it's worth the monthly subscription fee.

They have a lot of more tools than Cozy like a dashboard, contacts (were you input a contractors information, that way you can send them the maintenance requests, free listings website, accounting, team tools, and more. The team tool is super helpful if you have a lot of properties. It allows you to share your account with your property manager or employees that handle tasks for you. You can also assign a task to some one, and prevent them from seeing stuff on your account like the transactions page and others.

Cozy's good. But, Tenant Cloud has more tools that's worth paying for. I will start with Cozy, but I'm going to eventually go to Tenant Cloud.

I recommend Cozy or Tenant Cloud. Cozy is FREE forever and so is Tenant Cloud up to a certain number of units. 

Hi @Josiah Patrick Zebarth,

A lot of people think college is a waste of time, which it can be sometimes. But, going to college also means you can learn a lot more about subjects that will enhance your knowledge and be useful later in life. For example: History, economics, accounting, management, etc.

If your going to go anyway, you should get a degree that will enhance your knowledge for later in life. For example: A major in economics and a miner real estate, or something like that that will give you more knowledge later in life.

Sure, there's a lot of ways to learn in the world. If you read two books a month on two different subjects, you would be pretty smart after a few years! But, will you actually do it? Most would say sure! But two months later quit to do something else.

Community college is a great way to get credits and not be in college yet. Some colleges even take life experiences for credit! Hint, hint. ;)
A 14 year old I know takes CLEP tests, which are real college tests that you can do anytime at any age. He's completed over four and has a lot of credits, and will enter college at 15 years of age with a year of college done using CLEP and graduate at 19. He's homeschooled. (The best type of school!)

The point is you should never stop learning! EVER! The reason why Warren Buffett and others are so smart in a lot of areas is because they read, read, read! You should never stop learning about your nations history, law, and other subjects like economics, accounting, literature, etc. Most students get out of college thinking they don't have to learn anything else or read anymore! But life is about learning.

Lastly, let me sum up with these to wise quotes:

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought after with ardor and attended to with diligence." - Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams.

"Learning is not a phase in your life, it is your life." - Me

I'm not quite sure you understood me? I was saying that you should set aside enough each month for CapEx, vacancy, etc. Make sure it's a good percentage. I typically like 5%-8% for vacancy, cap ex, maintenance, etc.

Your second question is hard. Although, if you have to raise the rent on a unit that is currently occupied in order to make the deal work, I would not count on raising the rent for that unit, and see if the deal still works. If you want to raise the rent for some reason on an occupied tenant, than try these tactics:

1) Tell the tenant your going to raise it immediately no matter what. This might make the tenant angry or feel double-crossed. If the tenant has been there for a long time, I think you shouldn't do it this way.

2) Talk to the tenant personally. By far probably the best way to do it. Talk to them face-to-face and explain why you need to raise the rents. And make sure to hear their side of the argument. Talk to them like a friend. Be friendly and polite. 

3) Get creative. If they agree to pay or do something in order to avoid a rent raise, you can talk to them about what else they can do for you. If they offer services like pressure washing or pest control, you can negotiate to not raise the rent in exchange for there services (whatever they may be) for free for you each year or quarter.This is one of the creative ways you can negotiate with your tenant.

4) If they're going to move out soon anyway, just raise the rent with the next tenant and don't worry. If they're planning on moving out, see how long they will be there, and see how that affects your cash flow. If they're going to be there only a few more weeks, that shouldn't be a problem. Or, if they're going to be there a month or to more, you can both agree on a a certain date that the tenant will be gone, and if they aren't gone by the agreed upon time, you can raise the rent.

I would try talking to the tenant about raising the rent. Explain your situation. And if they still are not fine with it after a friendly conversation, get creative.

Make sure you talk to the tenant like your their friend.

The first is always the most emotional. But, action concurs fear. And, be confident in your math. Ask your agent about your rent estimation, talk to the owner about repairs and such. Good math also concurs fear.

And finally, be conservative! Don't think say in your mind, "Well, repairs aren't going to happen very often, so I'll decrease my repairs from 6% to 5%". While in you mind, all you want is more rent. Which is fine! But don't dance around with what you think you should set aside every month for maintenance, CapEx, etc. Just to collect a little more a month. Be conservative and know your math is stable. And take action!

Where are you located Jacob?