All Forum Posts by: Chris Shepard

Figured I'd give you all an update on what happened with this property.

We had some legal trouble with one old tenants, but eventually it died down.  Fortunately we didn't have to go to court to get them out.  It took a really really long time to get all the tenants out of the building.  Next time we'll just issue 60 day notices and move on them immediately no questions asked.

We took the building from $2800 to $5000 in revenue with about an 80k investment.

All in all, it was a great deal.

@Robbie Reutzel @Robert Laird @Chris Strokes @Brian Adams @Brad T. @Jason Bott @Jared Irby @John Cohen 

Thank you all for the kind words.  I am really stoked to get moving on this journey.  I am in the process of hiring an assistant to manage all of our current properties, putting together the direct mail database, and preparing marketing materials to be mailed to apartment owners, using fiverr.com.  

I've got our title company working on a list for us and I will be purchasing a list from listsource as well.  On top of that I will be driving for dollars, and I've got my local networking group giving me all the details on any apartment complexes they do business with or live near.

Any suggestions on how to leverage my assistant or my networking group (70+ people) would be highly appreciated!

I am also meeting up with Robert Laird @ Breakside Brewery today. If you haven't tried their beer, it's amazing... and that's coming from a brewery owner across town.

Cheers!

Hey all, 

My brother and I own and operate a small property management and construction company in Portland, Oregon.  We've been in business about 5 years.  We are also a licensed plumbing company and a licensed contractors.  We own a brewpub with 2 locations as well.  We have a lot of irons in the fire.

After reading "the one thing" and watching a few webinars, I realized that most of the effort I am putting into our real estate business is scattered.  I run payroll for all my companies, I do the taxes for all my companies, I handle 80% of the book keeping as well.  It's a lot of work.  Time to focus on one thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary.

I wanted to invite you all to join me on our journey of commercial real estate investment in the Portland Metro Area.  My brother and I have decided to take on a financial freedom goal of earning $160,000 a month in passive income (working less than 10 hours a week each) by the end of 2016.  I will be doing posts 2x a month on our journey with updates.

To accomplish this goal I realize that we need to own, manage, and be the preferred contractor on 400 units by the end of 2016.   Right now we own 19 units, we manage about 80, and manage construction on those 80.

We have made an offer to purchase another 14 units 2 weeks ago and the owner of those units will let us know about that shortly.

We have secured a team of investors to move forward on any properties over 50 units that we deem a reasonable deal and we have about $500,000 in liquid funds for capital on those ventures.

I could use help in a few areas if you guys have any advice.

• First off, I am setting up our direct mail campaign in the metro area and other desirable areas.  I plan to hit it pretty hard with a list of about 800 apartment owners.  I am thinking about starting off with a postcard and a newspaper ad and AM radio spots.  I think that hits our target market of older apartment owners who are ready to let someone else either purchase the complex or let a management company manage it. We will be aggressively marketing to these owners with a mailing every three weeks until the Christmas holidays.
• I will also be working on networking with property managers, accountants, lawyers, and commercial real estate brokers.  Any tips here would be great.  We are currently involved with IREM, NARPM, Letip, and ULI.
• Another thing I need to dial in for when the right deal comes along is a joint venture agreement between our investors and us.  If anyone has an agreement or important items to include in that agreement I would be very grateful on advice there.
• We also need to amend our property management contract to focus solely on multifamily.  Does anyone out there own a larger building and have a contract with a management company that they like or they thing is a good example?

Thank you in advance for all your help!  I am looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on the direction that we've chosen as well as other's experiences in similar ventures.

Cheers,

Chris Shepard

@Jay Hinrichs 

Hey Jay,

My brother and I own about 12 single families in NW Portland.  We timed it pretty well with the downturn.  Anyway, our strategy has been get 30 year bank financing and just wait for our tenants to pay it off as we raise rents.  We just purchased a 4 plex as well that we are looking to get that bank financing on.

Anyway, I have been looking at other markets quite a bit lately, especially Boise since I've got some family out there who I think would be interested in getting involved.  We've got the capital we need to invest, but we just are finding the buy and hold opportunities here in Portland.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you might do in our situation.  Shoot me an email or a PM if you think you could help us out.

Cheers!

Chris

@tyler Dunlap 

you might consider doing improvements to the house instead of paying down the mortgage.  There are many projects that can be done that will increase the value more than the dollars spent.  You'll then increase your equity when you go for the loan and potentially be able to get an even larger heloc. 

The downside of this is that you'll have to find a lender that will let you appraise at the improved value without much title seasoning. Generally all FHA loans require 6 months of title seasoning. Might not be worth keeping the hard money loan for 6 months.

 You could also try for a "homepath" loan which would allow for a very small (5%) down payment.   And then use your capital to improve the value of the house for the heloc.  I would beware on the heloc for an investment property as well.  Not many banks offer it.  I managed to get mine through bank of the west.  Wells Fargo was the only other bank that did a heloc for an investment property. 

@Dale Lovett 

great to see you on here.  I think that there will be plenty of fellow land developers with a vast bank of knowledge for you to draw upon.  @Jay Hinrichs  might be a good connection. 

15% is what we get charged for our condo is Puerto Vallarta but the managers handle everything.  Even when I go down to visit they greet me at the condo.  

I would say 7% with a minimum trip charge based on how much time and gas it takes you to do your necessary tasks.

I live in oregon.  Who do I call for a 10k check?  No but seriously, what's the department... I should call them

I can vouch for Dennis on the profitability of the event center.  My company does the management and has for the past year and a half.  It's a very unique and thriving center.  Let me know if there's anyway I can help out or answer any questions.

Also the 4 plex is in Portland Oregon.  Well actually Beaverton Oregon, Washington county.

Cheers!