All Forum Posts by: Neil Schoepp

@Dmitriy Fomichenko may be able to help you out.

@Oliver Hellested

With the info you provided I would look at it this way.

1. Take care of any deferred maintenance there may be it will be a better sell when you raise rents if the property looks good and the tenants see you care.

2. Implement R.U.B.S if your market will bear it. This reduces your utility cost and in turn will increase your NOI.

3. Raise rents when lease's become due or as vacancies are filled.

4. Negotiate trash, lawn care, cable contracts to reduce cost. 

5. After you stabilize the property you will have forced the value up and can refi or heloc it out.

Every dollar you decrease your expense's is a dollar that goes straight to you NOI. (read that again, and again and again) At a 10 cap every $10 saved increase the value by $100. At an 8 cap and that 10 turns into 125. So negotiate every contract and watch for the contractor expense creep. Shop each and every expense out. Ins, Trash, Electric, Blacktop, Lawn care, Snow removal, Gas, propane, oil, everything.

Whatever you do build a habit of doing something each and every day to move you forward. 

I chased shiny objects.

What I mean by that is it took me awhile before I commited to one strategy. One day it was notes, then MHP, then MF, then developing a vacant lot I own, then SFR because that's my local market, then......... you get the idea. It was a process I needed to go through but I wish I had done it much quicker. If I could go back in time I would pick one type of investment strategy find someone doing it and follow them.

The other thing is (and ididn't realize this until i realized it) I would have work on my mind. All my limited beliefs, energy blocks and so forth. Those little gremlims in there that tell you your crazy for trying, or I can't do this or that. Everyone thinks it's so hard well 90% of that is in your own head. 

My number one tip:................Get rid of Negativity in every form, the news, that "friend", your own thoughts. That allowed me to start seeing things as opportunities instead of problems.

Welcome aboard @Kassie Johnston

Not sure if you have tried any of these but here are some ideas.

1. Meetup.com {search real estate, REIA, Multifamily investing etc.}

2. At the top of this page under netwrok then events

3. General internet search for {insert town or area name} then REIA, Multifamily meet up, Investing Real estate Investing club etc.

4. Set up Keyword alerts for your town and nearby ones.

Biggerpockets is a great wealth of info. Start with the podcast they will give you plenty of reading material and further individuals to read up on.

I am a big supporter of Jake and Gino's Wheelbarrow of Profits. They are guinuine and down to earth. They own a thousand units in TN and share a ton of info. They are Multifamily investors and if that's what you are looking to do then you will not find a better startegy out there. Their podcast is top of the shelf.

Biggerpockets and Jake and Gino are the two internet resources that have helped me grow the most hands down.

In direct response to your question: Historically have prices been appreciating over time and by how much? How stable is the market? Is the market growing? What does are the economic indicators potraying? Appreciation comes from demand, demand usually comes from growth. Appreciation can also be forced as in commercial or MF properties.

When buying commercial property you are buying the income stream that that property is producing. In short your buying the leases. The occupants of the store front signed a lease, you must abide by that lease. Not sure how you would ensure they can afford the space. I presently rent space for my business and if a buyer came to me and wanted to see my books so he could verify that I could afford the space I'd tell him to take a walk. Better to find out how long they have been renting, any late rents, how many more years remain on the lease etc. Value the property based on the NOI and make your decision from there.

The one thing that jump out at me was the Historic District. I have one here in my town and they are worst than zoning officers and sewage inspectors. Just know going in that reno's are going to cost more than normal. Just know what they require first. Things as simple as a front door, double pane glass, paint colors, type of paint etc all come into play. Don't let that scare you away just go into the deal informed. 

@Stephen Meche

1. The lease is there for a reason. Serve the Notice to Quit. This will let the tenants know you are not fooling around. If it comes to it then evict them.

2. If after the notice is served they wish to remain you can always amend the lease if YOU so feel. There is a $200 non refundable pet deposit and a monthly charge of $25 PER pet. 

3. You need to talk with the management company. They should be finding this out not you. If you decide to keep them on you should be networking with other companies in case your manager drops the ball again. The time to find a replacement is now (even if you are not going to use them). It is much easier do the research and build that relationship now then when you need to fire your manager and find another. 

4. Every new tenant has a sit down with me and we go over the lease line by line with initials (theirs and mine) at the bottom of each page. This way any questions can be taken care of then and they can never use the 'ol "i wasn't aware of that" excuse, not that it really matters but it does make things a bit simpler when problems arise. 

Final thought, What's gonna be next? Tenants are like children most of the time. Once you look the other way on one tiny thing they do more and more and more, they keep taking until you have a real problem.

Thanks for posting this @Matthew Baltzell. I am surely going to be adding some of them to my list. 

Another great reference is an article by Gino Barbara 28 Smart Questions to Ask a Broker

@Reynaldo Rodriguez

Your next step is to do your DD. That's slightly different for each type of property. Being SFR, MF, Commercial, etc.

Sounds like Attorney Review is used for backing out if the contract doesn't suit you. Here's a post I found after a quick search Attorney review.

Liens are covered in the title search. 

Its always a good Idea to call the permit office and/or the zoning officer and see if their are any violations both past and present on the property.