All Forum Posts by: Neil Schoepp

@William Hochstedler

Yep, yep annnnd yep. I found my self saying this over and over while reading your response.

I agree with everything you said. 

I appreciate you taking the time to compile a few links and the book recommendation will be my next read. I am completely blind to determining which cycle the market is in.

I am to a degree suffering from analysis paralysis. I Know what I have to do, it's is kinda hard to pull the trigger knowing that that whole family is relying on me.

If you'll excuse me I have to plan a last minute family vacation.

Thanks for the help, and clarity.

@William Hochstedler 

I appreciate you taking the time. 

I am looking at market data first and Formost to learn how to understand what it actually says. And to be able to put all the pieces of those two reports (and any other data) together to form a picture and tell a story. For example in the first chart it says unemployment is down 30 basis pts. Well I know that's heading in the right direction but then you see employment is up 1.6% and now you say things just got better by 10 fold. Or do you? I'm not sure that's what I'm trying to learn.

In the ideal world I would be moving to NC and building my team while actually on the ground. Many responsibilities prevent me from doing that so I will have to do it from afar with visits strategically placed every so often.

Specifically, I am looking at that data so that I can buy now, with the long term plan to move in about 5-7 yrs from now. 

So from the perspective of buying now how do I learn how to put all the pieces of data I collect together to form a cohesive picture of what the market really looks like.

@Calvin Lin 

1) I believe the PM should have atleast responded to you stating why this is out of her scope if indeed it actually is.  I would also expect the PM to brainstorm with me for a suggestion of how to go about rectifying the situation. This can't be the first time a situation like this has come across her desk. For her to have no communication with you sounds like after you complete step two then step three is to start asking about other PMs.

2) Ummmm YES! You have to find out what's going on. I only have a few units here local and I self managed. I know all my tenants and they know me. So I can only tell you what I would do. I would call them and set up a visit. I would explain to them what is going on and ask if there have been any problems. Have they notice the HVAC constantly on and not kicking off? If you have a septic pump have they notice if that has been on at different times of the day? How old are the appliances, could it be the fridge? Exterior lighting being left on? 

I had a friend that this happen to and they call the electric company. The company was able to tell them when the spikes were happening. They also suggested looking at things like fridges, dryers, dehumidifies, fans, lighting, pool pumps, sump pumps etc. It turned out to be a defective septic pump it would run for a few hours then turn off then run then turn off. How the dam thing didn't burn out is beyond me. 

You should NOT go in there from the angle of "dam you guys for leaving the Ac on 24/7 and driving my bill up you ungrateful fools". Instead you would ask for their help in trying to solve this problem that you came across. Making them part of the solution. 

So what have you amended the next lease to read. That landlord is responsible for utilities up to X amount or that tenant is responsible?

Please keep us advise as to what the problem turns out to be and the solution you finally come up with as someone lurking out there just may benefit. 

So I found a spot in the country I would love to visit. It also happens to be a place I could see myself relocating to in the next 5 to 7 years. It has great weather lots of attractions wonderful write ups and from everything I've seen so far some really, really great people I would love to call friends. I believe we will agree it also has population AND employment growth. The area I so fondly speak of is North Carolina. Specifically right now the Raleigh-Durham and surrounding areas. I am also looking at Wilmington as I LOVE the salt air along the coast. I grew up on a small canal leading out to Jamaica Bay in South Queens (NYC by JFK airport) and spent my summers swimming, fishing and crabbing. I've digress though so on to my question.

I seek your help in learning how to interpret the market data I come across. A good example is these two reports On Apartmentupdate.com and this one also.

So for example in the second chart it shows Vacancy and rents merging together. I would assume this is a good thing because as vacancies decrease then rents should increase that's what I see, but one could look at this chart and say rents are increasing way to fast. Another concern is Permits and Deliveries. As I would be looking at smaller B+ to B- properties 15-25 units in the area should I be concerned with the amount of units coming on. As more units come on then doesn't that push my older B+ property to a B.

As a side note how do I determine if the market is just to hot right now. I would think this is more of a feeling got from reading and talking to people so what do you think about the market? What should I be reading ? Who should I be talking to?

As always thanks for the help.

welcome @Kathleen Horvath. Not sure if you have searched for a REIA yet. I did a search at National REIA and came up with some hits. 

Also meetup.com will have some results if you do a search for real estate in your town and nearby ones.

And don't forget the local meet up page right here on BP. Go to the top of the page click community then networking events. 

OH yeah one last thing that has helped me is Setting up keyword alerts. So Raleigh, Durham, Apex, Cary, you get the idea, then as members create a post you get an email about it. It's a great way to find other members in an area.

Hey @Steve Lyman. I also will lead you toward Mike Blank. The way he's suggests is to create a sample deal package. Here's a post by Mike you may find interesting.

Search him out read his post. You will eventually come across his sample of a deal package. You may have to join his email list but it's free and he does offer some very good beginner info. 

@Bethany Corey It's good to see you being proactive and seeking out some advice. I'm neither an agent nor a broker but would imagine some of the following may be appropriate. It is my hope that other members that are brokers or agents will chime in and give you more concrete advice.

So if it were me I would be looking for the following:

               Is there a specific school they like more than another. Not all courses are created equal just by the mere fact of the instructor teaching it.

             What do they wish they knew when they were starting out?

             What would they have done different if given the chance?

             What are the next three things I should be concentrating on so that I can stay on track?

 What is expected of me after I "graduate"? Do they expect me to work full time, part time, do I have to cover the office a minumum amount of hours a week. 

              What is the support structure for new hires? What I mean by this is in my previous employment (fire service) the probie (new guy fresh out of the academy) would learn by actually working along side a more experienced member. If he had a problem or wasn't doing something correctly someone was always there to yell at him and tell him to get his head out of his I mean hold his hand and explain in the most kindest of terms how he could improve. Is there some kind of structure for you to lean upon afterwards or  are you expected to know what your doing and just go do it. I'm a big believer and this stems from my career, that the academy (school) can only teach you so much, you really learn the job when you hit the streets. 

      Hope this helped to jump start your thinking. 

I wish you much success.

Neil.

@Milan McMannis I'll throw my 2 cents in. This is debated all the time and the true answer is it depends on you personally. I am not a flipper but a buy and hold guy so my thoughts may differ a bit.

One of the advantages to having your license is you can call an agent and get the lock box code because you are an agent yourself. No calling your guy waiting for them to call the listing agent then get back to you. If your doing some good volume as I hope you will be then you will save the commissions on both the buy and sell sides which can certainly add up. 

Some will say that using the agent and paying for one is part of the investment and gives you a professional with contacts and another view of the local market.  

In the end there is a case for both getting your license and not getting one.  

In short I think I would start with using an agent then later on down the road evaluate the issue after having more experience and seeing where and how I wanted to scale.

Welcome aboard @Nicholas Meeker. Your off to a great start reading the forums and some books. One of my favorite is Frank Gallinelli's what every real estate investor needs to know about cash flow. 

I especially like the real world in the ditches advice from the podcast. Nothing like it. That reminds me, Dawn Brenengen did a podcast. Podcast 101. She is from your neck of the woods and may be able to offer some local knowledge. 

Hope to see ya around.

Neil

hey @Will King welcome aboard. I originally hail from Queens out by JFK airport. It's good to meet you. When I first started out here I found, and actually still do, The podcast were an amazing source of information. Real life people talking about what  they are up to and how they got there. Wilmington is actually on my radar. I grew up on the water and I'm ichting to get back to the coast. Gotta go, I don't want to keep you anylonger from all those podcast.

Take care and don't be afraid to reach out if you have any questions.