All Forum Posts by: Cody Barrett

Josiah, welcome. You are not alone. I have student debt and a lower paying job but discipline can keep expenses manageable. If income is a problem then getting creative might be the vehicle. Education will build that vehicle. BP has the tools and Mentors have the maps to success. Definitely build your own path but utilize the resources here. Help manage an apartment part time, take an investor out for a beer or burger or both

: ) 

Time for some creativity! Good luck !

awesome! Welcome to BP. It is great to see that you have a focus within real estate. Keep learning and grab a mentor. You'll do great with the help of BP and a solid team.

Good luck! 

every week! Can't get enough. The knowledge I do have stems solely from BP. Great interviews, great advice, thank you guys so much for all your work!

Make sure you have a solid and reputable inspector.  Being out of state, having an inspection helps mitigate the risk. 

Nice, that is good to know! Sorry if I misinformed you Sam R.

Elise N. It would be smart to hire someone who specializes in larger building renovations.  That individual might be more familiar with larger building codes and permitting needed for bigger renovations.  Speculation can be expensive so it is best to get in there as best as you can for an accurate repair budget.  More importantly though it gives you a more accurate purchase price.  

I would say bank statements, taxes, rent roll, leases, utility bills, worker contracts, 12 months of maintenance logs, capex report (age of roof/mechanicals), and a trusted local property manager of your own to help you review your data.  They should have an idea of the average expenses to run a building of similar size and class for the area.  They'll pinpoint if the rents are accurate and have room for growth.  

You'll be given pro forma information and combing through everything verifies it.  Whatever cannot be verified must be accounted for in your purchase price.  I add 5-10% to the verified utilities given because you can never be too careful.  

Cody B

In my opinion, it is smart to plan on taxes going up so that if they do you are covered and if they don't your bottom line won't be negatively impacted.  When I purchased my duplex the taxes went down 100 bucks. My purchase price was lower than the assessed value. I do not have enough experience to tell you what happens on average though.  IF you do purchase is much lower than the assessed value then it wouldn't hurt to look into having the city reassess it to get your taxes lowered which is a great value add opportunity.  

Great post, very educational. 

Thanks again!!

He installed security cameras? That is pretty odd.  I agree with Greg, time to make sure you are covered just in case they try to pull something that could cost you money.  Might be uncomfortable seeing that they paid on time and seemed to of been a decent tenant from reading your post but it is in your best interest to be proactive and aggressive in protecting your asset. Good luck!

Cody Barrett