All Forum Posts by: Casey Caton

We are going to have to postpone this meeting today - sorry for this last minute change. I will get a meet-up on the calendar for November. 

Awesome work Scott - and we are all excited to see what you do next with all your focus on the money podcast and personal finance. It was great getting to meet you in person a few years ago at BPCON New Orleans. You are having a positive impact on so many lives. 

I noticed there were not many options when it came to a monthly real estate meet-up near Bentonville, so I wanted to start one so that we can gather together, network, make friendships, enjoy coffee, and hopefully learn and grow together as real estate investors. This meet-up is for anyone who is investing, will be investing, or wants to learn more. As this group grows, we will have a more formal agenda, but for now, let's get to know one another and encourage each other. The link is a signup sheet so I have a general idea of who wants to attend. See you there!

@Anthony Michael, Some markets, like most areas of Florida, will be good so long as the local economies keep growing and are built in solid fundamentals. I like Air Force Bases personally. Other areas where there’s high unemployment, crime, and net population lost will have a tough time in the near future. I will keep buying properties in those growing areas as long as the numbers make sense, even in a worst case scenario situation. I’m sticking with that plan.

@Jacqueline Blue With all of the due diligence that I do for each tenant, I would be comfortable and confident with a two year lease. I use turbotenant for marketing and tenant screening purposes. I'm able to run a criminal and credit score check. I do a social media check, a google search, an arrest search, and I call all of their references including their landlords and employers to verify everything. When it comes to tenant screening, it is much better to be safe than sorry. Hope this helps!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Unm.

Purchase price: $900,000
Cash invested: $200,000

Bought a villa with a guest house that is being rented on various short-term rental websites, and is also making a bit of income through weddings and Netflix after parties.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The numbers - higher risk, but with a much higher return.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS - Long time on market which gave me the leverage to get it furnished - the paintings were especially important for the "feel."

How did you finance this deal?

Private Money Bank

How did you add value to the deal?

Updating Bathrooms and turning sitting rooms into bedrooms.

What was the outcome?

Still new, but I will update this post as time goes on.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The obvious that the more expensive and extravagant the property the more cash you need to be prepared to spend in getting everything ready to go.

@Jorge Ydlibi I've used AirDna and also browsed various vacation home websites to get a general idea of what folks are listing comparable properties for. That has worked out well for me, and once I have built up some solid reviews there are more bookings at higher prices. It just take a bit of time to find that sweet spot for your listing. I've noticed that AirBnb will recommend certain rates that seem really low, so be sure to take their recommendations with a grain of salt. 

@Chris K. I have had great luck on Facebook marketplace finding matching sets that are in good condition and look nice. The money saved can go to other items to make the property even better. You can save quite a bit shopping around on facebook and there is the risk of these items breaking down, so you just have to weigh if the money saved is worth the risk. Everyone likes stainless steel, so that is usually what I go with - easy to match. Good luck with it all!

@Jimmy Alexander sounds like a lot of folks can't locate anyone except for Pace that offers such a product - might be a good business to start a niche insurance company that provides such a service. Thanks for bringing this question up - it caught my attention on the podcast as subject to seems to be a pretty good opportunity if you can learn how to do it right.

@Alicia Marks funniest and also most disturbing - didn't know at the time but a tree root was blocking our sewer line at our duplex. The guy downstairs was gone for a month, and over that month - sewage had exploded out of the toilet and was everywhere! The toilet looked like a portal to hell. I put on some gloves and used my hands to shovel it all into buckets. I had never seen anything like it before - I really couldn't believe my eyes. I realized that day that I had a pretty strong stomach. Every landlord eventually has their toilet story . . . that was mine. I found that tree and those tree roots and tore them out with vengeance.