All Forum Posts by: Daniel Rivera

Hi gang-currently under contract for a duplex in Columbus, OH, and looking for any feedback on the following property management companies as the reviews online seem to be lacking from an investor standpoint:

1.) Venture Property Group 

2.) ERA Real Estate 

3.) Real Estate Opportunity 

Any input would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance! 

@Matthew Cyriac welcome! You've come to the right place-BiggerPockets is an excellent resource with a wealth of information. Best of luck in your endeavors!

Originally posted by @David W.:

Originally posted by @Daniel Rivera:

@David W. congrats on putting in an offer and making moves. I've been a slave to analysis paralysis myself for far too long, and finally putting in offers that have been getting rejected, but I know I would be questioning myself the same way you are if one of my offers got accepted. I notice you have the same questions I have had regarding whats a good CoC ROI or cash/door. This is an answer I've had to come up with myself regarding what I feel is comfortable for me-one thing I will say is I've set a goal of at least 12-15% given that I could get 8% on average (and have been fortunate enough to have gotten more like 15% over the last few years) simply putting my money in the stock market and not having to worry about it. Now thats not to say that I wouldn't lower that standard to say 10-12% just go get in the game and gain experience, but I'd say so far I've let a lot of properties go by that were <10% since setting my goal above. I think thats been one of the most helpful things I've done since starting to analyze deals. Now, take this with a grain of salt as this is coming from somebody who is yet to close a property, but I hope this is helpful and encouraging for you nonetheless. Wishing you all the best!

 Thank you Daniel. Random question. When I want to reply to you do I press quote or do I say @Daniel Rivera ? 

You remind me along with everyone that although I'm taking action I shouldn't flex from my goal. Just finally got my offer accepted which seems to be a miracle in itself. A bit in awe how people have 20 50 100 units lol.

Agree wholeheartedly! No idea how people scale to that many units, but I guess thats normal when you're just starting out. And yes, you can either reply by hitting 'quote' or you can just say @Daniel Rivera. Best of luck! Let us know how things turn out!

@David W. congrats on putting in an offer and making moves. I've been a slave to analysis paralysis myself for far too long, and finally putting in offers that have been getting rejected, but I know I would be questioning myself the same way you are if one of my offers got accepted. I notice you have the same questions I have had regarding whats a good CoC ROI or cash/door. This is an answer I've had to come up with myself regarding what I feel is comfortable for me-one thing I will say is I've set a goal of at least 12-15% given that I could get 8% on average (and have been fortunate enough to have gotten more like 15% over the last few years) simply putting my money in the stock market and not having to worry about it. Now thats not to say that I wouldn't lower that standard to say 10-12% just go get in the game and gain experience, but I'd say so far I've let a lot of properties go by that were <10% since setting my goal above. I think thats been one of the most helpful things I've done since starting to analyze deals. Now, take this with a grain of salt as this is coming from somebody who is yet to close a property, but I hope this is helpful and encouraging for you nonetheless. Wishing you all the best!

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

It's all a guess until you have some data, which unless the previous owner has, will take several years to get. Also depends on if you are doing the work (some or all). $135 for a plumber to come out and unclog a shitter in 2 minutes or 5$ in gas for you to do it.

Let the "I'm not a plumber, I'm an investor" arguments commence.

Haha-first thing that came to mind as I was reading this. Thanks for the input. 

Originally posted by @Luke Miller:

@Daniel Rivera I hate using rules of thumb for things like this. It's okay to get a general idea if you're even in the ball park (price wise), but never depend on it. I've seen markets swing from 45% to 60% expenses (based on gross rents). 

A better method, and not that much harder, is to find a quality property manager or two, and ask them "what is your average annual operating expense for an asset like this". Good PMs know almost exactly what it costs to run a unit on an annual basis. This goes without saying, but finding a PM that specializes in the asset that you're looking at is critical.

For properties that are 100 years old, i'm guessing they are urban, in established and progressive cities, and have complex infrastructure. I would say that you need to determine (in no particular order) regulations on rehabbing, sewer/tap condition, asbestos, mold, whether you're in a historical location or not, landlord/tenant laws, gas line condition, etc... all those things can be detrimental to your expense line.

Hope this helps a bit. 

Great, thanks for the direction-always appreciated. 

Originally posted by @Greg Dickerson:

Daniel,

Typically you want to budget by the door for multifamily. The less units the more you should budget per door as 1bad incident can cost a lot of money relative to the income.. The amount would be based on the condition of the property as you mentioned. $100 a door is a good general place to start for well maintained units. 

Thanks for the input! 

Hey BP community-I know there isn't a set formula that can be used to reliably calculate how much one should set aside for repairs and maintenance on a buy & hold rental, but I've heard the average of ~$100/month is a safe estimate for a SFH while listening to a BP podcast episode last night. Taking this into consideration is it then safe to assume that if I'm analyzing small multi's that I should be calculating to set aside double, triple, or even quadruple that amount (depending on duplex, triplex, etc.)? I know there are other variables to consider when calculating this number (e.g. age of the property, current condition, etc.), but I'm looking to see if I'm in the right ballpark. For reference most of the properties I've been looking into have been ~100yrs old, and most have been renovated/updated. Thanks in advance for any input!

Thanks for this opportunity, J. I read both of your books and look forward to reading the 2nd edition of each. On the recent podcast episode you recommended having as much liquid cab as possible in addition to opening lines of credit in order to be prepared for the impending market shift. This got me a thinking as I’m a new investor and was hoping to buy my first two small multi family rental properties this year in the rust belt section of the US-in your opinion would you recommend holding onto that investment capital until we see the extent of the market shift then make a move, or would you just get started now to get the experience and not sit on the sidelines? Thanks in advance for any advice!

If you were going to start buying and holding small multi-family rental properties in the US-which markets (cities) would be in your top 3?