All Forum Posts by: Devin Otway

@Seth Williams - These are great tips really appreciate your input! I agree I think if the market/deal looks good and there is some probability that the rehab will not blow out your numbers that it might be worth getting it under contract to do more due diligence.

Hello BP'ers!

My partner and I are currently in the process of offering on our first property. We are investing out of state (investing in the midwest) and have made several offers and gotten turned down. The last deal that we got turned down on was on a 6 unit at an asking of 152K with a rent of $2300 / month for all units. We offered 140K because we estimated (without seeing the property) that it would need about 15K in rehab. This was just a ballpark conservative number that we used to determine an offering price. Our offer got turned down and it eventually sold to a buyer @ 150K. My questions are the following:

Questions

1) How do you best estimate rehab costs sight unseen? (For the purpose of an initial offer)

It's hard for us to see the property up close b/c (1) tenants require 48 hr notice to get into the property (2) the deals move quickly in the market

2) When you are estimating rehab amount does this only include the cost of fixing units to make them rent ready?

3) If the property required some immediate capex expenses would you just include this in your rehab expenses or would you model it as capex that happened to be paid upfront (and thus won't need to be paid later).

Thanks so much!

@Christopher Phillips

Thanks for the advice Christopher! I will make sure that I am communicating and transparent along the way. 

@Mindy Jensen

Thanks Mindy! I appreciate the advice and keep up the great work on BP Money, really enjoying the podcast =). 

@Jake Alger

Thanks Jake, we are excited! Yes, I'd like to avoid at all costs proceeding too far down the process if I am not interested. I want to be respectful of the agents time and resources. Thanks for your opinion on when is 'too far', that aligns with my intuition.

@Chris Gottshall - great advice, especially like just being up front initially about interviewing multiple agents. Also was not sure about handling the representation agreement, so thanks for the advice on not signing too early.

Hi BP!

My GF and I are working on our first deal. We have identified two markets that we are very interested in that are not far from each other, but are across state lines. We have reached out to agents in both markets and are starting the pre-approval process in both states. I feel kind of 'weird' about pursuing opportunities in both areas which could divide our focus and could mean that if we find a deal in one market, our agent in the other market would not get the benefits.

- Is there any etiquette here or am I being overly sensitive?

- Do you have an opinion on whether its advisable to be getting leads in both markets simultaneously?

Thanks!

Hi BP!

My GF and I are currently working on our first deal which happens to be out of state. We are currently in the process of reaching out to real estate agents in the area based on research, recommendations, etc. We have identified a handful of agents that seem like they would be a great fit.

My questions are: 

- When it comes time to 'choose' an agent, what is the best way to kindly turn down other agents that we have communicated with?

- Do agents assume that we are likely in conversation with other agents, but are hopeful they get our business?

- When is the best time to turn down an agent (after initial call, or later in the process)? i.e. If we have two agents sending us listings, have we gone too far without turning one of them down?

- @Agents - how would you prefer to be respectfully informed that the buyer has decided to work with someone else?

I want the agents I have connected with feel that I have been respectful of their time and guidance, even if I decide to work with someone else. Thanks!

East Bayer here - interested!

Hi @Delshon C.,

Thanks for sharing your advice. Do you have any suggestions for how to find / reach out to property managers in an out of area situation & are they typically the property managers that are part of your 'team'? If they are not part of your team how do you reach out to them in a way where they would be receptive to helping answer some of your questions about the area?