All Forum Posts by: Rick Baggenstoss

@Andy Sabisch. There are things you can do to improve your offer/accept rate.  

- Making a connection with the seller, 

- being one of few offers, 

- being first offer, 

- providing good rationale for the offer, 

- substantiating your offer is credible

- offering to people who *really* want to sell.  

- persistence

- Last but not least, offering good price or terms.

However, the greater deals don't come along that often, so you have to lose a lot of deals while trying to make a good deal.  Good flips are more difficult, because you have to buy right from the beginning.  The short hold time will punish you for overpaying.  Landlords enjoy the "time heals all wounds" principle of real estate.  

@Polly Tu -  Have you looked into renting the pool by the hour?  Kinda like Airbnb.  I forget the name of the service, but it exists.  You could turn it into a revenue generating feature.

Also, you might need to find a local teen to maintain it.  It' s not very hard/time consuming.  However, a pool service is expensive.

7 offers in 5 months months is a tiny fraction of what you should be doing.  Seven a week is more like it.  Win rate might be 5-10% depending on your target.

What about new build  as a plan b.  You might be able to find a GC/Builder to partner with you.  ... As others mentioned, need to get branch out to get see more opportunities and get a deal.

I wouldn't mind seeing a few wholesalers drop out or be forced to leave meat on the bone. 

I'd put some wireless tracking devices on/in your valuables.  Something like Apple AirTags that are gonna last a bit and might help you recover the toolbox or appliances, if stolen.  

Camera will only help you watch them walk away with it.  It won't speed up reaction time and usually doesn't help you catch 'em.   However, cameras would discourage some people.  

Harlan and Associates in Sandy Springs has closed several private loans and complicated investor-type deals for me.  

Hi @Ana Cristina.  The best way I know is to use airdna.co for some local/zip code level research.  Look only at those properties that are like yours -- number of beds, luxury level, similar location, and offered year around, for example.   The other way to to mimic being a traveler and look at how booked similar properties are.

This is a slow time of year for STR in Atlanta so it might not be great, but it really depends on your guests and what they're doing -- eg. moving in town for a job, here for a film shooting, visiting family nearby, etc. Tourism is down but so is competition.

Lastly, if you're new to STR. Please really study how much impact being unique/well designed can have. It has a huge impact. Make sure you have the skills, team, and commitment for doing it as great as makes sense for your property.

Good luck!

@Thomas Shiver You've learned a valuable lesson.  

I hope the resale goes well. You might learn/try selling with owner financing to sidestep the HOA rental issue. You would place the new owner in the house and start making money just as you planned. Just make sure you have a big enough down payment to cover foreclosure ($5k) if need be.

Hi Michael - I like small multifamily.  I can share that comps can be tricky in Atlanta for duplexes because investors don't like selling them very often.  When they do sell, the condition they're in varies wildly; e.g. finished basement apartment isn't the same as a purpose built duplex, etc.

For this reason, I'd encourage you to look at hard money lenders that will allow you to extend beyond a year if need be.  Get it in writing. 

Best of luck!

@Koshu Takatsuji. You have lots of room to grow.  

Lot coverage ratio is what constrains property growth.  That includes the dwelling, driveway, etc. everything that water can't penetrate.  Max varies a little but 60% is typical.