All Forum Posts by: Doug Johnson

@Ken P. call a few local property management companies in the area and tell them that you are about to make an offer and they will usually be able to tell you what to expect for utility costs.

Hello BiggerPockets.

First time poster here. Brand new to Real Estate.

Currently about 40% of the way through an Alabama real estate license course.

I'm initially from western Chicago suburbs and am graduating from the University of Alabama in May. I have a job lined up in Research Park in Huntsville. I'm interested in fixing and flipping to rent in my time off. 

I would eventually like to fix up and own a few apartment complexes. 

Hope to meet some people in the areas around Huntsville who would potentially be able to help me in getting started.

Hello BP,

I'm looking at a 100-unit apartment and I think it'll take me about 2-3 months to gather the finances together. For this large of an apartment, can I ask for a 90-day period to close? Is that normal?

Hey Everyone,

I've been a landlord and have remodeled my own single family (one duplex) properties for the past 8 years. I've had some hard lessons with bad tenants over the years but overall I am doing pretty good. In looking at the NOI and Cap rates of some apartment buildings available for sale right now I've decided to start selling my single family houses and jump into apartment buildings. I am thinking of starting with a 6-10 unit building depending on how much I can get financing for. So far from what I can tell the more units the higher the NOI in general. Also, I'm not interested in being a slumlord. I maintain my properties and want to make sure I'm having a positive impact in the neighborhoods where my properties are. Does anyone have any advice for me in how apartments differ from single family houses and duplexes? Are the tenants similar in their issues and how to deal with them? I generally try to buy properties that need some work for cheaper and then do the work myself to improve the equity and resale value. Is this a good strategy for apartments as well? Thanks for your advice!

Hello Everyone!

I am new to BP here but am hoping to learn as much as I can and down the line contribute my own knowledge and experience. I am currently looking at investing in the Birmingham Real Estate market and have been doing some independent research, but thought I would reach out to the community for some insights into this market. Thank you in advance for all your help!

Cheers,

Chris

BP Friends, 

Finally after several years of "analysis paralysis" on different properties, I had a courage to partner up with my family members and pulled the trigger on a MF property. The property is under contract and located in south TX (McAllen area). I am excited but scared to death now. Hope everything works out.

Property is 16 unit small apartment complex, fully leased. After all expenses (including CapEx, vacancies, PM etc.), the coc return is ~8%.

If you have any recommendations on following, your help would be greatly appreciated:

1) Lender 

2) Property management 

3) Inspector

Going through due diligence at the moment...some of the articles on BP were very helpful in compiling due diligence checklist. 

I would welcome any comments/advice from experienced investors to guide me through this process. 

Thank you all in advance for your help!

Ss

I have another suggestion for you to compare. I built quite a few homes in St. George, Utah recently. I decided to use beautiful tile on the countertop. These were 12 inch square, and I had them installed with a diamond pattern. The bull nose was done in the same tile. It was much less expensive and wasn't the same old, same old granite countertop. Currently, I use a product that is less expensive than granite, but looks just as nice. My managers of apartment projects in Texas use this on all the properties they manage. They tell me it comes in by the boatload from China at a great price. I know nothing more about it and don't remember the name of it at the present time.

The bull nose on granite has always been very expensive. Your price doesn't surprise me.

Last Friday I purchased a 15 unit efficiency apartment building. My insurance company quoted me a price $8k+ more than what the last owner was paying. I called his agent and they said they no longer provide coverage for properties that size and that his customer had been with them for over 20 years (the reason his policy was cheaper). I'm hoping someone on here can point me somewhere where I can get a much more reasonable price. It's located in Greensburg, In. 

Hey Folks, 

I'm a fairly new RE investor. I recently have moved to Frisco, Tx from 2014 from midwest and boy the market is hot here. Properties have shot up like crazy in the recent past. I would like to invest however thinking the appreciation is still there atleast for another 3-5 years especially when still lot of people and companies are moving. With that assumption (please chime in if you disagree), I would like to invest in Collin County - around Frisco preferrably or Tarrant - Keller ISD for SFR around $200K. In this market, i'm not getting 1% rent, but is it ok to invest here especially when the market is hot and me being local ? Taxes are definitely high here but being local makes me feel little more comfortable. Please advise. I'm looking at possible SFR properties - Tarrant county/Keller ISD, the range is about $101-110/sq.ft. and rents are .80c/sq/ft. --> $1450-1500 on a 3bdrm/2ba 1800 home.

Any thoughts/advice/suggestions for a rookie are greatly appreciated.    Thanks.