All Forum Posts by: Doug Johnson

Originally posted by @Izhak Kofman:

 I am seeking a mentor with experience in raising private money for purchasing multi-family units, in exchange will help with remodeling, repairs and more...

I work Brad Sumrok as a mentor. He has been very helpful to me and his group of students really work together to help each other to be successful. A great group of people. PM me if you would like to discuss my experience with Brad.

Originally posted by @Curt Riffel:

Not helpful to you at all, but I live in Richardson. I don't look for deals but I peruse the Zillow. I don't see anything around here either that would meet the 1% rule. On top of that the RE taxes are around 2.6%. I'm not sure how an investor would plan to buy a house at today's market rate and rent it out to barely cover the mortgage, taxes and insurance. Very little margin here, I feel the rental rates are suppressed. You would definitely have to find a deal and/or do some rehab. This sounds really negative, but I feel the people successful in the N Dallas rental market have owned the homes for more than 2 years when the home prices were 25-35% less. You can buy for appreciation, but be wary of bubbles.

I totally agree with Curt. In the North DFW SFR market (Collin and Denton county), you can't make money buying a SFR now. I have friends who bought 2-4 years ago and they are killing it. I gave up on SFR and moved to multifamily. I am now partner in 5 apartment complexes in 3 states with 577 doors. Three of these complexes are in DFW. I am making ~12% Cash-on-cash and best of all, I have NO DRAMA at all. For my money in DFW area, MF partnerships are the way to go.

Originally posted by @Steve Endress:

@Lane Kawaoka @David Hutson Yes, SFR's are a bit of a pain--I've got a big bunch in four states. I also have a multifamily with a similar number of units as my SFRs and it is a different kind of pain. When people ask what I think is better and I always say 'it depends'. Half the time, I love the simplicity of MFH and hate the complexity of SFR, the other half of the time I love the returns and exit strategies and fully-amortized mortgages of SFRs and hate the risk of MFHs. So, I still think a mix is the best, however painful and imperfect that is.

After doing one TK SFR in Birmingham, I have moved totally into multifamily. The SFR has drama every month. Either the tenant is not paying, I have some high repair cost or the PM doesn't communicate. I am now a partner in 5 MF complexes in 3 states with 577 doors. I am making ~12% Cash-on-cash and best of all, I have NO DRAMA at all. For my passive money, MF partnerships are the way to go.

 

Originally posted by @Tim Greenfield:

Originally posted by @Doug Johnson:

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

@Spencer Sutton  c

I watched American greed last night.. and I am listening to this lady who put 1 million into a fund that promised to double here money guaranteed in 3 years.. all she could talk about was the greedy guys that lost all the money.. ( granted that's the case in all the American greed shows) But its also the greedy investor who really should have known better.. if they had not been so greedy they probably would not have lost their million buck aroos... LOL

I don't know this show, but I get idea.  To me, there's something way less painful about losing $1M in 3 years on a bad investment risk......than a slow death on a $75K out of state rental.  Presumably, the $1M isn't usually every last penny.  The poorly performing $75K rental comes with stress and denial. I see a lot of people hanging on to a non appreciating, non cash flowing asset.  10 years seems to be the number when they are finally ready to bail and sell at a loss. I'd say its about 50/50 as to blame.  Half of them make it about crappy tenants and bad PM and contractors.  The other half have quiet shame and totally blame themselves.  Neither is pretty,

 After all the drama with TK in Birmingham, I have shifted my focus to buying apartments as part of an investment group.  It is much more passive and has double digit cash-on-cash returns.  

 @Doug, How did you perform your due diligence and find an investment group you were comfortable with for investing in apartments?

I have been working with a group of Apartment Lead Investors who have been trained by Brad Sumrok.  Brad is a great teacher and I personally know the Lead Investors I invest with.  I am currently an owner in >500 units in 5 different apartments in 3 states and 5 cities.  Every investment is delivering >10% cash flow in the form of quarterly checks and ZERO drama.   If you would like to learn more, PM and we can setup a call.

Originally posted by @Bobby Kohler:

@claytonmobley, 

Average move out turn around: 48 days...that sounds like an awfully long time?  What is being done that would take that long?

 I have one turnkey SFR in Birmingham. It has more "drama" and headaches than I would have ever imagined. At the current time, we have removed the tenant and are doing make ready. Amazing how a house that rents for $750/month could have $4,000 of make ready only one year after it was a fully rehabbed turnkey. 

The last year has been a story of late payments, terrible communications from the Property Manager and a tenant that was allowed damage the home without recourse and manipulate the PM. The PM company has made a change to the mgmt structure and has promised a quick make ready and a quality tenant.

After the re-tenanting process is completed, I will update everyone on how it went. I am hoping that the PM mgmt change delivers the results that an out-of-state investor needs to be confident investing in Birmingham.

Have a great day! 

I have one turnkey SFR in Birmingham. It has more "drama" and headaches than I would have ever imagined. At the current time, we have removed the tenant and are doing make ready. Amazing how a house that rents for $750/month could have $4,000 of make ready only one year after it was a fully rehabbed turnkey.
The last year has been a story of late payments, terrible communications from the Property Manager and a tenant that was allowed damage the home without recourse and manipulate the PM.  The PM company has made a change to the mgmt structure and has promised a quick make ready and a quality tenant. 

After the re-tenanting process is completed, I will update everyone on how it went. I am hoping that the PM mgmt change delivers the results that an out-of-state investor needs to be confident investing in Birmingham.

Have a great day! 

Welcome to BP. I live in DFW and found SFR investing to have below expectation Cash Flow. Changed to passive investing and like my double-digit cash on cash and IRR >15%

As a passive investor, have you considered investing in apartments in a syndication group? I am invested in 4 apartments thru Partnerships and the returns are pretty good. My B'ham SFR is doing well, but the apartments are less headache. I am looking a couple of apartments in the B'ham area now.

The tax protest for Jefferson County (Birmingham) is open for then next 30 day.  These links take you to the process.

"2016 market values are official as of May 11, 2016" according to http://boe.jccal.org

How to protest: 

http://boe.jccal.org/Sites/Jefferson_County/Docume...

I have one SFR and would like to find a local agent who can represent me for the protest process.

In Texas, we expect to see guns on the dresser.