All Forum Posts by: Daniel Miller

BP? Not sure what BP means...???

Did that just happen?

Sure can! Ill monitor this thread. Someone might have to bump it lol

My broker said he will pay for the postcard campaign...one reason I recommend everyone become an agent.

@Account Closed These were to apartment brokers I met with...I do not have any listings right now. They have been in the game a while and wanted to help me (or their friend's, my boss, new associate). They wont give away properties or listings. We just discussed strategy.

I think their dead on. Florida has A LOT of out of state owners and absentee owners of MF buildings.

@Joel Owens

I appreciate the well-written response. Let me clarify a couple things so you can see my situation from my angle. I am starting the multi-family division in my brokerage. No one here focuses on apartments.

And that's fine with me. I am down to get dirty and start it. (I know the money will be slow but I do all right. from managing my family's properties). My boss is VERY well connected. He knows everyone in the county and counties surrounding. He was the past president of our Commercial Brokers Association in the Tampa Bay Area. He is a one of a kind guy and I do not plan on leaving here.

My boss has already given me two leads in the Multi-Family sector. I know it might be more difficult starting up the apartment side of the brokerage, but the people couldn't be better and I'd rather put in more work and be around people I like.

My boss has had me talk to two MAJOR players (one did $100,000,000 in sales in 2005) in the multi-family sector. They explained to me that it's not necessarily a fraternity (like office and warehouse brokers) and that apartment investors are different. They are independent. They both said the best way to reach them was through postcard. They said the majority of their leads came from postcards. I'm not talking about 360 unit apartment complexes. My county has a ton of rentals and I am focusing on the 5-50 unit apartment complexes.

@Account Closed The simplicity of that question should not undermine it's message. Thanks for that

I am not too experienced but I do have some ideas how you can calculate the cap rate looking out over a period of time.

1. If you are dumping a bunch of money into the property after purchasing you can forecast that your maintenance and repair expenses will be significantly reduced for the next 3-5 years.

2. You can breakdown your total Capital Outlays and allocate the total over 5 years and calculate that into your maintenance and repair expenses.

3. You can add the additional renovation capital that you spent on the house into the purchase price, thus giving you a lump sum total investment cost (and can then calculate cap rate from there).

I do not know if there is a definitive way to do it...

I am a Commercial Real Estate Agent and 2014 will be my first full year on the job. I need a little advice...

This postcard campaign is NOT to solicit leads for myself but rather to build a Real Estate Network within my city. I have already tapped into my boss's (and colleague's) networks but finding apartment owners is different than finding office/warehouse owners.

My question is this: How can I differentiate myself, using my postcard campaign and other computer-related avenues to reach apartment owners? How can I stand out specifically with apartment owners?

Any suggestions/criticism/responses are much appreciated.

Investing in Apartment Buildings - Mathew Martinez

The Millioniare Real Estate Investor - Gary Keller

What Every Real Estate Investor needs to know about Cash Flow - Frank Galinellai

Recent Read -

"Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works" - AG Lafley (P and G CEO)

It's been a really good read. A lot of the material is very applicable to the Real Estate game. One of his main themes in the book is;

"Where are you going to play and how are you going to win there?"

Not trying to start a political anything BUT how did Rush Limbaugh and Hannity get brought up in a thread about books that have made an impact in your life?

Cash Flows of $100 a month after ALL expenses is really the minimum I would ever accept. If the central air conditioner blows up it will take TWO YEARS worth of cash flows (at $100 a month) to potentially break even. AND that's if you buy the cheapest A/C unit and have your cousin install it. The last A/C unit I put in was $4,000 installed.

I do not think you can wrap a foreclosure. The foreclosure is stripped clean off all liens and encumbrances. There would be nothing to wrap...(maybe there would be but I have never heard)

I wouldnt worry about getting an LLC until you have at least 3 properties. You can get liability insurance on each one and avoid paying the annual filing fees. It would save you money and seeing as your starting out cash is super important. Liability insurance in St. Petersburg, FL typically runs $0.50 - $0.66 per square foot annually. ($550 for my 1,000 square foot rental).

@David Weis

I feel your pain David. St. Petersburg, being your next door neighbor and part of the same Metro area, has suffered from the same hedge fund activity. I am a Commercial Real Estate Agent with a focus in the multi-family sector and I have seen small multi-families (properties more in my budget) go for the following

Duplex $650 rent each unit - $90,000

Multiple examples of these deals scattered all around St. Petersburg. You can find the occasional one for $60,000 but it normally has some baggage.

Typical Fourplex $650 rent each unit $180,000+

In the area where I live (rents are $700-$750) the fourplexes go for $275,000.

I'm just holding on right now. I can't find anything. I'm under contract right now but it took me 9 months to find a property that fits my criteria. I have more cash to spend but the multi-family deals are all outrageous either by sellers asking too much or buyers bidding over the list price.

In 2012 and 2013 Middle-class buyers in the greater St. Petersburg submarket had the option of either increasing the size of their down payment to compensate for the fact that the house didn't meet the appraised value (artificially high values due to hedge funds' massive purchases) or look for a different, less expensive, house.

SFHs were going for $400,000 for 2,000 square feet. Quadplexes were going for $250,000. Persons wanting to live in the neighborhood could if they took on the added responsibility of managing a building. Many unqualified person took this gamble and thus due to the exorbitant hedge fund SFH purchases in the greater Tampa Bay Area residential multi-family dwellings were artificially enhanced as well.

Welcome Duane!