All Forum Posts by: Emily N.

Thank you all for the feedback. 

@Ray, you're exactly on-point. We've been trying to only accept reliable residents in hopes of keeping them long-term.  As far as them calling the local building department...you're spot on on that too.

@Dennis We have had multiple quotes from different contractors for all the roofs, and all of them are charging around the same price unfortunately. 

@Joe Thanks for your thoughts. We are managing remotely, i.e. we have a property manager on-site who reports to us daily about what is going on. We have looked into management companies, but unfortunately our property has a higher occupancy rate than those in the area with PM companies. 

I like your idea of getting someone local besides our PM to offer insight into what is going on there. I am out there bi-monthly, but another set of eyes can't hurt. You're right, this is a bit exciting...though I'm sure it will be even more exciting when things are turned around and expenses are lowered!

Hey BP friends!

I'm looking for some advice on a property in our portfolio. 

It's 150+ units in Oklahoma. Built in the 70s. Flat roofs. C+ property.

We purchased this property thinking we could reinvest all of its cash flow for the first few years into renovating apartments and bumping rents, eventually bringing it up to a B property or higher.

Instead, 13 out out of the 16 roofs are leaking beyond repair (we've already replaced 8 at ~$25k/roof), and we are seeing that even if we do renovate an apartment it sits vacant without any interest at even a small increase in price. (Yes, we did have a roof inspector look at all the roofs before closing, and yes he did say all of them were in GREAT condition!)

Residents also routinely skip out on rent and have no problem taking hits to their credit or with being sent to collections. Most applicants come in with credit scores in the 400s-500s with several evictions, criminal records, and/or money in collections from other debts.

Due to our loan terms, we can't sell this property for another 5 years without taking a crippling hit.

We are more than willing to put $ into this property, but not if it's just an endless sinkhole without any return...

Can anybody offer any tips/or suggestions for this situation we have found ourselves in? Or does anybody have any experience with this kind of market? Any help is welcome!

Thank you,

Emily

Interesting @Adrien C., that's a great idea I hadn't considered. The property is near Indianapolis. 

Thank you for the replies @Zachary C. and @Matt Clark!

Zach, you're correct, they want one person who will travel to all 5 of their properties located in Indiana, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. They have property managers on-site who report to them if any problems arise, but they are looking for someone who will actively visit the complexes each month to see if everything is running smoothly - just an extra set of eyes. They currently do this themselves, but want to step back/retire as they are in their 70s. 

By 'general operation' I mean they want to make sure that apartments are being renovated up to standards, that the grounds of the property are clean, that materials that are being ordered are being used on-site, etc. An extra check to see if things are running smoothly and being reported properly.

And Matt, they are not sure if this person will be a contractor/consultant or employee - that is part of my question. Perhaps it would make most sense to have this person be a consultant of sorts. 

Any recommendations/suggestions are very much appreciated. Thank you!

I work for what used to be a small 'mom and pop' real estate company that has, over the years, expanded to owning almost 800 apartments across the country. They are dispersed in 5 different apartment complexes. They own and manage everything themselves and are not interested in hiring a property management company.

My question is: they are looking to hire somebody who will visit the properties monthly and give reports on general operation and cap ex improvements that may need to be done. Does anybody have experience with this sort of thing/can offer any advice on the how to find this person?