All Forum Posts by: Eric Bryant

Thanks for your input, Michael. That's how I feel as well.

I've found that people are especially creeped out by bugs, and Bed Bugs seem to be the worst! I mean, an infestation of unwanted house guests is bad enough, but when those bugs also penetrate the innermost sanctum of one's castle, come out at night to do their dirty work, and suck their host's blood for a living, that's just double or triple the creepy factor. People get overly emotional and unreasonable about bugs!

I personally don't get it. I approach it like a math equation. 
Bugs + Appropriate treatment and countermeasures = No Bugs

No big deal, keep moving. Now, if there is a problem that I don't have a solution for or don't understand, that's different. But this is a problem that I know the answer for. I know a guy. He's good. He kills these suckers and kills them well. We're just going to have to go through a series of three treatments, about a week or two apart. That's going to take some time. In the meantime, be patient and deal with it, right?

My question is, how do I deal with overly emotional and unreasonable tenants who are having a hard time with bedbugs (or roaches or fleas for that matter) in a compassionate, caring way that is good for business? I want to make this a customer service win, not a situation where I have good, rent-paying tenants moving out in the middle of the night and leaving all of their worldly possessions for me to dispose of while they run screaming for the hills. 

Is it appropriate for me to tell a tenant on Friday morning that she's going to have to wait until Tuesday evening for the first treatment? My guy's booked up until then, and I don't want to pay somebody I don't know who may or may not be able to solve the problem just because they can spray this weekend.
Is it unreasonable for me to charge the tenants for the cost of treatment? There weren't any bugs in the unit when they moved in, and so it follows that the tenant--or their guests--have brought the bugs into the home. So, logically they should pay the costs to remove them. Yes, that's in the lease.

Or should I just suck it up, pay for the treatment, and make something happen today because that will make the tenants feel like I'm "doing something" whether or not it's truly effective?

I have to respectfully disagree with @Bob Collett

I think it is very possible to be ethical and to be a wholesaler at the same time. Full disclosure: I'm not a wholesaler. But I know a few that I respect and admire as being ethical people.

Understanding pain points and how to alleviate them is at the core of any good business practice. If the seller has pain points that cannot be adequately alleviated by the traditional listing route, other strategies have room to move in. If that is not the case, if a traditional listing would absolutely be in the seller's best interest, the ethical wholesaler has the responsibility to allow that to happen.

I think it is important in any wholesale transaction that the buyer ensure that the seller is fully aware of at least three things:

1) The wholesaler is buying this property at less than market value

2) The wholesaler is buying the property "as-is"

3) The wholesaler is buying the property with the intent to profit

Is it possible as a wholesaler to lose contracts by disclosing these things? Sure it is. But the last thing I would want to deal with is a seller that became angry after the fact and felt like I had taken advantage of them. 

To me, no amount of money or profit is worth having that on my conscience. I'm in business not just to make my life better, but to make the lives of those I do business with better as well. I'm always looking for a win-win deal. And I believe a wholesaler can absolutely do that.

Hello Hector, 

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

Any reason why you'd like to focus on Multis? I'm just curious to hear your reasons.

I've often heard that between SFH's and Multi's one isn't necessarily better or worse, it just depends on what one is looking for. Different strategies and different methods for different folks.