All Forum Posts by: Douglass Benson

 Sorry so long to get back with you Thomas.  Lansing and Holt are the two cities where all my buildings are located...so far.

I have the "hardness" of my EMD align to my contingencies. I basically have a 3 stage EMD where one half of the EMD is paid after DD is complete and the other half is paid after financing is approved out of underwriting and it goes hard the day after that payment is made.

You have no influence on this person whatsoever before you own the building.  Ask for a final walk through of the property the day before or the morning of the inspection and take pictures.  Work to make sure that the seller agrees to repair any damage done to the building before closing.  I would also not try to work on any kind of written agreement with the tenant because if they break the agreement, you are going to have to go to court anyway.  

Work this issue through the courts and keep any agreements with tenants limited to the new lease that you will ask all of them to sign.  

You are the new owner, so you run the building the way it needs to be run.

I am absolutely an investor and a landlord as well AND I have a day job that I really enjoy!  I don't own a lot of units (81) but running them is kind of easy as I own the buildings and I (kind of) own the tenants.  

That sounds awful, but eventually every single tenant that is living in every single unit that I own will be there because it was my choice to put them there.  My newest buildings come with tenants that I didn't select.  Any of them that don't fit my system will have to find another place to live.  And trust me, they will want to.

The buildings are well maintained and the tenants are well selected. My phone seldom if ever rings. When it does it is because one of the new tenants forgot my PO Box for sending in the rent.

Those tenants that do fit my system will enjoy as many years as they want to living in one of my buildings.  I have put good money into my buildings making each of them a nice place to live.  I don't offer pools or workout areas or saunas but I do offer a clean, safe, affordable place to live.  That appears to be a competitive advantage.

I do 100% of my apartment business in mid- Michigan.  Two bedroom units are going for $30k a door.  I have purchased a 20 unit and a 17 unit in the last three months.  There are plenty of owners that have "had it up to here!" with their tenants (tenants that THEY chose oddly enough...) so there will always be motivated sellers.

All of the above. 

If she tries to flush her blanket down the toilet, are you a bad guy for refusing to pay for the plumber?

You are not being a bad guy if you expect her to do her part.  This reads like an infestation issue due to cleanliness.  She needs to be a grown up and accept that she has skin in this game.  I would also change the language in your lease to keep you from having to contend with this again.  I like the language that Marcia uses.

I don't know if this is the only four-plex for sale in Wyoming, but this doesn't sound like an attractive deal to me at all.  Stuff needs to cashflow on day 1 especially given the lack of appreciation that is still present in the market.  You describe a slowing economy, yet you expect the value of your building to rise.  You are paying an interest only loan to the sellers.  You say everything is as is from 1971 yet state your Capital Expenses will be $100 a month(?).

Personally, I would walk away...

You absolutely should finish off these units as best and as nice as you can.  You have nothing else that can create a good reputation for you like these units.  Cutting corners is easily recognized and never helps because you cannot prevent what is being said.  Once these units are where you want them, take tons of pictures and video and now you have a starting point for advertising, marketing yourself and attracting other investors as well as other tenants into your next building.  This decision shouldn't be based on short term return.  This is a long term business decision to help you establish yourself. 

Your buildings talk about you as much as your tenants do.  

Put it out to the universe that you are looking to increase in size and you need a partner.  You have a track record with your condos, so put together your next deal on paper or create an elevator speech about it and start letting people know.  

It might be the greatest education you could ever have.  We purchased a four-plex in 2003 putting $10k down on a $100k building.  We now own 81 units and are fairly capable and comfortable in this business.  The income is great, the business is enjoyable and we just keep growing.  Our greatest move was starting...