All Forum Posts by: Douglass Benson

Ashleigh, welcome to bigger pockets and GO GREEN! My wife and I are in the area, live in Mason, invest all over Ingham county. We can introduce you to the REIA that supports the area if you are interested.

Take care.

Brendan, I understand where you are coming from but it can also be stated that you are bringing value as an apartment savvy investor as well. So long as both parties are comfortable, you should be good to go!

17.5k a door? I have to assume these are one bedroom units? About all you can do is determine if the price is right, if the maintenance costs are reasonable (newer roof and A/C doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a lot of deferred maintenance waiting for you) and if the neighborhood is going to hold up.

I personally don't have enough info to help you. Good luck!

There is little better than a good tenant. The value of your building is more equated to the caliber of your tenants than the caliber of your building, at least from an investment perspective. But it is true that one will always impact the other. We pour tons of money into our buildings (new windows, new flooring, new fixtures, etc.) in order to attract the higher quality tenant. The payoff is long retention and very few maintenance calls or tenant complaint calls.

We have been basically funding our apartments (and four children - all college students) with house flips. We are up to 44 units right now but know that in order to grow at the rate that we want to, we are going to accept investors as a part of our apartment equation.

We already have investors for our houses so this feels like a natural progression. Any other approaches that you guys can recommend?

Leveraging equity is a great way to quickly grow. It works especially well if your properties are appreciating or if they are significantly cash flowing. If you leverage too much money and your properties are not gaining in value or creating cash, you might soon find yourself in a bit of a pinch.

You asked so here is my opinion - To me it sounds like you are in good shape with regard to cashflow so long as the cash finds itself back in your business purchasing you more cashflow and not more toys!

Randy, we purchased our first multifamily (4 unit) about 10 years ago. I used to spend every Sunday reading the classifieds for income properties and dreaming of all this passive income (as we have all discovered, there is nothing "passive" about it!) so I decided I had waited long enough and bought a four unit. Since then we have purchased a 16 unit complex and two 12 unit buildings. I really enjoy the apartment game, it feels like adult Monopoly! Regardless, Grand Rapids is a beautiful city. We would like to invest there one day.

How did you start?

Eric, everyone is spot on regarding you dialing in exactly what the arrangement would be, but that is quite a bit of money to learn an immensely valuable skill! I would do everything in my power to make it happen. I have 44 units and I believe one of the things that I am fairly good at is property management. It is very easy to see when it is done wrong and when it is done right. Good luck and I hope your future in REI is a good one! Stay in touch with how this all works out.

Hello! I am glad I finally joined Bigger Pockets. I like the idea of connecting with other multifamily investors. I hope this is the place to do so! We own 44 units in the greater Lansing Michigan area. We are buy and hold investors and 2014 is going to be our year to grow! Please say hello and I hope you take the time to tell me about your multifamily dreams (or nightmares!)