All Forum Posts by: Greg Weik

 @Venka Pulla , I would be happy to chat with you to see if we can be a good fit for your property or properties in CS. 

We have a strong presence in CS, and I do believe we are industry-leading in the categories that matter most to our landlord clients:

-Pricing.  No hidden fees, no maintenance revenue streams, no monthly tenant fees. 

-Marketing/leasing. Pro photos, video tours, responsiveness, in-person showings, high-level of showing flexibility, showings 6 days a week. 

-Communication. Easy to reach, highly responsive, and highly professional communications. 

-Statements. Easy to read, easy to understand.

Please check out our website and reach out if you would like to discuss further. 

Hey @David Walton, there are definitely a lot of ways to do PM wrong. 

Letting the landlord choose their tenants is certainly on that list. 

Keep in mind, however, that a lot of PMCs have a Tenant Locator (TL) side of their business.  With TL, the PMC is only marketing and showing the property, screening tenants, and possibly having tenants sign a lease. With TL, the PMC is out of the picture once the lease is signed. 

For TL services, the landlord has to be the one making the call, IMO.  Any other approach would be a major conflict of interest. The key with TL is to make sure the application is presented along with options for the landlord in a manner that makes it impossible for them to violate Fair Housing.  

 @Marissa Negley I would add that if you believe the home won't sell for what you need it to now, a MTR is probably not the best solution, as you will likely not want to sell the home in fall or winter.  

If your numbers are such that minimizing the bleeding is your only play, do a LTR.  Find great tenants (800 credit score), which should be relatively easy to do, and they will take great care of it.  Hell, they might even buy it at the end of the lease. 

If you're in a position to lose some money or a lot of money, choose losing some money. 

 It really depends on your actual numbers.  Is the house you're currently living in, and planning to rent out, something that will cashflow?  If so, how much will that be?

What are the numbers on the duplex?  I assume your payment would decrease if you're going from a house to a duplex, but the details are key here.

I see no real issue with getting a HELOC, if you have sufficient equity to justify it, but again, it really comes down to the numbers.

Either way, the underwriting process for buying a duplex (or other rental property) will evaluate your DTI, cash reserves when making the approval determination. Banks want to see the lowest DTI possible and a minimum of 6 months CASH reserves for your primary (which will now be a rental) PLUS 6 months cash reserves for the property you're closing on, PLUS they will want 20-25% down on the new property.

 Hi @Jimmy Spaly have you explored what renting the townhome might look like? 

If that's a possibility for you, I'd be happy to discuss numbers and see if we can help you out. 

@Justin Dalton if I can add some assistance here - 

You mentioned wanting to buy-and-hold and also still fix-and-flip. 

My advice is on the buy-and-hold side, since that's where my expertise exists. 

Don't ask a Broker/Realtor what/where you should buy.  I have had so many clients come to me, after closing, asking me to manage the worst properties their agent told them would be great rentals. 

Find a good PM in the area where you want to buy-and-hold.  Build a relationship with them - have them manage your properties.  Ask them where to buy next. 

Literally no one in real estate has the perspective a good PM has.  I mean, we see every type of property, in every area of town, and how those properties are responded to by the market, every single day.  

We know what things will rent for, we know who rents in certain areas, we know what types of properties rent quickly (which ones don't), we know what finishes have the best ROI, etc. etc.

Everyone else is basically guessing.

If you can find a PM who invests and has their eyes open to the market, that PM can guide you to the best long-term investments. 

PS: I would skip any seminars or courses.  I know some people think they are paying for education, but that's not how I see it.  Seminars, podcasts, books, etc. are all designed around generating excitement, generating belief, and getting you to attend or buy the next one.  

The advice I just gave you was free, and it was better advice than you'll find out there in "pay for education" land.  You can check out my BP profile to see that I have the credibility to give some advice.   ;) 

Best of luck! 

Hey @Justin Sherman, my vote (and how I vote with my own money) is to buy a SFR and put 20% down.

Your payment will be around $3100-$3200. 

Buy a SFR in Littleton (I see one that's a 4/3/1978 sq ft for $525k) and rent it for $3500/month.

Why I suggest this over the up/down duplex you're considering or house hacks as being suggested:

-Better quality tenants.  When you've been doing this as long as I have, you realize the value of quality tenants.  It may not show up on a spreadsheet but it's one of the most significant factors of owning rental property (and I rarely see it mentioned.) 

-One set of systems and appliances to worry about instead of multiples.  Those repairs and replacements add up fast. 

-Stability. SFR tenants stay year after year. I've noticed newer investors underestimate the cost of a vacancy every year (turnover costs, vacancy costs, etc.)

-Easier appraisals if you want to take out a HELOC. A single lease, showing stability on a SFR is going to make a HELOC a rubber-stamp for your bank if you ever want one.

-Exit strategy. Also underestimated by new investors. If you buy any flavor of multi-family, you'll have a hell of a time getting out. The only buyers are... yep, investors. A SFR on the other hand, now you have a huge demographic of buyer and you can push top-of-market pricing and the asset is far more liquid than anything with >1 door associated.

If you have the 20% to put down, and can qualify for the loan, this is the smart move.  It's what I've done over the last 10 years and while it has not been easy to put 20% (and in some cases 25%) down on every rental, it's absolutely worth it if you consider the above points and the huge increase in net worth. 

People who can invest in SFRs, invest in SFRs. 

100%. SFR is the gold standard of building wealth, especially if you value your time.

Hey @Olivia G Gonzalez I'm not sure the current business (and specifically real estate) situation lends itself to any specific category. 

In my corner of the world, I interact with clients who own rental properties going up and down the I-25 corridor.  It's business as usual.  

Houses are renting, all my tenants (in nearly 1,000 doors) have paid rent in March, and some of my current clients are looking at adding more doors to their portfolio to have us manage. 

Given this (admittedly anecdotal) snapshot of a few thousand people, and how they are going through life at the moment through the lens of money (as in, do they have it and how to they spend it), it does not seem we are in a recession or a trough.  To use your categories, macroeconomically speaking, we are either enjoying business-cycle expansion or a peak at the moment. 

Of course, this could all change almost overnight.  The impact of tariffs, the impact of massive layoffs, and the impact of stock market uncertainty all have not hit Main Street yet.  These things all tend to have a delayed effect, but I suspect as John Snow would say, "Winter is coming." 

My crystal ball suggests we will hit a deep recession within the next 6 months as all these factors coalesce.  Inevitably, there will be a significant impact on goods and services across the economy. 

Variable: AI could kill us all in the same timeframe. 

Hope I'm wrong! :) 

We've managed a number of SFRs with ADUs and my takeaway is that landlords who want to either live in or rent out the ADU separately dramatically underestimate the level of deterrent it is to have a stranger living in the backyard. Particularly at the price point the landlord typically needs/wants/expects for the SFR; most tenants who qualify won't readily accept a stranger in the backyard.

Yes, I do mean the best rental properties require the most capital.  SFRs are the best rental investment vehicle in my experience when evaluated in terms of appreciation (which is where wealth-building occurs), stability, and liquidity.