All Forum Posts by: Alex Olson

@Latisha Major I would recommend AirBnBing your first home, then buy another home using FHA owner occupied financing. This way, you own two homes without going down the rent to own route and having to worry about airbnb while using another property. The other option, which I have done, is to put a lease purchase option on a house. PM me for more details and I can run you through my strategy.

I would always recommend buying what you can afford. The Midwest is great for a lot newer investors that don't have a ton of money to put down. Cap rate in the 7s with good appreciating upside. People are heading more and more to cities that are more and more progressive. Follow the population growth. 

@brandon Levi - please run the numbers first. It is not a good long term or short term investment unless you have experience in running restaurants or similar companies with plans to expand to multiple locations. It is a huge risk and would be more of a hobby than an investment. 

The best for contact info is reonomy I have found. Also, I think just calling the big national flags in your area and developing a relationship with them will be the best outcome. CoStar is great but there are many ways to get the contact info you need. 

@Jason Davis I think that many local banks will take on this loan assuming they do commercial loans or portfolio loans. Call around to all of the local or regional banks. You may even want to ask your bank that you use in Washington. They may know some one in WY. Good luck! Never give up if it is a good deal!

@Aaron Narod how long have you owned it and what is the cap rate of your area? A quick way to gauge cap rate is to see what others have sold around your area - make assumptions based on occupancy and rent rent to get a full gross income picture. Then, take out expense by estimating about 40% of gross income to get to an NOI. Then divide that by the sale price and you have the cap rate. Knowing this will let you know what it is worth, roughly, then you can decide if now would be a good time to unload. If you have other questions about how to calculate NOI or cap rate please let me know.

@sam b. I would recommend seller financing with some kind of carry back that is dependant on being able to lease it to a certain occupancy. Make sure you have strong financial knowledge of the retail/office area. It may sit vacant for many years. 

@sidney king I would suggest Bevs Tax Service out of Gladstone or Creative Planning in OP. There is a large cost difference but have had good experiences. 

@billy Smith yes the market is good for single family homes. Need to keep it going with bringing great jobs to Kansas City from large employers and to continue to encourage entrepreneurship. Having free bus fare and KS and MO working closer together to get jobs here can help it take the leap to a city like Nashville. Also, investing in our universities in the city will help ensure that we produce qualified talent for these new jobs. 

And...we need inventory to sell to all of the people moving here. Rising prices will keep some people away. 

I think finding the right market and locations and any type of property can work. All asset classes have their pros and cons. Office in Kansas City right now is a much better investment than MF. Returns are better and less hassle. So if you can't find a 12-20 that works look at office that is already at least partially occupied. Hope that helps!