All Forum Posts by: James York

I would have started Facebook, Amazon and possibly apple. I have no idea how, but at least now I know they’re profitable businesses. 

A lien is typically referring to debt secured by the property. Under normal circumstances, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just a factor that needs to be considered. Underwriting is generally used to describe the process of working through the numbers of a deal. If I rent for this much and have this much in expenses, will I make any money? That’s obviously a gross oversimplification. The rehab budget is tough. It takes experience. That experience can be yours or you can bring it with you (think contractor), but someone needs some experience. Don’t guess if you have no idea what you’re doing. If you’re wrong on the high end, you don’t get a deal and if you’re wrong on the low end, you risk losing money. Keep reading!!!

I think this is evidence that people are not as opposed to rent increase or paying market rent as they are opposed to CHANGE. People don’t like change.  

@Zackery Smith

Dear mr owner, I am a local RE investor and I live here in the community. I’m seeking to expand my portfolio of rental properties. Your house on Maple Street seems to fit what i am looking for. Please give me a call if you’re willing to consider a quick and easy sale. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Hand written and very directly targeted notes that mention the actual property are far more likely to elicit a response. Don’t over complicate this. I suspect people who are mailing hundreds of generic letters will get the same number of responses as you’ll get from 25 note cards. 

@Zackery Smith how do you like template letters you receive or scripted sales calls? If you know what you’re trying to accomplish, you have the information you need to write the letter. If you’re concerned about your grammar, I’d suggest you write your letter and have a trusted friend proof read it. If you just don’t want to write the letter, I’d suggest you find another method for lead gen. One more thought, I write on small note cards from the dollar store and reference the actual property I want. This is TREMENDOUSLY more time consuming but I get nearly 50% response rate and have been about 25% closing rate. 

@Dave Foster this is not the answer I want, but it is the answer I can use to move ahead. Thank you. 

@Account Closed many limit the increase to 2% which in today’s market will lead to disaster even if you’re at market price now.  I’ve expressed this concern to my housing office and told my tenants they should advocate for themselves and tell the housing office they need to reconsider the policy. No private landlord should be stuck between evicting a decent tenant and accepting below market rent because the system doesn’t keep up with rent growth.

I’ve run in to a very similar situation. If you know this isn’t personal and that you would work with them if you could, then I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. Unfortunately section 8 doesn’t always pay market rent and that is not your fault. You’ve made amply accommodations for them. That said, I empathize with their position. Many landlords won’t accept vouchers even if the amount is sufficient. 

I’ve been building to rent duplexes, but started to consider liquidating to 1031 In to something bigger. My dilemma is that my preference is to build. Has anyone figured out a way to do this in conjunction with a 1031 exchange? I am far less interested in existing properties because I can build what I want and control my costs. I appreciate any great ideas or experience you can offer. 

@Steve Tse I’ve been on their list for a while. I second the statement about doing your own due diligence. I don’t even look at the data they provide. I recently got a lot deal that didn’t have sewer access. Fortunately I knew that because they were not forthcoming with that info. I do not think they’re a bad lead source, but they serve their own interests for sure (I am not saying they shouldn’t!)