All Forum Posts by: Jay Thomas

Hi Aidan! Smart move on bringing in tenants to help with payments. I would recommend you form professional relationships with vendors nearby. (Plumbers, electricians, painters, contractors, etc) just in case you need to use them in the future. This will help you in the future to prevent you to have to scramble and find someone later on. 

Also, decide if you will allow pets, smoking, customized decorating, etc. Going into a contract crossing all "Ts" and dotting all "Is" is important and helps you get taken seriously. 

I would also run a back ground check on your tenants. Even if they are friends or mutual acquaintances, as the owner, you do not want to be left stranded because the tenant was not a good one. Good Luck! hope this helped!

Hi Marshall! Wow. congrats on deciding to go into apartment building ownerships!

If you are not a Real Estate Agent, then I would recommend going to school for it or at least working with an agent that has plenty of experience in the field. 

Bigger Pockets has great tools for you to use in order to vet the property and see if it is worth it. Do as much research as you can about what goes into maintaining and fixing up a complex. Research the are and see the need and pricing of rent and such. 

Good Luck!

Hi Tia! Well Water is actually not too difficult to work with. You just need to find the right person or company to help you connect it! There are plenty of homes that have well water and once connected, it is hardly noticeable in my opinion.

Hi Ben! 

My opinion would be to check with your current lender. They already know your profile and information. You can probably ask for a market update and see if they can compare their rates that they are offering with the market. Good luck!

Hi Dwayne! Man, a 4bed 1 bath is a tight situation. If this was in Houston, I would say 3 bed 2 bath all the way! But, in Atlanta, it might be different. All of the other commentors are asking the correct questions for you... I would just like to add a few more. 

1. If/When you do renovate, are you going to update all the other rooms and bath? It would be odd to have 1 very updated room with a master bath suite and the other 2 rooms and 1 bath are just looking old...

2. Will this make your property stand out compared to properties around you? You want to stand out and offer something that is not only desirable but above the others!

3. Do you have the funds for such a project? Combining 2 rooms is one thing... adding plumbing, bath/shower tiles, and electricity is more work and more money because you'll probably have to hire multiple professionals.

Good Luck! I would love to see what you decide to do!

Hey Rob! Houstonian here! 

I would recommend that you get a combination lock box and have it at the front door. Put only 1 key in there and always have a spare with you. If you CANNOT make it to open the door, then let them know the combo. If you can, then go and open the door. This way you're not giving out the code to everyone. 

Once a tenant moves in, then remove the lockbox and change the code if you can. 

Good luck! 

Hi Christopher! Howdy from Houston! Bigger Pockets has a great Rent Estimator under the tools section. I used it for a quick search on a random zipcode in Dayton, and it came up with suggested Rent to be $800. You can always ask a local realtor to do a comparative analysis for you and see what properties are going for within a specific mile radius and what they do or do not offer compared to yours. 

good Luck!

High ceilings would be great for small craft breweries, showrooms, and more! If you're buying multiple buildings or areas, I would think of a plan to get businesses that will get people to come and stay. So a combination of restaurants, bars, retail, offices, and family destinations. My family and I come for shopping and lunch, but might as well stay and play while parents get a drink, then end with Ice Cream or smoothies, and if anything maybe hit a movie or something. Late night restaurants are good too. High ceilings are great for crossfit gyms too!

Congrats, man! This looks like a great property! That black hexagonal tile in the bathroom is crazy nice! 

Hey KiKi! Welcome to the BP universe! I am a Houston, TX based Real Estate Agent! Glad to see that our world of investors is still growing! Welcome again, and if you have any questions or even interest in the Houston Market, please let me know how I can help!