All Forum Posts by: Jedd Braunwarth

@Andrew Heairet wanted to jump in and offer what I do/have done. I owner occupied a duplex for awhile and I did all lawn and snow removal myself. It seemed as if the owner lived there it was expected I took care of it. Plus, nobody cares more than the owner of the quality of the property. I wanted it to look good and my tenants were very happy!. I no longer live in that one and have a few more, I pay a professional lawn and snow removal company to do all of my properties. I dabbled with having tenants do it but again the quality was terrible. Some let the grass grow long, didnt trim, only shoveled if it was a lot of snow, etc. Even adding detail to the lease did not help. Now, with a professional service it is off my plate and I do not worry about it and all of the properties look great. I can charge a little more for rent as many tenants like that they do not have to do any "maintenance"!

welcome @Tony Kuschel! I am in Waconia and have a small multi up here and some down in Iowa. Let me know if you want to grab coffee or a beer sometime.

@Amber Gonion I will try to answer for Terry since I know him well :). He is quite busy with an apartment complex reno right now. Yes, in fact you actually need to have your brokerage RE License to be a property manager. Unless, as you said, are resident manager or you have ownership interest in the property.

@Sean M. I found your post interesting as I currently invest in both MN and Iowa. Those are my two markets. My MN properties are western Minneapolis suburbs. In Des Moines I have a couple properties in the area you are looking and a few in other DSM areas. When might you move? We should grab coffee or a beer and chat. Very interested how you found and decided to focus on those two markets.

@Jackson Long send me a message, I've trying many different options and have one you may be interested in.

@Adam Crocker I agree with others, you need a new job. Now is the time in your life when you literally have the most time to work. it may not always feel it but wait till you have a family and other obligations. Curious who you work for as you say it has big upside? Have you taken the initiative to ask to be full time? 3 years is a long time to wait only making $17k. think, you've made $51k in that job over the 3 years. what is the income lost in that time waiting. Say after the first year you got ambitious and didn't want to wait and then made a simple $45k working full time the last two years, you would have grossed $107k in those 3 years. Still not a lot of money but you are losing a lot of money waiting.

@Brittany Sanders does you $30k estimate include your mold remediation? You mentioned homes in the area sell for $130 and up, is that for the 2 bed or the 4 bed comps? be conservative. without knowing more I'd say you'd you'd have to get this for low $60s to make it work. $30k goes quick of you add bedrooms, new kitchen, baths, and mold issues. what are the holding costs? buy all cash, loan or hard money?

@Allen McGlashing normally I'd agree they should pay but sounds like you may have a tough time proving what actually war the cause. was the door splitting before but nobody noticed it? now when she was using more force than usual to get in it split more? maybe she didn't even use excessive force and it opened. now she could come back and say that you didn't provide a secure door in the first place. Think with a tenant mentality and see how you would fight it. if some reasons are logical you'd have a tough time as the landlord charging them back. If damage was done and it's obvious how or intent then charge them.

@Trevor Carver I agree with the others. I think you have a great goal in wanting to get into RE investments. My advice would be that $1,000 isnt really enough to do anything. You make a 20% return and that only made you $200, still not enough to do anything. Are you working now in a job? I would work like crazy and save as much as possible over the next 6-12 months and see what you can pack away in the bank. Maybe its only $5k or maybe $20k, whatever it is you are proving that you can save money and work toward your goal. In the mean time go to the local REIA meetings and network as much as possible. Continue working to save money and network and sooner than you realize I bet you fall into a position of buying your first property. Don't force it with trying to with $1,000, work hard and put yourself in a better position.

are water rates really that low in your area? I ask as my 4 Plex water bill is generally closer to $40 per unit, so $160 per month. Mine also has garbage roller into it which is another $50-100 per month. maybe I am wrong and your tenants will be all utilities including garbage? I just don't know your local rates but they seem low. find finally, is there any long term play as far as raising rents once you do the $10k in repairs. it would be interesting to run the numbers at the new rent rates and see what that does to your cash flow. I think as of now your numbers on the deal are ok but certainly not great. I'd probably do the deal only if I knew I'd be able to raise rent quite a bit and property value would increase greatly over the next few years.