All Forum Posts by: Jeff Zimmerman

@Jason Ryan Ekk Darling and Wilson is my RE attorney, based in Visalia.  feel free to message me if you would like his contact info.  

hey @r metzgar, i'm not sure i can add to the thoughts here, as everyone has thrown out some good stuff, but if you need to know more about Fresno feel free to message me.  

@Lisa Hill, great questions. first, off I'd really advise you to spend time in the area you want to invest in, I've heard too many horror stories of people who bought something sight unseen and then had a rude awakening when they actually visited. Some investors do it this way and have success but it's a pretty big risk, so when you talk about buying a property at a distance, that's the first thing to do...visit and research.  

2nd, make sure you have a team in the area that you trust, especially if you can't drive there on a weekend to check on it.  After you have your team in place (agent, manager, etc...) you should be pretty good to go.

As far as FSBO of your current property, it just depends on how competent you feel in the sale of your home. If you know what you are doing and understand the sale market, negotiating, ethics, and the typical way transactions are done in your area it could be a nice way to go and the money you save in paying for a listing agent is truly a saving. If you don't feel competent then you could leave quite a bit of money on the table by not using RE pros to handle the sale. Really good real estate agents pay for themselves and then some while helping to take a lot of liability off your plate. It really just depends on your own competency level.

If I can help further in giving you some questions to ask agents when/if you choose to interview them or if I can tell you anything about Fresno I'm more than happy to do that, feel free to message me. 

@Case Sandberg how'd it go man?  i was bummed i couldn't make it.

saturday the 11th at 10 may work for me, i will need to see what my day looks like as it gets closer but i'll let you know

@David Maldonado, good thought on the utilities, however in fresno the market expects landlord to pay water, sewer and trash so if the tenant pays that you may have to take lower rents, just an FYI.

@Drew Leo sorry to hear about all the turn over, that can be tough.  I personally use Neighborhood Property management, they've been great for me.  sometimes they choose not to manage in the area your tri-plex is in, so if that's the case you can also talk with Regency property management, they manage in a lot of lower income areas.  feel free to message me if you'd like me to send you the owners numbers so you can chat with them directly.  i'm also happy to help with anything fresno related anytime.  

@Vernisha Williams welcome to BP!  it's been a great resource for me for years now.  I haven't ever paid for a membership so i don't know really know it's benefits but i've been pretty happy with the free version.  As a real estate agent i keep a list of my cash buyers on hand, i'm sure others do too.  One idea is to network with agents so that when you have a deal that requires cash they can bring a few people to you for it.  You are more than welcome to message me if you'd like to chat more.  congrats on getting starting on your investment journey!  good luck, all the hard work is totally worth it!

@Michael Perreira, sounds like he may have a lot to lose with too much exposure in court if he really hasn't been paying his employees.  His response sounds like an initial "flex" to get you to back down.  plus he'd have to pay his attorney a few hours of work that will total more than he owes you so I'd say it's worth it to send a letter to the attorney, just expect more flexing at first.  You can also look into what it takes to go to small claims court and possibly just go that way, it may or may not involve talking with his attorney at first.  I also have a good RE attorney if you'd like to chat with him, although his fee may be high enough to where it's not worth it.  good luck with that, sorry you are in this position.  i'm happy to help further if i can. 

@Drew Leo that was a great read drew, thanks.  where did you buy in Fresno?  i'm always interested to know what out of town folks are up to.  how's it going so far?