All Forum Posts by: Jeff Zimmerman

@Sameer Jain you are welcome to message me as well if you'd like to discuss anything specific to fresno.

Hey Cindy, I've had good luck in the Fresno area since I started investing in 2011.  I've always found that rentometer is a really good source for current rental rates. It can lag a bit when there is less turnover, such as in the past few years, but overall it's pretty good.  One thing that's important to note about Fresno is that we are a city of pockets, crossing certain streets could change the class of investing drastically so don't assume that if you get rents at a certain rate, that you will get them a few streets over.  Usually, you can see this info in rentometer but driving the streets is still best.  

I use my manger as the best source for vacancy rates, right now my personal vacancy rates are below 3% and I think my manager has said the same about the 400+ doors he manages. 

If you'd like to discuss neighborhoods in fresno, etc... feel free to message me.

Good luck! 

Whats up @Landen Enns , good luck!  great job staring at 23, I wish I would've started that young. 

In my opinion, finding a great agent is where you want to put your efforts, whether you are investing at home or outside of your area.  A great agent will have numerous quality referrals for you (contractor, manager, etc...) because they are well networked and have a good history with all their team members.  A great agent will also have all the local knowledge to get you started.  Nothing can replace putting your own boots on the ground, but their local knowledge will help you immensely.   

You may have to speak with a number of them before you settle on one, make sure to ask them tough questions about the area they are in as well as their knowledge of your chosen investment vehicle (MFH, flip, etc...) and see how they respond.   That should give you a pretty good idea of who to work with. 

Ask BP people about agents in the area's you are looking into, you should get some great referrals.  Good luck! 

What's up @Damian Lay , congrats on having an SFR that cash flows so well and doesn't have any debt!!!!

I'd start by looking into how much cash you can pull out of your SFR with it still cash flowing. If you get enough out to buy another property you can go do that and have two places instead of just one. Speak with a good loan officer about how long you have to season that money before you can use it so that you don't' get into trouble when trying to close.

Another possible strategy would be to but a HELOC on that property, use that HELOC to buy a property in cash, then refi the new property with a conventional mortgage (lower interest rate) and pay back your HELOC, then go do it again! Again, keep your loan officer close to make sure you wont run into DTI issues when doing your conventional loan.

As far as IL or CA, it really depends on how comfortable you are in each area.  Fresno has been really good to me when it comes to MFH investments and I like that I can go to my properties any time I want and check on them.  In my mind, RE investing is all about control over your investment.  I've been hesitant to invest far away from my home as it feels like I have a lot less control.  However, there are a lot of investors out there that have been successful doing that, so choose the route you feel most comfortable with.

When it comes to selling your place in IL it all comes down to your goals, can you meet your goals by doing a refi cash out to buy something similar or by selling the property and upgrading?  do you want your investments closer to you or is the cash flow so good in IL that it's worth keeping it far away? 

Feel free to message me if you want to talk more.  Good luck! 

Hey @Joe Bertolino , we will be glad to have you!  This has been a great place to live for me and my family.  I'm sure you will love it!  

Congrats on getting started @Justin Thompson !  My advice is just that, jump in and get started.  Find a deal you think looks good and don't be too fearful to go for it.  It may lose money the first year but thats ok, the education you get in the process will be priceless and the next one will be 100% better.  Real estate is also pretty forgiving when it comes to the negatives that can happen.  Your losses will be minimal in the scheme of things (if you even have losses).  Good luck!  If you ever want to talk Fresno Multi family just let me know! 

evictions are long and expensive.  Figure $1200 for the eviction, rent lost for 2-3 months (tenants stop paying after they get served the eviction notice) then re-renting the apartment will take another month after that.    Best policy is to raise rents in $25 increments max, and you can only really do that every six months if you want to keep current tenants.   If you want them to leave on their own you can just give them a 60 day notice of the raise, but it is possible for them to stay after and then you have to evict. 

It may be a really good deal, you just have to run all the numbers. 

@Johnny Lau fresno has been really good to me, great place to look.  

@Denise G. he Denise, i just sold a good fourplex for 275k in an up and coming area downtown.  so no, that wouldn't necessarily be a foreclosure.  

@Drew Leo sounds like you are really doing your HW great job.  Let me know if I can be of any help with fresno area's/strategies.