All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey Holst

@Kent Caldwell Welcome to BP

@Ali Boone I disagree about Chattanooga,  I think it will cash flow as long as you don't over pay and you properly analyze the deals, cant speak for the other areas but I have been doing just fine in Chattanooga.  I also have property in South East  Michigan, and North Georgia

Welcome to Chattanooga and BP.

My pleasure

I also think it matters how many you have, if you have one property you need more reserves than if you have 100 properties.  10K a house cited above might be about right for a person with 1-5 units but if you have 100 units setting a million bucks in reserve accounts is probably excessive, since its unlikely all 100 units will have a problem at the same time.

You can consider it a bonus or cash flow or whatever you want.  There really isnt a best practice on this.  I treat discounts as freebies to me and am happy to get them.  If you take that savings and deposit it in you rental account you are essentially making a contribution to your business which is great.  I dont think this is taxable income to you since its a savings on your personal expenses and not business expenses.

I have done well as an out of state investor in Detroit, but the key for me is local knowledge.  My partner is local and that makes a huge difference.  We have been helping other people by sharing our knowledge and recently started doing some limited consulting work for investors looking to start investing in Detroit.  

By picking the right properties in the right areas we have been able to get really solid returns and significant appreciation.  There is a real opportunity there but there are many potential pitfalls.  Id say do it but make sure you tie in with local resources that can steer you in the right direction.  You dont want to buy war zone properties, there are areas where I wouldnt pay $1 for a fully rehabbed house.  And other areas where properties could be bought for 15K a few years ago and are selling unrehabbed for 100K or more.  You want to find the markets that are moving up and avoid the bad areas.  Also consider suburbs outside of the city as an option.  I think Metro Detroit makes good sense for an out of state investor with some local connections.  

I agree brick tend to be easier to rent and also require less maintenance.  Lately I am focused on Roseville, Eastpointe etc

@Jon Hughes This is the meet up to watch out for

I think its all deal dependent.  I have seen deals that make sense where the General Partner(s) took 60% but because of the pref rate and the equity split the LPs had a nice return and were happy to invest.