All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Harms

Hi Kayla, I have one rental in Rapid, a 2/1 SFH in the good part of town. I don't know the MFH market, but I do know that my property manager advised me not to raise the rent this year because the market is flooding with new apartment buildings being constructed. One point you might be interested to know is that Keller Williams in Rapid used to be Kahler Prudential and they also had a property management division too which is still in operation, I'm pretty sure (I think it is Kahler Property Management or KPM). I chose not to go with them because they were rude to me. I use A&A and have been happy. NWE is another mgr in town, if they are still open, I haven't checked in a while, but I seem to remember they have more commercial and outlier residential. A new one that has popped up is Black Hills Property Management and I may be mistaken, but I think it is a one woman show and she is also a real estate agent for Keller Williams. You might get an idea of what rent you could command by calling the Candlewood apartments, Kirkwood Meadow apartments (managed by KPM), or Harmony Heights these are west Rapid apartments that command nice rent, my guess is $850 - $900. Ended up being a long post, and what I would tell you is that I exited the Rapid City market once the prices started to sky rocket in about 2012. Another reason I choose not to invest in Rapid anymore is because it got hit with yellow letters in about 2015 which means to me that there are too many out of staters who are now also competing. And the last reason, is that property taxes end up being a little higher in SD because we don't have an income tax here, so to make up for that revenue source, our State government takes property a little higher than other states.

What are your thoughts on giving tenants a receipt each month after their rent check clears? I have been doing this and using it as a communication tool and also to perhaps create goodwill with the tenants. On the other hand, perhaps it is only busy work that isn't providing a benefit for my rental business or the tenant.

Thanks for your help!

I'm looking for some insight to this scenario, thanks for your crack-shot advice! I have a few properties, but they are professionally managed. With this latest property, I want to learn the ropes so I advertised and found a nice young married couple who can afford the rent. Move in day is tomorrow, and we set up the time for the walk-through for late-afternoon. I just got an email from the husband mentioning his work schedule was changed and he wondered if it would be ok that just his wife did the walk-through. Not to be so conservative, but in today's litigious society, I feel a bit at risk with only myself and the female spouse doing the walk-through without the husband present. I'm sure I'm not the only one to face this dilemma. What is your experience BP?

Hunter, BP Podcast 133 answers this exact question in the "Fire Round." Lucky enough, I just listened to that episode yesterday, so the info is top of mind!

Hey Art, Sounds like you have a complicated issue to work through. I'm glad you mentioned the tenant listens to the Grateful Dead because I have insight on how to connect with a tenant with those musical interests. I certainly don't know your dynamic with the tenant, but I'm sure if you asked the tenant what his favorite tour year was, he will open up and tell you and also soften up and be easier to work with. As a side note, I bet he will say 1972 or 1977. Of course, your interactions could be too far gone to have any kind of friendly talk like that, but...since I know the Grateful Dead, I thought I would share one angle of insight. Good Luck!

Wow! Thanks folks. You put my mind at ease. You're kind to help my learning about these deals.

Hi all, Hoping to get the opinions of the smart folks in this community. I bought an REO from one of the big banks. Step 1 was to sign an addendum they required services via their asset administration division. Next, I heard nothing until the evening before the agreed upon closing date. I didn't have a closing location or any other financial info from the seller/bank Next, the day of closing, my agent, who is proving untrustworthy, said the closing wasn't going to happen and didn't provide much other information. Next, I asked my attorney for advice and found out it was ambiguous that the Purchase Agreement I had initials only in the countered section, not the accepted section. But...my agent (first time working together), said we have a done deal. I used addendum language from my lawyer to extend the closing date and reiterate the sales price and seller as the bank. Next, my agent said the bank wanted the seller listed on this addendum as "Owner of Record." And this is where we are at now. Is this common? Or is something shady going on? Thanks!

Welcome to BP Eric. And thanks for your service at Ellsworth! I invest in that area and have benefited from the information in this community. You should definitely check out the Wednesday webinars here on BP. I was sad to miss the one about multi-families last week, but I'm sure it will run again at some point. Good luck!

@Jesse Christensen Hey Thanks! You're right, this is a great resource...I've been referencing BP for a while now and finally signed up! Good luck on you and I hope our paths cross again.