All Forum Posts by: Jim Kittridge

@Steve Cheslock I’d second that. Look at your market rates and decide if you want to lower prices, match or raise them based on location, amenities, etc.

Also, we just had our civil engineer do a 1 acre lot optimized for RVs. We ended up with 30 spots with adequate turning radius for everyone.

@John Cameron

If a syndicator doesn't have funds for EMD out of pocket, that would be a sign that they don't have enough experience. I'd be willing to bet they are fresh out of a bootcamp or training seminar.

In my opinion, you should start with smaller deals and cut your teeth on those. You will learn a lot and be able to do better by your investors in the future. A $5,000 lesson across 300 units is painful.

@Kenny Manchester

I don't have anything to sell and I've said it before, but I would encourage you to follow where the big SFR funds are concentrating their efforts.

You want long term growth and strong fundamentals, not 20% cap rates.

Hi @Michael Kim, 

You aren't wrong. Some of the best deals get traded through pocket listings and existing relationships. If you want to get into the NNN space, I would recommend getting more educated/familiar with NNN investing. Joel Owens did a podcast on BP on it and there are plenty of other resources.

For sourcing deals, I would use Costar, Crexi, Loopnet, etc. to find brokers who sell NNN deals and network with them. They won't give you first access to a homerun deal, but you may get first look at solid deals if they know you are ready and able to purchase. Once you've done repeat business and establish a track record, you'll get access to the better deals. For example, I have a friend in my market who sells NNN deals at a 7 CAP because he has closed every single one of them and he gets the PM fee on the backend (20+ deals and counting).

Hey Pete, this is a very personal decision. If you quit, it will be harder to get financed unless your existing rental portfolio can support you and new debt. Before you make a decision, it would be smart to talk to a handful of bankers who finance similar investment properties you're looking to do in your market. 

My typical recommendation is to try to replace your income before quitting.  There are a lot of ways to make money in real estate (flipping, wholesaling, value-adds, etc.), but realize that those are jobs as well.

I agree with Joel. Hard pass unless their is a clear use and tenant to replace them with. 3.5 years left on a lease is rough.

Hey Weina, it depends on what size commercial assets you're going after. If you're looking to acquire smaller assets (<$1.5M), direct mail can work well and specifically, hand written letters. If you're going after larger assets, most of them trade through brokers or pre-existing relationships. You'd be better served to start shaking hands and building relationships.

That’s correct. We subscribe to the online sources for an initial overview of a sub-market, but a lot of the research requires some boots on the ground or at minimum, phone calls to competitors & planning/zoning. 

@Michael Metzger

That’s a good question. Airbnb was invented out of the last recession so while there isn’t direct data for short-term SFRs, we do have data on hotel occupancy and RevPAR. I would look at that data.

As far as what is safer, I imagine a well qualified tenant would be safer on a multi-year lease. Historically, hotels have swung with the economy for better or worse.

@Mark Roussin

Welcome to BP. You’re in the right place.

First off, if you want to be an active investor, I would encourage you to follow the large private equity based SFR operators and not fall for the trap of C & D-class properties that "cash-flow" well. The large funds spend significant resources identifying and monitoring the best markets for risk-adjusted returns for SFR rentals. There is a reason they don't buy 12% cap deals in markets that don't have strong fundamentals.

I’d recommend deciding how active you want to be and what your goals are. It will guide what you should invest in.