All Forum Posts by: John Clevenger

 Completely agree that a wider net is necessary. I know I'm finding cash flowing deals in the Lawrence and Franklin area in addition to the Indy area as well. Not sure what other's perspectives are, but I think right now is a terrific opportunity for buy and hold investors. If you find a property in a good location and can at least break even on a deal I think it would be a buy. You will be playing the appreciation game for the next few years, however once rates drop again, you can refinance and be cash flowing too. 5 years down the road, the ones focusing on location will be the big winners. 

Becca,

Seems like you have some great opportunities ahead of you. 

In my opinion, one of the key advantages of offering cash is the opportunity to get a significant discount on price, especially if you plan to finance the property after closing as you will still need to pay all of the lending fees that would be there at closing. Personally, I think if you make a cash offer on either property, you should be able to knock off more than 1k. I'd shoot for at least a 5k discount, see how they respond on price after your first offer, and instead of budging on price, negotiate terms. This should secure you a better deal with a cash offer however, it depends on area and pricing as Tyler noted. If it is truly priced correctly then they may not budge. 

In regards to making a decision on both I would base it heavily on location. If the location isn't great for either, I would do analysis based on no increase in rent or property value. If you're comfortable with the numbers then proceed accordingly. 

Hope all of this helps and good luck!!!

Congratulations James!

This is a huge win. The hard part is yet to come, but so is the glory and freedom! 

Would love to keep updated on how this one pans out. Excited for what the future holds in your real estate investing journey!

 As an agent here in Indianapolis I can say there are quite a few opportunities like the on Joseph just mentioned. If you aren't looking to take on a partner or creative financing, roughly 20k is what you'll need to get started in the Indy market. 

Happy to chat further if you'd like and good luck! Remember, there is no better time than now!

Hey guys,

Currently have a client that is looking to do his first fix and flip using a HML. I recommended a few based on others recommendations as well as my own experience however I wanted to ask you all as well!

Purchase price would be around 60-70k with an ARV of 150k. Client wants rehab to be financed. Location of the property is in Indianapolis.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

Love to hear this deal! Thanks for sharing!

Great question. As an agent my personal favorite is Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. 

This was recommended to me by a team member soon after I became an agent and it was life changing in how I approach almost any situation, specifically real estate transactions! Huge benefits to this as an investor and I would urge investors to ask their agents if they have read the book. If they haven't try to get them to implement some of the strategies on the next deal you guys work on together and see what happens. You may be surprised ;)

Love to see the drive to get your real estate investing dreams kicked off. 

Not sure what market you are in, however I can imagine if you already have a limited area, or radius, in which you can search it will likely be difficult to find a property to house hack. With that being said you should without a doubt be connected with an agent and be looking at duplexes in that radius as they come on the market so if/when one does become available you will be ready to act!

If the chances are truly slim to none that a duplex will be available in the area you're looking, and you are willing to move once a year, I would suggest living in your investment for a year as you fix it and repeating that process. My reasoning behind this is that as a primary resident you can qualify for loans that allow a much lower downpayment making the barrier to entry much lower. Additionally, given you're downpayment/upfront cost will be so much lower, your return on your initial investment will be higher. 

If you have expendable cash and don't want to live in a rehabbed house for a year or more, then maybe the BRRRR method would be best. You'd need roughly 20-25% down however you can still make this work.

Happy to chat through it more if you'd like. Just shoot me a message individually and we can talk. 

Good luck!

Couldn't agree more Alex. 

I unfortunately hear people on a daily basis talk about the pitfalls of the current management options. Myself as well as some other co-workers are also actively trying to solve this problem and so far what we have found is communication and transparency are paramount. The relationships individuals make (especially involving money) are truly rooted in trust. When someone trusts management companies with handling their assets worth hundreds of thousands or potentially millions of dollars they expect a minimum level of communication and transparency. That looks different for each person of course, but setting the expectation and having a mutual understanding on the front end should clear up any confusion.

 Unfortunately the real estate industry is riddled with sleazy individuals that would rather make a quick dollar than an honest one. This type of behavior is also shown in the health industry when people look at bills and can't understand what they are paying for. This is where transparency comes in. Management companies should be able to show clients how and where they make money. Most people are fine with paying for quality management and are okay with higher prices if it makes sense to them. Personally, I would rather overpay to have someone care for my properties the way I would rather than look for the cheapest option. Knowing this I believe the property management companies that can hold themselves with integrity, display it through transparency and communication and even go the extra mile to guide clients to an option which isn't as financially beneficial for them are the ones that will inevitably be the most successful in the long run. 

I personally will be curious how the standards and expectations shift over the next 5-10 years in the property management field. 

Great question George,

Working in property management I have come across this exact problem before. In my experience we were able to work with the tenant and come to an agreement that worked for both of us so I would try that option first. If you're able to get that agreed upon, try to get the lease addended to include acceptable methods of payment. If that doesn't work I would highly recommend consulting a real estate attorney as each state has different landlord laws and you don't want to get into a legal situation you're able to avoid. 

Apologies for not being able to give you a more solidified answer. 

Good luck!