All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Buelow

Absolutely!

The previous owner was doing month-to-month leases and never raised rates after a tenant moved in so they ranged from 490-550. They are currently being increased by $50 every 3 months up to $650. 

We only purchased the property 6 months ago but the process has been smoothish. One unit was empty so we put that one up at $650 and that took about 1-1/2 months to fill. The second has been struggling and is about $1,500 behind so, we aren't sure she will be renewing her lease, but she is working hard to keep up. Thankfully the third one has been paying on time including increases every month.

 The last decided she wasn't going to pay at all until CERA kicked in (paid out the day of her eviction court date almost 2-1/2 after she was approved), according to our property manager she has been difficult to deal with, rude, and non-communicative so after this lease, we will probably be letting her go. The trouble isn't worth stressing out our property manager over, simple as that.

My advice would be to tell them to re-apply and if they don't make the cut then have them moved out. I currently have a 4-plex where 3/4 of the residents stayed after I purchased the property and one of them is still giving me issues after 7 months. 

Looking for a partnership to buy 12 units worth of small-multifamily. I own one of the multifamilies already and the numbers look good to me. PM for more info.

I'm actually renting all 4 unit out. I live in a mobile home where I only pay lot fees, so my monthly bills are lower than what I would be getting from the rent. I'll be using that income to pay to update this mobile home then ill move onto house hacking a duplex. Hopefully with a garage haha. 

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $89,500
Cash invested: $28,438

Bought our first multi-family investment property from a private seller who is on his way to retirement. Turn-key property, Appraised at $120,000. Plans to update it and see where it goes.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I like multifamily because it makes it possible to renovate and profit at the same time.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Introduced to the seller through a classmate in college. No negotiations were needed.

How did you finance this deal?

25% down Freddy conventional loan. Split the downpayment and profits with a friend. Borrowed money from a parent while my car is in the process of being sold.

How did you add value to the deal?

We plan to update the flooring and repaint, Plus clean the exterior.

What was the outcome?

Instant equity and 54% CoC

Lessons learned? Challenges?

That there are seller closing costs. Because the seller wanted a certain amount in his pocket at closing we had to work backward from that amount. The personal challenge was letting go of a car that I spent hours of hard work and money on that I saved up for years to afford.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Lindsay Flynn is an awesome property manager with good pricing out of Kalamazoo Michigan. She works for Berkshire Hathaway.

I am buying my first rental property and am looking into hiring a property manager. The property is a 4-units, 2bed-1bath multifamily, located in a more depressed area of the town, so many of the owners in that area self-manage and does month-to-month with relatively bad tenants. I am looking at doing year leases only. 

Here's the kicker though, the property manager I found (not connected to any company, but is a realtor) has some odd fees that don't seem great to me. He says he charges 10%, half of the first month's rent, and an extra fee if we use his maintenance teams.

This doesn't make me feel very comfortable because, in my opinion, this would incentivize him to find bad tenants on purpose so he can receive more commission.

What are your thoughts? are these pretty normal fees, should I come to him with a counter offer (if so, what are your thoughts) or should I drop him and look for someone else?

@Tom Evans

I have been to 1 meeting, I am freeing up extracurriculars because they are at the same time.

@Ian Plocky

I'm going for Mechanical Engineering.

@Joe Splitrock I should ask if I can rent this out.

I don't know if this is allowed, but I am open to opinions!

Overall: I make $1,100 a month and have $20k saved. I was in the military, so I have the VA benefits. Currently living in a Manufactured home that I own(could use some updates) located in a park.

School: I am getting paid $1,400/month to go to school, but I haven't found a lender to count it. I have 2 years left before graduating and making potentially 75k/year.

Work: I would make a little more than 1800/month in addition to receiving 5% equity of a storage company after 5 years. 

My goal is to be financially free through the small multifamily BRRRR method, owning 5 houses by 2025

I'd love to hear your opinions.

P.S. If this is clutter feel free to delete it.