All Forum Posts by: JR Hinds

I'll be there!

I just started doing this last year using a turnkey operator. They were great on the rehab, but the property management arm has been difficult. That said, if you find the right turnkey operator, it can be a good way to start investing in another market.

@Yuki Battan, I use KJK Properties. They've been great! I will PM you their contact information

Yes, I'm interested!

@Michael L., here's a link to what I just posted about my experience. I hope it's helpful. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/282118-my-first-turnkey---elite-invest-chicago?page=1#p1885049

I am actively searching for another PM in Chicago. And I did find another TK/PM business in Chicago, but I wasn't able to meet with the guy when I was in Chicago. He had a family emergency. But check out Mark Ainley at GC Realty. I liked them, and I've heard good things about the work they do.

I have a triplex in Portland, OR. In the last 8 years, I've used 3 PMs. One was good, but left town for another job, the second one was rough and I had to fire them, and the third has been great. They're very proactive, and I always feel like I have my finger on the pulse of what's going on with that property. When mistakes happen, they correct them quickly.

@Percy N., there was no rent guarantee, but I was okay with that. I was, however, expecting that they would have tenants in the property when the deal closed.

@David Fitch, I'm out of the country right now, but I'll post them when I'm back and have access to the rent projections and actual numbers. I closed on the first one in July, 2015 and the second one in November.

I've purchased 2 properties through Elite. I liked the work they did on the rehab on the two properties I purchased, but in all four units, it took them  a month or more to place tenants. My expectation was that the tenants would be in the property when we closed. And one unit has been vacant for 4 months now. When I asked about it, I was told to call back in a month and check on the status. I was disappointed that they weren't proactively sending me emails letting me know of the status, and expected me to put in the effort to contact them about it. The PM I have for my other multifamily unit is much more proactive with their communication.

Also, the projections they gave were high. I expected as much out of someone trying to sell a property. The 3 units that are rented ended up short of the rent projections they showed me. But with everything else I've experienced, I wouldn't recommend Elite as a PM.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I've had the same experience as @Joe Chin. I wouldn't recommend Elite as a PM.

Thanks @David Greene. That's great advice. I particularly liked the idea of a blanket insurance policy. I had not considered that as an option. I'll check it out.

I'll reach out to you so we can stay in touch.

Like most of you, I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad years ago and it opened my eyes. Around 8 years ago, I played Cashflow 101 and wondered why I wasn't investing in real estate. I was particularly attracted to growing a cash flow machine using multifamily properties.

Over the last 7 years, I've purchased 1 triplex and 2 duplexes. My wife is in nursing school, and I'm paying for it so that we don't have any loans when she graduates in 2 years. We're not planning to buy anything else until she graduates and starts making a good income (but I'm still contributing 15% of my income into my real estate investment account). One she starts working, we should be able to direct all of her income into our real estate investments.

Our target is to have 100 rental doors generating a net of at least $100 a month each. We don't intend to retire when we reach that goal, but $120,000 of passive annual income will certainly give us more financial freedom. We're hoping to hit our target in 7-10 years. Once we hit that target, we'll be able to set our next target. But for now, that's our main focus in real estate.

When I set up this target, my idea was to get 7-10 doors pretty quickly, and get some experience with small multifamily. After my wife's graduation, I planned to acquire a 25-35 door property (so that I could have on-site management). I figured that I could acquire 2 more 25-35 door properties in the years afterwards, and the last property would get us close to that 100-door target.

I don't have the knowledge or resources to flip or use any time-intensive real estate strategies right now. I realize that this limits my options, but I'm being realistic about my time.

I have a small business that takes 40 hours a week for 8 months of the year and 80-100 hours a week for the other 4 months of the year. I don't have the ability to dedicate much time to my real estate investments for those 4 months of the year, so I'm trying to create a machine that can work without a lot of attention.

So far, my plan is working well. I have property managers for those 3 properties and I just review the numbers once a month and chat with the property managers every month or two.

Since I started on this track, I've read as many books as I could find on the subject of creating passive income using multifamily properties. I've spent time on BP and I'm starting to be more active in the forums. I'm listening to a bunch of podcasts to learn more.

I'd like to ask the community what you think of my plan. Does it make sense? What holes can you punch in it? Where else can I gain knowledge and get an education?

Also, if I stay on track, my next leap will be a big one. What do I need to do to be ready to purchase a 25-35 unit property? Are there people on BP who have a plan like mine?

I'd love to chat with other people who are focused on multifamily. If you're reading this and you haven't pulled the trigger on your first investment property, I'm happy to help out. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me. If you're reading this and you're ahead of me, I'd love to pick your brain and learn from you.