All Forum Posts by: Karl B.

@Russell Brazil

I took Russell's advice (after a lot of BP research) and went with his colors. He uses Behr but I went to Sherwin Williams and they have a Behr paint guide where they can take a Behr paint color and replicate the same color using their Sherwin Williams paint. 

I recommend using the Super Paint and not the HGTV home. I brought in a 30% off coupon and they told me they wouldn't apply the coupon to the HGTV home because it's "an already low price."

And so I bought the Quail Ridge in HGTV and they ended up giving me the Superpaint at the HGTV Home price because they were out of the HGTV Home base that would work with the Merino (evidently Merino and Quail Ridge use a different base)

I got semi-gloss for both colors and neither appeared shiny. 

I must note why I much prefer the Superpaint to the HGTV home - because when I removed my painter's tape off the wall while I was doing baseboard work (I bought the kind that has little stick so it wouldn't remove paint) the HGTV paint (Quail Ridge) did come off with the tape in some areas and none of the Merino had that problem. 

Also, with the 30% off coupon the Superpaint and HGTV was similar in price and had I had a 40% off coupon (which Sherwin Williams has at least once a year) the Superpaint would have been roughly $2 more per gallon - definitely worth it. 

In one unit I used the Quail Ridge in the bedroom and family room and it turned out very good (I used one coat of paint and touched up anything I missed/that was thin-looking later on). In that same unit I used the Merino in the kitchen and bathroom - the Merino looked great in the kitchen - wasn't loving it in the bathroom and would have preferred the Quail Ridge but I was running low on that color and went with the Merino. 

In the other unit I used the Quail Ridge in the bedroom/family room (it's a bachelor's unit so it's the same room) and it looks really nice. In the kitchen and hallway I used Merino and really liked how it turned out. Merino is a great hallway color. 

In the bathroom I used a blue paint I chose (they had a somewhat different color pattern in the bathroom using white and blue and I chose a better blue and didn't have to repaint the white because it was not  needed). I painted the walk-in closet Quail Ridge (it could have been Merino as well and would have looked nice - perhaps nicer in that color).

Everyone who saw either unit commented on the paint job and colors - for landlords who only paint their units some form of white - they're making a mistake as it's boring and sterile-looking. 

The only white I have are the baseboards, window frames, doors, door trim and the ceilings (I used the Sherwin Williams ceiling paint for the ceilings) and I kept the white sections in the bathroom of the bachelor unit. 

I recommend working with Select Mortgage in Erie. I worked with Ann and was pleased with her awesomeness. She got me a loan on my 4-unit. 

Wondering if you can do a 1031 if you do business out of your primary residence. A good RE attorney would be one to advise you for this issue. 

I suppose I'm more frugal than not. I would rather be more on the frugal side than a person who lives beyond his or her means. 

But a fun game I like to play is when I have to spend money I think of how I can make that money back as quickly as possible. There are lots of ways to do this - I might sell sports cards at a sports card show, buy and flip something nice on Craig's List (often sports cards or things people are often wanting to buy like folding ladders). 

It curbs the guilt and annoyance of the fact I had to spend money on something. 

My father is more frugal than not as well but he's also got a commercial real estate empire - he reinvested his money for many decades and as a result he didn't have a lot of money to spend on other things which made him and my mom frugal as a result. 

Don't be so hard on yourself - you're investing in RE and if you're frugal you're likely not in debt, which most people are. 

@Steve Babiak Hi, Steve. Yes - I called 7-8 different insurance companies and got a few quotes online as well. Some wouldn't offer coverage on the property. With Erie Insurance when I called they forwarded the call to one of their licensed agents. The agent I spoke with said he'd call me the next day with quotes and he never did. 

My dad deals with a different Erie Insurance affiliated agent and I called him and he claimed Erie Insurance couldn't offer me coverage due to the fact there was only one exit way for each of the second floor units (a strange statement as most four-units I've seen only have one way of entry to access each individual second-floor unit). He told me I'd have trouble finding an insurance company to cover me and that there were several second floor fire fatalities in Erie in the past year. 

The loan officer I'm working with recommended an agent and he came in with the lowest premium (it's with an insurance company that's Pennsylvania-based I'd never heard of). 

I asked the seller what he's paying per year on insurance and I'm paying roughly half - not sure if his insurance plan includes the cost of rebuild or what. 

Yeah - the 405 can be rough. I never drive on it during the busiest hours. 

1. I don't have any of my own personal properties near colleges and so I aim to rent to anyone - no college targeting. Plus I can't envision any college students wanting to rent from me as the properties aren't near them. But if a student applied, had a strong application (co-signing parents or the student worked) and I liked them I'd likely rent to them. Also, randomly, with my newest multi-unit my insurance agent asked if I'd be renting to college students. I said no but he did point out the plan I had (some smaller insurance company located in Pennsylvania I had never heard of) would mean higher premiums if I did.

Some insurers evidently don't like it. My family owns some properties and some were aimed at renting to college students and there were never any problems minus the carpet getting trashed because of heavy shoe traffic) but college students typically rented for years at a time and we had better experiences renting to them as opposed to non-college students. 

2. Everything I've bought has been 'almost move in ready'. There's typically minor work I didn't ask for the seller to fix (cosmetic, small fixes,  minor electrical like restoring non-working power to the garage for a property - no clue how the inspector missed that one, etc.). I don't like to buy homes that need a lot of work. I think that idea works better in hotter markets or markets where the work justifies the return (like O.C. or L.A., for example). 

Though I know of people who have done it in Erie (one guy bought a bunch of apartment buildings off West 12th near I-79 years ago - they were supposedly trashed on the inside - nice brick buildings that were more like townhouses) and spent a lot of money fixing them up but from what my dad's told me the guy has done well in doing so. So there are exceptions to every rule (and as we know multis tend to cashflow better than a SFR).

But you're correct - Erie has a lot of over-priced, crap homes on the MLS that have underwhelming returns. The good news is this is the best time of year to buy. There's no reason why you can't achieve the 2% rule in Erie with a property that's in a halfway-decent neighborhood. You just need to do what Brandon Turner (the guy who does the Bigger Pocket webinars) does and keep searching for deals, doing what others don't do (such as sending out mailers, calling 'absentee landlords', etc.).

I don't know who is building the properties near Behrend but they're building large apartment buildings. One's across the street. Research could be done to learn who's doing it. The owners of Lecom are buying a lot of properties (the Ferrettis) because LECOM keeps growing. As you can see properties around LECOM sell well and are often purchased quicker. 

I also recommend you join The Apartment Association of NW PA as they're a great source for contracts, local landlord laws, credit reports, etc. And they would have better knowledge than me pertaining to the heavy-hitters who have apartment buildings including ones catering to college students. 

Hello. I grew up in Erie and own multiple properties there (both commercial and residential). Erie is like many towns - pockets of good and not-so-good and lots of exceptions. 

Close to Mercyhurst is a safe part of town. I dated a lot of Mercyhurst women and a lot of them lived off-campus. Some Mercyhurst students prefer to live off-campus. A lot of foreign students live on campus (they have a lot of diversity which is cool) and there isn't enough on-campus housing. A lot of people rent a house, whether with friends or with strangers through Craig's List. 

Gannon is a bit tricker. It's located in "downtown Erie". Some of the areas are very nice and the architecture is cool. All the millionaires lived on West 8th back in the 1800s and most of those homes were purchased by lawyers/accountants/non-profits for their offices. I invest west of Gannon and don't cater toward Gannon students but I have a buddy who owns a multi-family near Gannon so it happens. 

But a lot of areas around Gannon are not-so-nice. You would likely be "safe" investment-wise if you purchased super close to campus. It's not so much there are unsafe areas (Trulia has crime-mapping which will give you an idea) but there are areas considered undesirable and Gannon students want to walk to class since it's downtown and is in a more populated area (unlike Behrend, my undergraduate alma-mater where I had fraternity brothers who rented all over the east side of Erie and commuted). 

For Gannon and Mercyhurst, you're going to want to invest as close to campus as possible. As mentioned, for Behrend, it can be farther away. At one point our fraternity house was in Wesleyville, which is where numerous fraternity/sorority houses and renters lived. Though that could be a riskier move now that G.E. jobs have been leaving Erie due to union disagreements and would likely result in more vacancies (though Behrend has been growing as there currently is a lack of housing which is why people are building apartment buildings near campus). 

I'll be in Erie again soon. WAITING to finally close on a 4-unit I made a deal on in September (seller is finishing repairs and the appraisal just happened last Tuesday).  If you decide to invest in Erie I will be more than happy to answer any questions. I can direct you toward the tradesman we use also. My family owns a lot of commercial real estate and when I started out on my own I had references to everyone I currently use and they have all been good. My mortgage lender is in Erie and she's been solid as well. 

Quit edit: A lot of people have been investing in LeCom housing. I plan to and would prefer this over the undergraduate colleges. Also, check out Edinboro. It's a university located out in the country. I don't head out there but the numbers might make sense (especially if there's a multi-family located near campus). 

You're an absolute boss, Joseph! 

We learn a lot on BP but the experience and lessons we learn by doing it is a teacher second to none. Keep up the excellent work!

3.75% 25% down no points for a 4-unit investment property (10-year loan). Working with a mortgage broker who is located where the property is located - she's been solid, so far. A local bank is doing the loan as well. 

You've received good answers. Tell the PM you'll leave negative reviews. Also, document everything (mentioned by others) including detailed photos and video of the property when you vacate. DETAILED. 

The fact the PM refuses to correspond VIA e-mail is shady.

Also, hiring a lawyer is an option as he/she will advise you and will show the PM you're not messing around. And mention to the PM they can pay your lawyer fees when they lose the lawsuit as well.

Also, if there's any oversite in your area for the PM contact them. And the BBB. The more you show this PM bully you're not messing around the more seriously they will take you. From the sound of it you and your mom are nice people and the PMs are likely trying to milk extra money out of you.