All Forum Posts by: Kevin Fletcher

@Robert C. Put bandit signs in the area that you want to invest. It doesn't matter what the price of the house. If you cant afford the prices work on building a comprehensive buyer list, then you should be able to find a buyer for good deals to wholesale. When people call you will be able to try to figure out what is a deal and what is unworkable. Also, check local codes on posting bandit signs,as its possible to incur fines for posting signs illegally. Many investors get around these laws by putting the signs up on Friday evening and taking them down Sunday evening to take advantage of the time code enforcement is not working.

@Haider Zaman

Property Manager Job Purpose: Maintains property rentals by advertising and filling vacancies; negotiating and enforcing leases; maintaining and securing premises.

Property Manager Job Duties:

• Establishes rental rate by surveying local rental rates; calculating overhead costs, depreciation, taxes, and profit goals.
• Attracts tenants by advertising vacancies; obtaining referrals from current tenants; explaining advantages of location and services; showing units.
• Contracts with tenants by negotiating leases; collecting security deposit.
• Accomplishes financial objectives by collecting rents; paying bills; forecasting requirements; preparing an annual budget; scheduling expenditures; analyzing variances; initiating corrective action.
• Maintains property by investigating and resolving tenant complaints; enforcing rules of occupancy; inspecting vacant units and completing repairs; planning renovations; contracting with landscaping and snow removal services
• Maintains building systems by contracting for maintenance services; supervising repairs.
• Secures property by contracting with security patrol service; installing and maintaining security devices; establishing and enforcing precautionary policies and procedures; responding to emergencies.
• Enforces occupancy policies and procedures by confronting violators.
• Prepares reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing data and trends.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Accomplishes organization goals by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

@Daniel Morgan The biggest problem i see as a cash buyer is unrealistic ARV's. It is a big waste of time to work through potential deals only to realize after doing initial estimates that the ARV stated is too high to make profit. Many wholesalers never see the property so they have no clue what rehab costs are, thus underestimating. Don't find bad deals and pawn them off on unsuspecting new flippers. Just be honest and realistic, that's the most important thing.

@Yuliany W. What do the leases of your tenants stipulate. You may run into problems if a cable subscription is part of their rental agreement.

@Sam Phillips Welcome to BP. I'm currently living in Russia. I'm doing the same thing as you, just trying to lay groundwork for when I get home so I can hit the ground running. Good Luck!!!

@Wesley Velez

The food is the best, my profile pic is actually from Cinque Terra, pretty close to you I think.

@Micki M. I love that Idea. I was looking for something similar before. A flip that in the end can pay for the whole few months you live there. I saw an auction for one in Puerto Rico. I actually went down down there for a few days to see the place 1st hand. The place ended up going for over market value and i stuck to my numbers, but I was never quite as excited for any other deal as I was for that one.

@Kimberly T. It depends on the property, but I think there is a bit of a stigma related. People think they are looked at as sub par if they are underground. Some of these units are a little more musty and moldy. Many underground units don't get the same sunlight and they tend to be a little harder to air out. Many of the ceilings in garden level units are also lower which gives the tenant a more cramped feeling. At 6'10 I'm acutely aware of ceiling heights. When I remodeled my basement unit I had back and neck problems for weeks after ;)

@Kimberly T. One thing to keep in mind is that if there are problems, someone has to dig to fix it which can be a pain. I usually just find some kids in the neighborhood to do it if needed. But, contractors may charge a lot. digging is hard work.

And, as Bill S. eluded to, that garden level apartments are a little less desirable to potential tenants. You'll get less rent for one then the exact same apartment above ground.

On the positive side, they require less Heat and/or AC because of natural insulation. So it can be a little cheaper if you are paying utilities.

@Adam B. Welcome to BP!!! I have the same problem. I bought my first 3-plex under my name. I had problems when I tried to change ownership to an LLC that I created. My lender (Quicken Loans), who bought my loan, said that they would not allow it because they didn't do commercial loans. They would not except the transfer even though nothing would change about the terms of the loan, and the fact that I would be personally responsible for repayment. I would have had to pay the balance of the loan to change from my name to my LLC. Every lender is different, so you need too call and ask. Make sure they know that you are willing to still be personally liable for the repayment of the loan regardless of who is recorded on the deed.