All Forum Posts by: Kristi Kandel

Hello guys,

This is my first post on the BiggerPockets forums. I'm looking for some advice/insight on HOA management in the Pigeon Forge/Gaitlinburg area.

A little background--I'm the owner of two new construction cabins in a 10-unit PUD in downtown Pigeon Forge. Both cabins have been in service a little over a year and are professionally managed. I've been reasonably happy with this so far, since it's made the process fairly passive. As with most PUDs, the developer handed things over to a management company who immediately started a $400/month assessment once the final unit in the development was sold. I thought this was a bit steep compared to other developments I had seen, and so I volunteered to be on the board of directors and ultimately ended up president. We have a parking lot, a dumpster, a few picnic tables, a small playground, a small dipping pool, and a "dog park," which is really just a fenced in grassy area. It isn't like this a condominium where assessments are paying for common parts of the building like the roof, etc.

Prior to this, I didn't have much experience serving on an HOA board and have therefore relied on the management company for their opinion on certain decisions. Since I'm not a pigeon forge local, I also don't have a good feel for the appropriate cost of goods and services either.

While I don't necessarily suspect anything nefarious from the management company, I don't now that our financial incentives are always well-aligned. As an investor, my goal is to always get the best value at the lowest price. HOA management for a bunch of peripherally involved out-of-town investors is probably a great opportunity pass along overpriced contracts to your local buddies. Any contract or suggestion they give seems overpriced, whereas contracts/work I've found seems to be much more reasonable.

Case and point--a bear kept getting into our dumpster. The first time this happened, the board of directors got an email showing trash everywhere, and HOA management offered to get "their people" out there to clean asap. We agreed, and then they informed us after the fact that the cost end up being $2,000.00 because it was "so dirty." The bear began repeatedly getting into the dumpster, and by that time I'd already found a different company to help clean up the area that agreed to do it for $65.00 per clean. At one point, this bear got into the dumpster 5 nights in row requiring us to clean the area each morning. I called animal control and the city myself and facilitated the process getting a bear proof dumpster. Shortly after this, I was reviewing some of our financial statements one month and noted a $2000.00 charge from the HOA management company. I asked about this and got no answer. I follow up a few weeks later and was told that "the city was going charge $3,000.00 to remove the old dumpster but we (the management company) could do it for $2,000.00, so we just did it. Sorry, we should've mentioned that to you guys." We've had one cabin that has failed to pay a single assessment since the inception of the HOA one year ago and has wracked up $1750 in late fees. While management has been helpful in dealing with this, I also learned that per our contract (which we never signed, the developer did) that the HOA management company is entitled to all late fees. This means that not only do we lose the unpaid assessments, but we may also owe the management company the continually increasing pile of late fees.

At $400/month/cabin, our total annual assessment income is $48,000. The company I found to open, maintain, and close our small dipping pool ended up costing $2,215.00 for the season. Repairs and maintenance was $3492.50 for the year. The HOA pays water/sewer for all cabins, and this was $9235.97.

Our largest expense is landscaping/law maintenance, which is $12,200 for the year and proposed to be $14,400 for next year. Management fee is $9000 per year. Management proposed that the HOA needed to be insured and put this in the 2025 budget at a cost of $10,000 per year. We didn't have any insurance for 2024. They also proposed we increased our annual assessment from $400/month to $450/month.

Between the proposed landscaping fee, HOA management fee, and insurance, the total cost is $278.33 per cabin per month. These are our three largest expenses by a large margin.

Does anyone have any suggestions on local landscaping companies or insurance? The $10,000k/year insurance costs seems ridiculous. I'd also be interested know if our current contracts are reasonably priced or if we're being overcharged. The Long term, after some reserves, I'd like to bring down the assessment costs since I worry that this will negatively impact the property value. On the other hand, since we're a smaller PUD, our assessments may simply need to be higher since there are fewer cabins sharing the costs.

Hi @Kristi Kandel

Looking for someone to run the entire project. I've done a lot of research, looks like it should be possible. Right now, looking for someone to actually do the split, work with city planning and engineering, expedite things as much as possible etc. 

Hi, looking into a SB9 Lot split in Los Angeles. Has anybody successfully executed one?  

As I think about this post on Coaching.  I think BP would create more value to the RE community by doing for coaching what they are doing for LP syndication investors.  

I personally don’t see LP syndication investors as Real Estate investors.  View them as bankers who better know how to do due diligence.  

Whereas as a Coach segment would provide far more support for new REI people to find resources that fit their needs. BRRRR, Fix Flip, taxes, deal analysis, market analysis, marketing, financing, etc.

Realize BP has a boot camp program but don't know what that entails. But opening up vetted Coach programs would supply a lot more bandwidth to the REI community. Plus different approaches versus one size fits all.

Good morning,
Some updates, we did home inspection and the house is not good condition since it was built in 1950 and was not maintained well. It is ready for complete demo. Hence, there is not need to move it and just do the demolition. The options are, demo the lot, split the lot and then sell 2 lots to the builder or build myself. Still need to close on the property because I have already put 18K downpayment and then work with city on split process.

Hi,

I am looking to invest first time with a turnkey developer,  who is buying the land and building a multi unit commercial retail center and some apartments. He is looking at a group of investors like myself to bring 25% of the project value and then procure a bank loan for the remaining 75%. He will be selling the project to buyers once completed and not interested in operating.

How should I evaluate this deal from an investment point? What are the financial metrics i should be asking for? What kind of ROI i should look at, considering project completion will be 3 years roughly?

Other questions I should be asking?

thanks for the guidance

Joining a coaching program is a big decision for any real estate investor. Whether you’re just starting or looking to scale your portfolio, a coaching program can provide valuable guidance—but it’s not without its downsides. As someone who’s spent years building a real estate business from the ground up, I’ve seen both sides of the equation. Here’s an honest breakdown of the pros and cons to help you determine if investing in a coaching program aligns with your goals.

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Coaching programs can be expensive, ranging from a few thousand dollars to six figures. While the right program can provide a strong ROI, it's crucial to evaluate whether the cost fits within your budget and aligns with your current investment goals.

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While guidance is valuable, it’s important to maintain your independence as an investor. Over-relying on a coach for every decision can hinder your ability to develop critical thinking skills and confidence in your own judgment.

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A coaching program is not a magic pill. Success still depends on your effort, discipline, and ability to execute. If you’re expecting a coach to do the work for you, you may end up disappointed.

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Before investing in a coaching program, ask yourself these questions:

• What are my goals? Be specific about what you want to achieve and whether a coach can help you get there.
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• Am I ready to put in the work? A coaching program is a partnership, and your success depends on your willingness to take action.

Final Thoughts

A coaching program can be a powerful tool for accelerating your real estate investing journey. But it’s not for everyone. Personally, I started investing in both single-family and multifamily without joining any coaching programs. To be honest, in the beginning, I was so against coaching programs when I first started in real estate. Why? I was convinced if all of these Coaches were able to grow their real estate businesses without joining coaching programs, I could too.

A year into my multifamily journey everything changed. I came across a program that convinced me that the program’s tools alone were worth the cost of joining. So, I joined. In just a few months, I connected with several partners that I still partner with today. These partners and opportunities helped me grow my wealth by seven figures.

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Hello- also in a longterm build in Cape Coral for new construction. Current status is that the Dept of Health has not yet issued the Septic Permit yet. This has been ongoing since August. I am visiting CC later this month, and will call again this week. 

Is there any benefit to visiting DoH offices in person? When calling or visiting, are there any suggestions to get them to expedite this?  I know the average turnaround for Septic Permit has been 10-12 weeks, but we are now at 20 weeks, which seems excessive.

If anyone has experience with this, would welcome any suggestions.  Thank you. 

Quote from @Kristi Kandel:

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

Quote from @Kristi Kandel:

Quote from @Manuel Angeles:

When developing affordable housing in California (more specifically Los Angeles), how complicated is it to raise capital using subsidies?

Is it common for developers to use subsidies to cover 100% of the construction costs without needing to obtaining debt or raising equity?

Or do they leverage debt, and use the subsidies to cover the equity needed?

When dealing with federal, state, and local NOFA (notice of funds availabilities), do government funds allocated for affordable housing often get depleted from too many developers requesting funds for new projects?

When a developer can't obtain subsidies for their affordable housing projects, do they just wait until the next round of subsidies availability?

 The capital stack especially in CA is VERY complex and typically involves everything and more that you mentioned. A couple developers we work with skip LIHTC and the tax credits and go the route of impact funds to help alongside other debt and sometimes equity.  When relying on LIHTC to make the deal pencil, yes developers wait BUT only if they have the resources to wait and only if the property owner is willing to not close on the property until the project is fully funded. Or the developer can close on the land at risk but they have a lot of capital when that's the case. 

I tried one in Oregon on a 120 door parcel I had over in Lincoln city.. Super complicated and an absolute specialty I dont know how smaller players bust into this.

 @Jay Hinrichs Exactly. Good concept but so much red tape it does keep us little guys out unless the qualified developers are willing to bring us into their deals. My team personally has pivoted to more local affordable housing with local and county grants and incentives and we'll leave the more complex LIHTC deals to the big firms. 

what happened to me is all the good rate bonds are snatched up before we could get them. For me just too much work.. as I stated its a specialty niche.. plus putting the deals together can run 100 to 250k in consultant fees up front.  I think I blew 75k before I said screw it this is no fun.. 

Quote from @Kristi Kandel:

Quote from @Manuel Angeles:

When developing affordable housing in California (more specifically Los Angeles), how complicated is it to raise capital using subsidies?

Is it common for developers to use subsidies to cover 100% of the construction costs without needing to obtaining debt or raising equity?

Or do they leverage debt, and use the subsidies to cover the equity needed?

When dealing with federal, state, and local NOFA (notice of funds availabilities), do government funds allocated for affordable housing often get depleted from too many developers requesting funds for new projects?

When a developer can't obtain subsidies for their affordable housing projects, do they just wait until the next round of subsidies availability?

 The capital stack especially in CA is VERY complex and typically involves everything and more that you mentioned. A couple developers we work with skip LIHTC and the tax credits and go the route of impact funds to help alongside other debt and sometimes equity.  When relying on LIHTC to make the deal pencil, yes developers wait BUT only if they have the resources to wait and only if the property owner is willing to not close on the property until the project is fully funded. Or the developer can close on the land at risk but they have a lot of capital when that's the case. 

I tried one in Oregon on a 120 door parcel I had over in Lincoln city.. Super complicated and an absolute specialty I dont know how smaller players bust into this.