All Forum Posts by: Kyle Eckert

I am a big fan of Saint Louis, mostly because I live here.  If your not afraid of older houses, STL city is pretty good.

I would say reach out in the local forums of those locations and look for someone to partner with. I think a good partnership in those markets would be the best use of your time to enter them, saving you considerable time if you had boots on the ground there to do the leg work.

Thanks for all the input.  Seems like people like vinyl.  We will probably go with vinyl for the top unit of our first property since it needs a kitchen sooner than later.  The floor also has a slight dip to it, which would make tile a bit tricky.  I love the porcelain woodplank tiles, so maybe we can find a way to incorporate them somehwere.

Any other thoughts are always appreciated.

Jennifer Cheu Run your numbers and see if they work at $435k. If they do, the. The rest is bonus and bickering.

Nick Colamarino thanks for the insight. I was thinking along the lines of a capital partner, just looking for that term to describe it. As I mulled over this, I was thinking of the following: all investors buy "shares," which generate a set return and don't appreciate in value. These shares can only be bought when a property is bought. Assuming the numbers work, this can be paid for the life of the house until it is sold. Investors are paid out first when the property is sold, then the remainder goes to the company. Seems simple to me. Would this be a decent way to do it?

For people who have been rehabbing rental units for a while, what are your opinions on vinyl flooring? I am not talking linoleum, but the vinyl plank flooring. My partner has it in his basement and is convinced it is what we should put in everything we rent. I'm just looking for some thoughts to support or argue that. Thanks!

I would always dress the part, it goes a long way for first impressions. For repeat visits such as tenants I think your look will set the level of professionalism you want. If you want to run a business and not a side hustle, look the part. Khakis and a polo will get you through most encounters as the better dressed party, which is how I have dressed for years. It costs comparatively little to maintain that look, so I don't see why not.

After mentioning to people that we are investing in rental properties, they have expressed interest in getting in on what we are doing. As splitting the cash flow a bunch of ways makes no sense, what are some successful strategies people have used to incorporate other investors into your business?

@Max Householder hit all the good points on the nose.

Currently both units are rented, so it is sort of like a shabby turnkey so the up front cost of the fix wouldnt be 25k, more like 5-10k, at least in my opinion.  Everything is working, just old so the capex budget would allow us to replace them over time.

We have been working on a deal in my neighborhood for a while and we cannot come to an agreement, so any feedback would be appreciated:

2 family house built in 1904, 2/1 on bottom and 1/1 on top.  Should easily rent for $1400 total in my neighbrohood.  The units look pretty standard, they could use some polishing and whatnot.  The big issue is the systems.  

-The water heaters, and AC units are both 20+ years old; the furnaces are a bit newer but not by much. 

-The electrical panel is a disaster, we will replace immediately.

-Roof is good (flat-top), siding needs some attention.

-Sewer main in crushed.  

Originally listed for $137k. We initially agreed on $129k with some closing costs covered. After the house and sewer inspection we adjusted our offer to $115K and they fix the sewer.  He says $119k and we fix the sewer.  This is where we are stuck.  The sewer is old terracotta and runs under the neighbors driveway.  There is no way to know the extent of the sewer issues, as the scope could only go a small distance into the pipe.

For a comparison , a nicer 2-family on the same street went for $144K, but it had garages and appeared maintained.

Thoughts?  Thanks in advance.