All Forum Posts by: Douglas Larson

Great story!  Thanks for sharing. Your real estate investing career will be full of sacrificing something good for something better in the long-term. I have a lot of friends looking at Teslas right now. They are so cool and I want one too, but when my close friends bug me about buying one I tell them I have something way better than a Tesla. I have enough cash in my checking to buy a couple Teslas. Cash is king and it all came from RE investing...not buying nice cars.

@Carl Miller

I like your idea but implementation may be difficult, unless you or a management company can be there often. I had a house in Park City, Utah a couple years ago. It was in more of a family area and a bus stop nearby led to the slopes but it was a couple miles from the resorts and downtown. I held it as a rental for 2 years and then put it on the market in the summer and got a good offer in August.  It fell out of escrow in the fall and I looked into alternative rental ideas. 

The resorts hire a lot of out of state (and out of country) help for the winter. I rented the 5 bed, 3 bath home to 10 employees from the Canyons Resort for $400 each. The resort offered me 20 free day passes to the slopes and begged me for more rental units! I didn't have anything else available but it was nice to see the demand. My tenants were 7 Jamaican housekeepers and 3 British ski instructors. I showed up on the 3rd of each month to collect the $4,000 rent in cash.  I also paid for all utilities and cable TV. I furnished 10 air beds and a kitchen table with chairs, as well as 2 small TVs. I had 2 sofas for the living and family room too. I didn't have any problems with partying or complaints from the neighbors. 

I put the home back on the market the following April and it sold quickly! It was a great experience but it was certainly more effort than a standard rental.

Hope that helps a little.  Have fun and keep us posted!

Aloha @Fred Baker!

You must have some ties to Hawaii! I spent almost 10 years there (Oahu and Maui) and I sure miss it, especially in winter!

Cache Valley is an interesting market. I only have one SFR up there (North Logan) but I have looked at buying several properties up there including raw land. It's never been a "hot" market but there are certainly opportunities. Utah State provides some good student and faculty rental opportunities. There are many old homes that could be great flips if you've got some renovation skills or connections. There are also some great, newer neighborhoods that offer modern floorplans and updated finishes. I think you'll find whatever you're looking for.

have fun!

@Alicia Hensley

My 2 cents is that selling makes more sense if you will continue to live out of state. I do not like having rentals far from where I live. Many people do well with long-distance landlording, especially if they have a good property manager, but generally it just adds another layer of problems when you can't check in on your investments every month or so. The biggest problems I have had with tenants were with properties out of state. Another 2 cents is that I think Utah will have a very strong spring and summer for home sales. I have one property in SLC that just had 3 offers in the first week. I have 2 other SFRs in SLC that are ready for the market but I'm waiting for slightly warmer weather for maximum exposure. The retail buyers really come out starting in March!

If you don't mind sharing, what area of Utah is the home and what is the price range?

@David Soest, @Terry Royce

I agree with Terry about local lenders. To find good ones, reach out to BP members near you and ask for referrals, or attend local Real Estate Investing clubs. I have found 2 great hard money lenders in Utah through networking at local clubs. Usual terms are 2 points origination and 12%APR in my area. Your market in Texas may be different. All interest and fees are paid on the back end (usually a 6 month or 9 month term) and LTV is about 65-70% of purchase price. If I pay 14%APR one lender will go up to 100% of purchase price.

Keep in mind that if you contact a private lender, the first questions they will ask will be about your deal. If you don't have a deal or some examples of deals you've done it's hard to get them to take you seriously or talk numbers. If you find a great deal, you will also find the money!

 - Hope that helps!

Hi @Ralph Perea

I currently live in Riverton, Utah, and I am always intrigued by the ex-pat lifestyle. I am an active RE investor in Utah but I have also flipped 4 homes in San Diego and 5 properties on Maui. I have traveled abroad quite a bit but I have never pulled the trigger on foreign investment. I have heard that Panama is a great place to spend some time. Is that where you want to buy some rentals? 

I think your idea of an SFR, functioning as multi-family is a great one. If you listen to the excellent you will find that is a popular starting point for many investors. A few of my first properties were standard homes I converted to duplex/triplex use. If you get bored you can listen to , when Josh and Brandon interviewed me.

Take care and keep us posted on your progress! I know there are many BP members that would love to see photos and investment costs and rents for Panama and other tropical destinations!

 - Douglas

In the Salt Lake area, water shares for the various canals that flow from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake have been as low as $1500 and as high as $8,000 since I have been watching them over the last 8 years. I was required to buy  a share for a SRD (small residential sub-division) a couple years ago, as a part of a lot development in South Jordan. I purchased from a broker who purchased many shares at a time and sold what was needed here and there. 

I also purchased a home with a well and water rights a few years back. That water right is numbered with the sate and is worth several thousand dollars to someone hoping to build in that area but cannot get water from a municipality. My house, currently leased, could go to the city metered system but the well water is much better and cheaper. In most of Utah, (a semi-arid desert) a land-owner cannot simply tap into ground water by well or from a stream or river without water rights. 

I like the idea of banking water shares but they can be appropriated if not used as you mentioned. A little more research on how likely that is or if it's been done before would be wise.

Have fun and keep us posted!

@Micah Starbuck

As you mentioned, KSL.com has partnered with Rentler.com for their properties for rent section. I use them a lot and I love their background and credit screening option for $25 per applicant. I have my would-be tenants pay for the screening and I offer to deduct that amount from the first month's rent. Also, they have a $8 per month service where they collect rent by bank ACH and deposit in your account. Awesome! 

Even if i have people find my ad on Craigslist or Facebook I will always send them a link to my Rentler ad so I can screen them and set them up for payments there.

Hope that helps.

 - Douglas

Awesome @Andy M.

Great story and congrats on the success! ... but if they owned it free and clear it looks like the "Real Money" is in breaking bad!

I personally like HD and Lowe's in-stock cabinets for resales but I totally understand what you mean about quality concerns for a rental. My 5-year-old likes to "ride" on cabinet doors and could destroy most cabinet hinges from IKEA, HD and Lowe's in a few weeks, if not days. Still, I have installed the HD and Lowe's in-stock cabinets in many homes with few problems, even with rentals. 

The most important thing to remember is what do buyers/renters expect in your area and price-range. It's very rarely about what you or I might like or want. If there is a general expectation of color, function and quality in your niche market, then that's what you do. You will attract the most people and then get to be more picky about your tenants. With a flip you will simply sell the home faster. Show 3 sample kitchens to a couple experienced agents in your area or to a few property managers. That will help you know what's trending in your area. You can also stop by a few new model homes in your area in the right price-range to get a feel for your buyers or tenants. Hope that helps.  

Below is the last kitchen remodel I did with Lowe's in-stock shaker-style cabinets. Not all Lowe's stores in my area carry this style but I found just what I needed in 2 stores within 30 minutes of my project. Cabinets were about $2300 if I remember right.