All Forum Posts by: Marc Jolicoeur

Hey Rob,

I am an aspiring buy and hold investor. I have one nice townhome in Farmington and want to buy a bunch more just like it.

Where are you searching for your 4-plex?

There are quite a few Minnesota investors here.

Marc

Welcome Matt,

Also a beginner here. I have one rental townhome now and am planning to acquire several more in the next ten years. Put me on your buyers list for townhomes and/or SF.

There is a Remax group in town that holds monthly seminars and they have a weekly radio show. Another great place for networking with agents and to get great information.

Marc

Jeromie,

Do a search on Minnesota or Minneapolis and you will find several like-minded people from Minnesota on this forum.

I found that there are a few good multi-family homes for sale by owner on Craigslist. I bet if you posted a Wanted ad in that same category, you would hook up with other investors willing to sell some of their assets.

I think a direct mail campaign targeting absentee owners, rental owners, and duplex owners would be very cost effective way to find properties to buy.

You can mine data from the Minneapolis and Hennepin County property tax websites for free to find people in a targeted neighborhood to send a letter to.

I attended the MNREIA meeting last night and the topic of the night was all about marketing for leads, how to use direct mail, how to use bandit signs, etc... This was valuable information!

Also as the beginning of each MN REIA meeting, there is an opportunity to make a free announcement for all of the others in the room. You can quickly get the message out that you are looking for a duplex and 300 other investors will hear your message.

Marc

PS. personally, I am a beginner too. I purchased my first rental property in the south metro a year ago and plan to do many more.

As a newer property you would have virtually no maintenance to deal with for 5 years at least.

And your HOA probably covers any damages that would occur due to building defects, wind, or hail.

No guarantee, but you could have a few good years with no maintenance.

If you got a nice low interest rate on your conventional mortgage and managed the property yourself you could cashflow $225-278 per month depending on the maintenance.

Still, I would want to buy into a townhome like this at a lower price point like $130,000

I bought a 5 yr old townhome like this a year ago for $104,000 and it is cash flowing very nicely!

@John Holdman: Our plan is not to take advantage of my parents retirement nest egg but to be business partners with them! My parents feel US real estate as a great vehicle that can provide income superior to other investments in Canada. My Dad sees how my current rental is cashflowing over $500/month and there is a potential for future appreciation. Monthly Cash Flow is what he is looking for and he understands RE.

Certainly Canadian RE might still be in a bubble which makes it riskier to get into right now and the Canadian economy is fickle tracking with commodity prices and emerging markets. I don't even think you can find a property in Canada that would provide cash flow because they are very overpriced relative to rents.

Hi folks,

I am a US citizen and a novice RE Investor but my parents are Canadians living in Canada. I would like to gather some basic information from Canadians who are investing in the US because I would like to have my parents join me as partners in my RE business.

My style of RE investing is Buy-and-Hold for cash flow. Of course we will consult with attorneys and cross border accountants before we set anything up, but I am looking to get the basic concepts here.

- How can my parents invest in US Real Estate? Do they need to set up a business or trust in the US or in Canada, or both?
- Can they be partners in my US-based LLC?
- My parents are mostly retired and have lower income. They do have assets they can invest. Are there strategies they should consider to help reduce their overall tax obligation?
- What are the best ways to get money transferred from Canada to the US? Is there paperwork to file?
- What are the best ways to transfer monthly income from the US to Canada?
- What are the considerations for estate planning? (I am one of two siblings)

Again, not understanding the basics ,we would like some general ideas of what we need to think about before we engage in any deal. I am sure some of you Canadians have most of this figured out. How would it work differently if you had a US partner?

Marc

I am also a new member from the Twin Cities area. I own one townhome as a rental right now. want to do more in the next several years.

Marc

I think either could be a very good idea for a first investment. As a young person, think about which option will have the lightest maintenance costs and DIY projects over time. Assuming they each can produce the same cash flow, and a similar ROI, I would look for the one with less maintenance over time.

One pro for buying a townhome, if its newer construction, is that there is not as much maintenance to worry about. You pay the association fees which is a big cost but most of the big ticket maintenance items should be paid by your association dues. When a new roof, new siding, new driveway, or new windows are needed, the association will pay for that. (Make sure the Assn. financials are good)

If its newer construction, you only need to worry about the carpets, walls, fixtures, and appliances. Water heater and furnace will probably not ever be an issue if new enough.

In contrast, if you buy a duplex that is a much older building, you can have all sorts of deferred maintenance to worry about. Grading issues, water leaks in the basement, water dams, leaky roof, drafty windows, boilers, furnaces, garages, retaining walls, sidewalks, failing plumbing, unsafe electrical, peeling paint on siding, etc....

If you can keep the townhouse looking new and trendy for the college kids, it might also be easier to have it rented 100% of the time.

Association fee also covers most of your hazard insurance cost. And city taxes on a townhome tend to be smaller than taxes on duplex with land. Factor in these two cost differences in your Cost Flow analysis.

The Duplex may win out if you can make a higher ROI or cash flow even after factoring in a higher maintenance budget. Plus, you will need a place to live and you can write off half of the maintenance when you do your taxes.

Good luck.

I started using WilliamPaid.com. This is a basic service. The tenant is in control of starting the payment and they can set up recurring payments and reminders, but I have no control if they do this.

As landlord, I find out from WilliamPaid by email when a payment was initiated, but it takes about 3-4 business days to appear on my checking account. At least I know it's coming.

The service is free to me. It is fee to the tenant as long as they linked it to a checking account or a savings account.

If the tenant wants to pay with cash, they can go to CVS or Walmart and make a payment there that goes through WilliamPaid.

If the tenant wants to pay with a credit card, WilliamPaid will charge them a surcharge that looks like about 4 or 5 percent.

I like that the tenant has multiple options and can even have Mom helping with the rent.

Room mates can also pay each other if they are splitting costs for utilities or rent. It seems like that is what the website was started for.

Kill that big shrub for sure. After you renovate you will want everyone to see the HOUSE not the shrub.

I would consider removing the hedge too for the same reason, but it depends how much privacy is desired based on the neighborhood. I would give it a good haircut regardless.

I don't think the yellow it too bad. Depends if the paint is peeling or not. You might be ok to leave it. I would paint the front door with a nice bold color. Maybe a nice royal BLUE or RED. Paint the house numbers black and put a nice black door knocker on the front door. Painting the shutters with a color would look good too, but I think white is pretty common in the South. Maybe just a fresh coat or a pressure wash will do.

Depending on the expense, and the neighborhood fixing the lawn might pay dividends.

Is there a front porch? Maybe a small wood deck or colored concrete pad would create an inviting stoop for the front door.

Post "after"pictures after your flip!