All Forum Posts by: Mark Dolfini

@Collin Savunen  Happy to help sir! 

I am going to weigh in on this wearing my "Coaching" hat, if you will.  Success depends on a lot of factors.  I see the words "Coach" and "Guru" being used interchangeably here.  I feel there are two fundamental differences between the two, one being someone that helps direct you and influence you to be a better state of yourself (coach), and the other being someone that is all-knowing (guru).  Since I am not "all knowing" I can only address being a Landlord Coach.  

1 - Coaching isn't for everyone - A good coach helps people change their behaviors so they can get out of their own way.  If you're not coachable and open to feedback, please don't hire a coach.  If you're not willing to be held accountable and are good at making excuses, don't hire a coach.  If you're not willing to do ACTUAL WORK and be committed to taking action, don't hire a coach.  Likewise, if you're not ready for your business to grow, don't hire a coach.  

All I can say is that ALL of the greats have coaches to help change behaviors, hold people accountable and bring them to the next level.  Not just in sports, but in business and in life.  This may sound odd but as a coach, I employ coaches too.  When I published my first real estate book, The Time-Wealthy Investor, I went about it alone and it the experience was not at all smooth and it took me twice as long, and a lot more money, as it should have to get to print.  On my second book, I hired a coach and it was much, MUCH easier, faster and enjoyable.  My second experience was so much better not only because my coach held me accountable, but also directed me in ways that I could not see because I was too close to the problem.  Like I said to start, a good coach helps people change their behaviors so they can get out of their own way, and that is exactly what that coach did for me.  

2 - What's a Benefit to Everyone is a Benefit to No One - Yes, ALL the information you could ever want is out there on real estate.  Books, Podcasts, Videos... on and on.  There is no shortage of information.  There is also no shortage of FREE information.  That said, why isn't EVERYONE out there a Real Estate billionaire?  Let me ask an easier question:  Why are there SO many people overweight?  It sure as heck isn't because of a dearth of information about how to be healthy.  

Most people inherently don't value what they don't pay for.  I pay a lot of money for a coach in addition to a mastermind group I belong to (the mastermind was $10k just to buy in).  You'd better believe that I will be there EVERY single time, mentally present, and engaged.  I get a tremendous amount from being part of that experience.  It's made me very good at what I do.  If it was free, I can tell you I'd likely not even put it on my calendar.

3 -   There is No "One Size Fits All" For Coaching - No two coaches are alike.  As effective as the Tiger Woods' coach is for Tiger Woods, he may be terrible for you to help fix that wicked slice you've got.  Some coaches are great for growth, others for alignment of your goals.  Some coaches are very deep and granular and in a very specific niche, others operate more in the "30,000 foot" area.  Effectiveness really depends on what it is you're wanting to get out of your interactions.  

Final Thoughts:  Before you paint all coaches with a broad brush, I'd suggest you figure out internally what it is you are trying to accomplish and find a guide that is willing to help you.  And yes, people should be paid for their knowledge and their time.  Unfortunately, it's easy to spend a lot of money and not move any closer to success.  Personally, I don't take on coaching clients unless they already have properties and even then, not everyone is my customer (for many of the reasons I posted above).   No one "needs" a coach, but the right coach will help you get to where you want to go a lot faster than if you didn't have one.  

As for the shysters?  Well, I can't explain the shysters.  All I can say there is, some people just suck.  

Best of Luck... 

I haven't gone through the numbers with a calculator, but let's just assume your math is right.  Personally, I think your maintenance assumptions and capex numbers are ok, but I think your management per month assumption is light.  Management fees are usually around 10% of gross rents.  You have them at 5%.  Before hanging your hat on that, I would be sure there are at least 3 QUALITY management companies in your area that would do it for that price.  When I say quality management companies, be sure if your state requires them to hold a Broker's license, that there is actually a person that holds one and is current with the state CE requirements (your state likely has a website you can search).

To be honest with you, this deal doesn't excite me.  I think your net cash flow is too lean to cover the eventual "expensive turn" due to a bad resident that has a group of unneutered male cats without your knowledge, or the furnace that needs to be replaced due to a cracked heat exchanger that's 11 days outside of warranty.  Not that either of those things has happened to me or anything.  Haha... 

I would suggest you get an actual quote for insurance rather than a percentage figure.  Since insurance rates are very specific to the individual, your rates might be significantly different.  Also, be sure the property tax figures are appropriate for what would be held as an investment property.  Some states use different tiers for non-owner occupied properties.  If you're pulling the figures from tax records, keep in mind the original owner might have lived in one side of the duplex, causing your numbers to be skewed. 

That's about all I can think of now!  Best of Luck!  

If there is a REIA in your area, get involved there. It's a good place to also find a mentor to help keep you from making some huge mistakes. You're going to mess up, don't be worried about that. Just make sure the mistakes you DO make aren't going to break you.

Hi Nicholas, I am incredibly impressed with your goal of being more "time wealthy" than simply wanting more dross in your life.  I currently control roughly $40MM in real estate assets, but that is not my passion.  I have a much greater purpose in Life now.  

Start with Vision.  What is your purpose.  Write it down.  Keep writing it each morning as soon as you wake, and again before bed.  Your Vision will evolve, and that's ok.  Make sure it scares you, lest it be too small.  Get a coach to help you with this.  Coming up with your Vision isn't always easy.  A Vision is not simply a fancy word for "goal".  A Vision is much more visceral.  

Become a student of business, and a student of life.  READ all you can.  Absorb all you can from varying sources and eclectic backgrounds.  Video.  Podcasts.  Books.  Wherever you can and any media that works best for you.  

Learn what it means to become incredibly PRESENT in the moment you're in.  When you're at work, don't feel guilty about not spending time with family.  When you're with family, don't sit and think about all the work you're not getting done.  Much easier said than done, but that is where maybe a coach could help you.

Many people use the "number of doors" or "dollars in the bank account" as if it was a scoreboard for winning or losing in Life.  There is no scoreboard in Life, and it's not always easy to tell when you're winning.  Sadly, most times, when we're closest to victory, it can feel like we're about to lose everything.    

My true purpose is to use my gifts of influence and strategic thinking to help real estate investors generate massive life-output and massive time-wealth.  If you're open to a conversation, I'm happy to connect, and to help you in any way I can.  

Best of Luck!  

The lease is separate from the HAP contract. The lease is between the resident and the landlord. I can only speak to my experience with HUD here in Indiana, so your housing authority might be a little different (even though it's a Federal program, it might be enforced differently where you're at).

I am not a fan of dealing with HUD for a variety of reasons that are outside of the scope of your question. However, what goes on at the property is almost entirely delineated by the lease, not the HAP contract. The biggest issue I see come up with HUD residents is almost always overoccupancy. I've never seen them enforce an issue with running any sort of business (legal or otherwise).

There should be an onboarding person at your local HUD office to give you more information. I wouldn't rely solely on the information you get here. There's simply too much misinformation out there and you need to hear it directly from them. Sorry I can't be more help!

How much personal information would you share with your waiter or waitress?  The rule of thumb is the same information you would share on a business card.  Now, that's a bit of a loaded answer.  

Many investors struggle because they caught up in their shoestring infrastructure and can never get the genie back in the bottle (I did the same thing, I'm not judging here).  Once your Residents know your personal cell phone and email, it gets passed around like the flu and they will never, ever, stop using it.  

My suggestion: Set up an alternate phone number and/or email just for your residents to use.  You can use a phone service such as sideline.com if you don't want to carry two cell phones (that's just a pain) and set up a free gmail account.  Set up your real estate business like a business as soon as you're able.   If you plan to scale your rental business, you can then turn this number and email over to someone else (like a virtual assistant) to handle these things for you.  

Best of Luck!

There are several reasons why renting to friends is a bad idea.

1 - Separating Emotions - You might have a great relationship with your friend, but are you willing to throw away the friendship in the name of money?  You have to be prepared for that to happen.  I have an amazing best friend, but I absolutely could not live with him.  Nor would I rent to him.  Would I help him with a place of his own if he needed it?  Of course.  But I wouldn't rent to him.  Keep in mind too, that even though YOU might be able to separate the emotional side of the relationship from the business side, HE / SHE might not be able to make that emotional separation.  

2 - Give them a Good Deal - You have an obligation to yourself, and that does not mean giving your buddy a deal that is below market-rate.  However, they might feel that you're screwing them by charging them what everyone else charges.  Or, you completely neglect your other policies such as waiving the security deposit, not running an application, not charging pet fees, etc.  

3 - Pay You, or Pay the Bank?  - Consider this example.  Say I borrow $500 from you, my Friend, and I borrow $500 from the bank.  I owe both you and the bank this $500 at the end of the month.  Let's say though, at the end of the month I only have enough money to pay ONE of you back.  Who do you think I'm going to go back to and ask for some leniency, you my Friend, or the bank?  Of COURSE, I'm going to try to pay the bank first.  Why?  Because the bank doesn't care!  I mean, they do 'care' to a certain extent, but they have strict policies and they run things business-like.  So, who takes the brunt of it, well, you as my Friend do, of course.  

When I'm coaching people, this almost always comes up.  Please do all you can to keep things consistent and scalable.  In my property management business, it's gotten to the point now where my friends could be renting from my business and I don't even know or realize it because of the systems I have in place.  It's really a good place to be... 

Best of Luck.   

There are ways to mitigate risk, and I think that's what you need to look at overall.  Consider the entire profile.  Would it make a difference if the Applicant was evicted 20 years ago, from one that was evicted 20 days ago?  Of course it would.  The same risk factors that existed in that person's life 20 years ago likely don't exist today.  

I think you're getting good advice on this thread here already.  I suggest you find a policy that you could live with (i.e. No current evictions, no evictions within the last 3 years, and no unpaid evictions no matter how old) as an example.  A way you might consider to mitigate risk for someone could be to increase the security deposit, but make sure you're policy is WRITTEN and enforced CONSISTENTLY so you don't open yourself up for a Fair Housing lawsuit.  Best of Luck!