All Forum Posts by: Melroy D'Souza

I crushed the exam last November (yes I am an overachiever - lol). I read up the 4 books but paid more attention to the bold stuff and Key terms. I did take the crammer course just as a confidence booster a week before I was scheduled for the test. I didn't get the crammer books. The real test was way way easier than the Hondros crammer test. Just make sure you really read the questions, they throw a bunch of "trick" questions. Don't assume anything.

For me, Finance and Appraisal were a piece of cake. I knew most of that stuff as a RE Investor before taking classes at Hondros. Not many questions at the test were Math questions. P&P and Law were heavily tested.

Good luck.

One thing I've started doing with newer contractors is asking them to split up the large project into smaller projects. Then I let them work on a small part of the entire project and try them out. If they are good we can move on to other parts or we just part ways.

@Dave Brinkman,

Let's take your example of $1500 rent on a 3/2. A house that can generate this kind of rent will be located in areas where houses cost around 200K or more (honestly I'm thinking more like 250K). Do some calculations and see if you can get a return of 10-15% using any of the myriad of calculators on BP or other websites. For better returns, you might want to look in the $800 - $1100 range to achieve those numbers in Central Ohio.

With multis (5 or more units), you might be close in your expectations for cap rates. But they are hard to come by. 

Besides the cost of the classes, you have to spend some money to maintain your license. Also you have to work with a broker, cannot be independent. Most brokers are members of the Board of realtors. That is your biggest expense, approx $1100-$1200 a year. Many brokers might even have a monthly desk fee. Just keep these in mind when making your decision.

Not sure where you are going to college, you could look into the Columbus State (CSCC) Real estate program, you'll end up with an Associates degree for a little more than the classes will cost. You can probably transfer to a 4 year degree. Go talk to the student councilors at CSCC if this is possible.

Good luck, its very refreshing to see high school kids taking a proactive step towards their success in life.

@Anna Milligan,

Hang in there, been there done that, I know how you feel right now. If you think you did a decent rehab job and have priced your rental correctly, just stay strong. You can't realistically count the last week (Thanksgiving week) in your 3.5 weeks. I think you will have this one rented by January as many others already stated.

When I over priced one of my rentals, I still got responses, but they would all say the same thing. "Man, I like the place but this is way over priced" -  I would then ask them what they felt they would pay for this place. Adjust accordingly. If no one complained about the price, you're probably ok on the pricing. $1000 for a 110K in most areas here seems reasonable.

If you would like to have a second opinion on your rental price, your ad or any specific questions send me a colleague request/PM me with the address.

@John Horner, man you are a beast. Way to go and you are only 31 - wow. I still remember your PM to me at the start of the year where you wanted to get to 70 rentals this year, very close. Congratulations.

 Welcome Ryan. 

Ed generally holds this meeting every month, he might skip one or two, especially the holiday months. You can also join COREE, there is a membership fee and it is part of the national REIA.

There ya go, sell it to Matt for 40K and split the profit 10K each - win/win? :-) 

PS - I don't know Matt or Michael personally, just from the forum posts. This is by no means a referral for either. 

Agree with @Matt Stewart says. You need to get the ARV.

BTW, who cares about current listings in the range of 30-45/sqft. Look for actual solds. Also, setting your ARV based on pricing per sqft in lower cost areas could be quite inaccurate. Many lower cost areas in town, say you're going to buy a 3 bedroom 1000sqft for 50K, you cannot say another 3 bed 1500 sqft is 75K. You might get 60K; especially if it is a rental neighborhood.

That landlord is going to have a real tough time in court if he ever gets there trying to enforce all those conditions, especially this one "the landlord may without further notice remove all persons and all property from the premises"

I would have the tenant talk to the landlord to redraft the lease or at a minimum they have to send the entire lease, not just the last page.