All Forum Posts by: Michael Beeman

@Kevin Rzeszuto I think all new investors feel your pain.Ive heard it from friends and family I haven't been in the game long. I got a great deal on a 6 unit we closed in May, we kept going and, we are closing on units 11&12 next week and we r already breaking even, and August is looking like our first profitable month. I don't pay any attention to negative remarks. I think it actually makes me stronger in my resolve when some1 says "I tried that, it' doesn't work" or sarcastically says "Good luck being a landlord".. I don't care.. We screen our tenants we follow the things we learned here on bp and we are going to reach our goals!! I refuse to listen to them, I don't wanna be where they are. I wanna be where @Ben Leybovich is! So why would I listen to people who aren't where I wanna be.. Listen, Read and only learn from people who already are where you wanna be..

@Clarissa Grissette

Your "Why" seems pretty Solid!! Those are some great reasons..

Welcome to BP; there is a lot to learn. And you will always be learning, house hacking is a great way to get started. I personally wish I had started that way, but by the time I got started, my family was already tied into our current home. Well anyways, Good luck and God Bless!

@Craig Wilcox,

Hey, I am from downstate Illinois. We have a small, young, portfolio (10 units). What I wanted to ask you was about "emotional support animals".  Now, according to what I have read, Illinois does not allow you to deny access based on an emotional support animal. But, I have also read that the only time you can not charge a standard "pet deposit fee" and premium monthly rent, is if the animal performs a service for a disabled person.. I'm not certain if this is right, and I'm guessing I'll be asking the attorney after the 4th when he's back in his office.

In this case, my tenant just moved in. Had an "emotional support" animal and we charged her for it. But, she claims we shouldn't have. I was wondering if you were familiar with this situation

@Jacob Elbaum

We are in a rural area, where 2% is not too difficult to get. But, I still looked a little deeper. There are local businesses in some of these rural Illinois areas that would really struggle to compete with the rest of the midwest if Illinois goes ahead and raises minimum wage to 15/hr, which is a possibility it seems. So, I kept that in mind and searched for apartments and SFH in towns that had a higher average income, and were not dependent on a few factories that were surviving on large pools of labor under 15/hr.

I know this because my brothers and I run a sawmill, about 8 or 9 of our 26 full time employees are laborers making 10/hr. The rest are skilled positions making more.. But bc of Illinois' horrible work comp laws and matching taxes, unemployment, etc. These positions actually cost us 15.66/hr. Now, I know we have discussed moving our entire small business to Indiana in the event that 15/hr becomes law. So, I figured we weren't the only company doing that. So, when I looked for property in Illinois, I looked in areas that I could still get 2% or better, but that the local economy was stablized by larger forces (businesses that wouldn't be tempted to move or downsize based on a large shift in payroll costs). In one case, we purchased an apartment building in the same town as a very large oil refinery. In another local town, we purchased a Tri-Plex and an SFH in a town that has a large PipeLine clearing company, and they have a lot of OJT skilled labor jobs. These jobs provide the need for the housing.

@Jacob Elbaum

Hello, and welcome to BP. I will say this, I have never switched from one to another. I just have a little bit of both. SFH in my experience rent out for much longer periods of time and rent out in much faster periods of time. However, in comparison with things like MF units. The SFH have higher Cap expenditures, bc u have 1 hvac system, one roof, one water heater.. etc. This has to be taken into account.

You have to factor all of those things in. I do have an affinity for MF, but that is simply bc I can scale up, much quicker. However finding good MF deals is a little tougher in my area. So, in essence all I am saying is to double check your big expenses in a SFH, like the roof, the water heater, the hvac system. Etc.

@Account Closed  ..  I did not know this was on the chopping block. It seems odd, since we have a Real Estate Investor as our President. 

@Jason Monroe

I have run into something similar with my first tenant applications. They're from people who are contractors/self employed etc.  I have not found one with a steady banking record yet. That's not to say that I won't ever find one. I literally use to be a tenant that was a contractor. I love the idea of people who run their own business. I just don't want one that is failing at it to be in one of my properties.

Basically, I think you handled it perfectly. The only thing I would add is. If they're older and have a good credit history with zero evictions, I would consider renting to someone who is essentially claiming they earn cash, etc. I would "consider" it.  In my area their are a lot of people like that. 

@Ali Ravan

The simple answer is yes. There are some really good step by step books out there. The very first book I would recommend, that is a step by step guide is written by @Brandon Turner it is "The Ultimate Beginner's guide to Real Estate Investing."  It is an excellent step by step guide on how to get started. I think it'll cost you around $20. The other thing I would recommend is to go online and start listening to the BiggerPockets podcast. I went all the way back to the beginning and listened to nearly every podcast they ever made. It was extremely helpful. Good Luck!

@Katila Milligan-Pate

I can see you are new to the forums. So, I would love to try and get you some help. If you go to the Local Real Estate Forums here on BP and then go to the Denver area forum. You should be able to ask thousands of other Denver area people. GOOD LUCK, and Congratulations!!

@Chris Jackson

Yes, there are places that can do both at once. It's called a portfolio lender and usually you will need some business experience and success to get started with them, but not always. I found our portfolio lender by going to a few small banks with a prepared multi-family business plan and presentation. If you haven't read @Brandon Turner book on ultimate guide to Real Estate investing. I highly suggest that you go ahead and read it. Especially the part on unlocking the keys to getting a "yes" from your lender. It's excellent stuff.