All Forum Posts by: Michell P.

If you can raise the rents by just $25 a month due to having a nicer kitchen than the other rentals on the block, then you'll have made back the extra investment in 2 years.  If not, some laminate looks great and lasts a long time.  If the kitchen design looks good most renters won't care.  

Unless you are very lucky and very persistent, Portland will not meet your needs.  

Never had a problem with collecting late fees and haven't heard any local landlords complain about it either.  

Hi Brian, 

Have you been to any of the areas where you're thinking of investing?  Some of those towns have very different rental profiles and potential upkeep needs.  Personally I would avoid Albany because of the potential headache unless I was local to the area.  Eugene can be a tough market - people I know who have invested there say they overbuilt so rents are low.  

The Dalles has a lot of potential for growth.  Corvallis has a great market but prices are high.  Portland MSA can be OK if you can jump in with cash... a lot of this depends on your budget.  

Welcome!

@Willow T. 

That's amazing! Looks great - and thanks for the tips 

@Joshua D. Appraisers don't know the market - appraisals done before a sale often come in much lower than the home is actually worth.  That's basically because *unofficially* the majority of an appraisal is what an independent buyer is willing to pay for a house.  So without an offer on the table, the appraiser uses a standard set of values for things like pools, garages, etc and compares them to what amenities other homes have.  But rarely does that take into account what a future buyer is willing to pay for a house.  

If you're happy with the transaction, then it sounds like your realtor did a great job.  

Which leads to... realtors have to account for a seller's feelings in the transaction - if the seller is worried it's priced too high at say, $150k, and the realtor knows its worth $160k, that extra $10k may just be lost if they can't convince the seller to go higher.  Or the sellers want to sell really quickly, etc etc.  Its not like the realtor gets 100% control over a client's listing.  

We generally just bundle up and freeze our butts off but that's probably not the best solution.  

I'd check my contract with the PM - it may answer some of your questions.  

Then I'd start interviewing other management firms - this company is clearly not fulfilling their obligations.  

@Derek Hemerick

Hi Derek, if you're new to real estate, you need to learn the market.  That includes making low ball offers and a real estate agent is going to understand that.  If an agent tries to bully you into making offers you're uncomfortable with, find a new agent.  

Most new investors do this - they low ball every offer they make as they learn the market.  It's important you do this - first, that pain of losing a really good investment will help you better realize what you're actually willing to pay and second, you might realize you're not actually low balling at all and you'll get some great deals.  

You'll probably spend your first year losing 100% of your offers and you may go through multiple real estate agents, but you'll end up feeling pretty confident about your choices as you progress.  

Trust your numbers and really learn a limited location before you branch out.  Goodluck!