All Forum Posts by: Nazz Wang

@Jon Holdman 

Jon, wow you know a lot of this basement business! This would be a big opportunity. I had a condo that had a mold issue a couple of years ago and the quotes I got were ridiculous in the 5-10k range. That was a couple of walls and in California. It turned out I replaced all the windows to double pane, replaced the noisy bathroom fans so the tenants would actually use it, and that worked beautifully. (Side story, not related to this post).

In my experience the companies that quoted me were one-stop shops, where they would clean up and re-drywall. I am wondering if you cleaned up the basement yourself or hired a company to do it? What would you say the price range would be in the midwest?

Thanks.

@Dave Toelkes 

Thanks for all the input. That is what I will do. Never thought of installments but what a great idea! Why didn't I think of it before? Oh I should have been on BP earlier...

Thanks everyone again!

@Sam B. 

Hi Sam,

I heard a podcast recently that talked about a landlord's approach to increase value for his tenants. He viewed his rentals as a customer service oriented business and thought of many creative ways to service his tenants that nobody ever wanted to leave or people can only move in with references from current tenants. First he offered cash for keys for all the lower quality tenants. He provided free cable internet, organized community bbq's for his multifamily properties, built community gardens to encourage interaction and handpicked his tenants to make sure it will be a pleasant experience for them to live together. In exchange to putting in the extra effort and capital, he had close to 0 vacancies and very little management headaches.

Sorry I just could not find the podcast link but this is an alternative way to get good long term tenants.

Hope that helps.

Nazz

@Ali Boone Thanks Ali! Great read on your article and the discussions! I like how you covered your own scenario (very similar to mine, it seems like on BP) and all the advice from all the other members. Thanks!

Nazz

@Leo Harper 

Hi Leo, what I meant is what is your cash flow with this property or are you looking and resell very quickly? You can think about seller financing or hard money loans with high interest rates if you dont plan to hold for a long time.

Cool feature! Thanks Josh!

Leo Harper , that depends. First of all what are the numbers?

Welcome! Wow BP is such a warm community!

I second Jon Holdman that an steady income stream is really helpful in starting in real estate unless there is inherited wealth to work with in the start up phase. This also provides a solid backup plan, critical problem solving skills and hands on attitude. Engineering mechanics and science related fields with a minor or double major in economics related fields.

So motivating to hear these stories! Though the path is different for everyone, persistence and hardwork will get things started!