All Forum Posts by: Neal Collins

Depends on how badly you need the cash. Sometimes the referral fee can be super clutch in tight times. Other times when things are greener it’s great to roll your fees into equity. I agree about management, that’s a service that they would have to pay for regardless.

Solid local advice from Steve B. and Say Teoh . Does Portland meet the “1% rule” with listed properties? Not typically. But this sport is about financing. There are far too many strategies to make money in real estate to simply stick to the maxim of 1%. I’m not chiming in to say that this is a good deal, but for the guy that says you are at risk of things like a tire recycling plant going in down the road from Orenco station is missing the mark. Buying under valued properties with upside or expandability is a great strategy in our market.

@Wendy McIntire It sounds like you've done your due diligence. Our underwriting criteria varies on the kind of deal, but for something like this I look carefully at the systems and major costs that you mentioned: 

• Age, style, and type of roof
• Age of furnace or other heating mechanisms
• Condition and material of plumbing
• Electrical panels - what type and is there sufficient load
• Foundation condition
• Ongoing maintenance concerns - trees!
• Utilities setup - who is responsible for what
• Future capital expenses (ie removing carpet, redoing a porch, etc)
• Taxes- if the property is rehabbed is the new tax rate encompassed in your numbers?
• Areas for expanded revenue potential like garages or storage area

It all boils down to a numbers game. Let me know if you want to connect offline.

Wendy McIntire The fourplex has got to be one of the best property investments out there to house jack simply because you get the most units with solid, low interest rate 30 year amortized financing. One of my original acquisitions was a four-plex in the Buckman neighborhood in Portland and we did a similar thing by living in a unit and renting out the rest. Our living expenses were zero. Those were one bedroom units and if we didn’t end up having a family and needing more space then we would still be there. The demographics can be very solid on multi families and we have tenants of all ages in our portfolio. In one four plex we own there is an older lady that is the mother hen and takes care of all the common area cleaning, sweeps the front area, puts out fresh flowers, etc. I finally started to give her a $75/month credit but this is one of the nice things about a smaller community. If you are going to live there and the choice comes down to Portland and Vancouver then choose where you want to live. Are landlord tenant laws getting stricter in Portland? Sure, however, I’m not very worried about prices taking a nose dive. Vancouver is also an attractive marketing simply because it rides the coat tails of Portland. But if I worked in Portland and lived in Vancouver then I’d be getting taxed at Portland’s income tax, be paying Washington’s sales taxes, would constantly be fighting horrendous I-5 traffic on the bridge, and would have less neighborhood amenities. @Uwe Show me where all the increased supply is for For Sale residential multiplexes? Still low inventory out there.

What is a vacating specialist? A property manager or a moving company?

Scale is the only way to go. Small isn’t worth it unless you own the units. Medium size and you are worried about make my payroll each month. Large and you can capture a significant amount of ancillary business. Make sure you have a sale’s license since PM can be a nice lost leader while you do scale. Doing it over again I wouldn’t put myself through the brain damage and would have either partnered with someone with systems in place or focused on another part of the RE industry.

Get the new company involved early and they can help facilitate the transfer nicely with the info that they need.

I know a guy that kills it in the tax game in Alabama. Let me know if you want his contact details. He has taught several people how to do it and it’s crazy every time I hear him talk about his model.

Hi Chace Fraser h

I'd push back on taking possession on June 29th and still have July rent going to sellers. You're going to have carrying cost and this is a far cry from a seller rent back scenario. If they want the rent that bad then tell them you'll close when the tenants are out.