All Forum Posts by: Nicole Heasley Beitenman

What manual paperwork are you doing? They e-mail me their background check from the hospital, or I have them complete one through tenantbackgroundcheck.com. Leases are signed electronically (esign.com), and I set them up with RentRedi for deposit, cleaning fee, and rent payments. I recorded a virtual tour on my cell phone because I was getting tour requests I couldn't fulfill, but no one has asked to see the property since I made the recording. I think I've talked to maybe 2 tenants on the phone so far, and I didn't mind because there's a lot of scams online.

I'm a little confused--are 2 of your 3 properties MTR's that you rent to international students? A furnished LTR model sounds more appropriate for students as there shouldn't be much movement outside of summer months. Are these students just picking up and moving in the middle of the semester?

Quote from @Seth Roland:

Thanks for your reply! I'll look into these options. I guess the next step would be to find lenders in my area that offer these types of loans. Are these loans that I could get pre-qualified for?

I'd recommend finding local meetups as your next step. Become a regular. There's nothing more important in REI than building a solid network. You can get recommendations there.

I also recommend going through BP's HML directory. There's some traditional lenders in there, too. But if you're going after DSCR loans, it doesn't matter if you go the traditional lender route or not as long as the terms work for you. I keep a spreadsheet of every lender/lending company I encounter so I always have someone else I can try if my lender gives me a no: https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-companies/hard-mon...

This group was established to help real estate investors and other real estate professionals in the Mahoning Valley grow their business through networking. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at Buffalo Wild Wings in Boardman. While you are welcome to bring your deals and services, there will be no sales pitches by the organizers. Our only aim is to help build connections within the Youngstown real estate community.

We welcome current and aspiring real estate investors, contractors, agents, lenders, and anyone else who could benefit from connecting with like-minded individuals.

There is no structure or agenda--simply come in, grab a drink, and a grab a seat next to some one new. Bring your questions, your deals, your business cards, your contractor recommendations, your needs, your best practices, your experience, your lack of experience--whatever you have (or don't have!). Find a partner, a mentor, or just a new friend. Share, learn, and grow.

Join us on Facebook to continue networking outside of events! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ytownreconnectors/

Quote from @Jonathan Greene:

2 bedroom single-family homes are great rentals because they cost way less to buy and don't rent for much less than a 3-bedroom home.

I'll second this. We focused on 1 and 2 br properties long before MTRs became trendy because they have lower price points, less competition, lower expenses, and while the tenant pool is smaller, so is supply. These tenants tend to stay longer because they know they'll have a harder time finding a smaller house. 

This group was established to help real estate investors and other real estate professionals in the Mahoning Valley grow their business through networking. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at Buffalo Wild Wings in the party room (ask the hostess if you can't find us). While you are welcome to bring your deals and services, there will be no sales pitches by the organizers. Our only aim is to help build connections within the Youngstown real estate community.

We welcome current and aspiring real estate investors, contractors, agents, lenders, and anyone else who could benefit from connecting with like-minded individuals.

There is no structure or agenda--simply come in, grab a drink, and a grab a seat next to some one new. Bring your questions, your deals, your business cards, your contractor recommendations, your needs, your best practices, your experience, your lack of experience--whatever you have (or don't have!). Find a partner, a mentor, or just a new friend. Share, learn, and grow.

Join us on Facebook to continue networking outside of events! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ytownreconnectors/

This group was established to help real estate investors and other real estate professionals in the Mahoning Valley grow their business through networking. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at Buffalo Wild Wings in Boardman. While you are welcome to bring your deals and services, there will be no sales pitches by the organizers. Our only aim is to help build connections within the Youngstown real estate community.

We welcome current and aspiring real estate investors, contractors, agents, lenders, and anyone else who could benefit from connecting with like-minded individuals.

There is no structure or agenda--simply come in, grab a drink, and a grab a seat next to some one new. Bring your questions, your deals, your business cards, your contractor recommendations, your needs, your best practices, your experience, your lack of experience--whatever you have (or don't have!). Find a partner, a mentor, or just a new friend. Share, learn, and grow.

Join us on Facebook to continue networking outside of events! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ytownreconnectors/

BP also provides state-specific leases to pro members. You don't have to tweak much to take a traditional LTR lease and make it fit an MTR or month-to-month setup.

Quote from @Jonathan Greene:

I want to send off a tangential option here since you are looking at your first STR. When you are operating STRs at scale, calculating these numbers makes perfect sense because you know the ebb and flow of your other listings. When you are looking at your first, my advice would be that if the fluctuations between seasons are too hard to comp in an obvious way, it might not be the best first one to try. When the calculator is more of the decision-maker than you on your first one, I think the balance is off.

Jonathan! It's been a while since I've "bumped into you" here on the forums. I hope you're well.

Thanks for the solid advice. This was a property in an area my family loves to vacation in because of family ties to the area. The goal was to own a house we could use seasonally, and the rents would cover the expenses. After talking to two realtors with intimate knowledge of the area, we learned that STR rents and annual occupancy are just too low to even cover the PITI of properties in the area, let alone maintenance, supplies, lawn care, snow removal, etc. So it's on the backburner until we can easily afford the payments and maintenance on a property in that area and enjoy a little subsidy from seasonal rents.

Hi BP fam--I'm trying to analyze my first potential STR deal. When rents and occupancy vary as seasons change, how do you average that out to enter it in the calculator?