All Forum Posts by: Patrick Drury

@Matt Corso
Have you pinned down a market you are interested in yet? Once you pin down a market work on creating your core four as David Green calls it. One of the first people you will want to meet is a realtor specializing in working with investors, but out-of-state ones at that. You can easily find that agent here on Biggerpcokets. If the agent is good at what they do they will be able to give you referrals and recommendations for the others with potential feedback they have gotten from past clients. Your agent should introduce you to a lender that fits what you are looking for and is local. Local lenders are going to be able to execute far better than out-of-state lenders. Once you get the pre-approval your agent should be sending deals your way and you guys should be writing offers. Once you get one accepted that would be the time to interview a PM or pick the right one. If you try and interview without being in contract I know some will not talk to you because they physically do not have time to be talking to someone who has any interest in a property. Just imagine if every client hopped on a 20 min phone call with the PM and talked about every property they were interested in. They would have no time to manage your property. Be respectful of their time they are not a sales agent like realtors who have to be available all the time which I think some people forget. As for contractors, your agent should be able to supply some contractors to help facilitate the process and as for maintenance items, your PM will handle that. A great questions to ask agents would be do you have referrals for (lenders, PM, and contractors). 

@Angel Perez
You would calculate an ARV by looking at comparables that have sold in the area. Getting an inspector to assess the work would be a good idea. As for the appraiser that would be unnecessary. You're going to need an attorney to help structure the seller financing if that's something you're interested in.

@Andy Okamoto
A 4.5% COC after remodeling isn't very good. typically a lot of investors are looking for a 10% COC. Definitely buy an owner-occupant duplex that's a great way to get started. Once you have that one down look to pick up more rentals. If the margins are just not there when looking for more rentals you should look at investing out-of-state where you can get those margins like in the midwest where you'll have better cash flow.

@Pavan Krishna
I would take that month's rent out of the security deposit and if the damage to the rental exceeds the $500, send them a bill and let them know if they don't pay you'll send it to collections. Evicting a tenant with 1 month left on the lease would be counterintuitive because you'll spend even more money trying to evict them. The tenant's lease will be up by the time the bailiff tags the door, I'm guessing. Also, from my understanding, evicting tenants in California is no walk in the park either. If you're going to invest out-of-state, invest somewhere that is going to favor you if you need to evict a tenant like Columbus OH.  

@NA Waldron   
As @Ben Zimmerman alluded to the 5% conventional would be a better pick! 

@Haven Garber
Where is the property located in Columbus? Are there rent restrictions forever or is it for a fixed timeframe like 30 years? I know of a person who used a grant to purchase duplex, but the catch was it is rent-restricted for the next 30 years at a percentage of market rent. I would say stay on top of the rental market so you know when rents are going up so you can be first in line to raise yours. 

@Nate R.
If the tenants' lease is up in a few months, just wait till the lease expires and they move out. How many months till the lease is up? Selling a property tenant occupied really only works if they are month-month because it gives the next owner options. They could keep the tenant where they are with the rent, they could raise rent to market by doing no repairs, or give them a 30 days' notice and renovate the property and then sell or re-rent it. Although vacant is always the best. 

@Andy Sabisch
If the deal is on the market, that is pretty weird. I don't make buyers pay an additional amount if it's on the market. Also, there really aren't a ton of deals anymore under 100k here in Columbus. 

@Beth Blickensderfer
Those margins are pretty bad. I wouldn't do that deal. I would say 70/30 with you at 70 or more. The other guy would have absolutely no money in the deal and has no risk. It makes no sense to me that a person who has no risk in a deal would make 70% of the profit while you make 30% with all the risk. Like what if he decides he is just not going to finish the project or drags his feet. It's not his money that will be lost it's yours. 

@Ilya Schroeder
Try checking the County auditors' website. They list all the property owners there. Just put in the address and it will populate the with the property info and owner name.