All Forum Posts by: Bart H.

@Bart H.. Maybe even put half the discount at Month 18 and the remainder at month 24.

As most experienced landlord know, tenants remaining for the full period of a 2-Year Lease is rare. And if you agree to the reduced rate you are out-of-luck trying to recoup any of the reduced rent you lost rent when they inevitably break the lease.  

Try this idea next time someone wants to negotiate a lower price for a 2-year lease. Tell them Year 1 will be at the FULL Lease Asking Price, and in year 2 you will reduce the rent by $XX dollars as an incentive for them to stay. With this technique, you're OK if they inevitably leave at end of year 1 or earlier, and you avoid the costs of make ready, etc. if they stay. 

I wish I could vote multiple times for this post.  We've had month to month leases for the last 10 years and never (and I rarely speak in absolutes) had a problem re renting when the tenants leave.

What a chain you created @Lakeisha Baker! Way to go.  

Lots of input from Realtors (like me) and investors.  Realtors for the most part say sign something.  Many investors like @Andreas Blomst say never.  Now he has successfully bought 4 properties through Realtors and each was with a different agent. There may be many reasons that there were 4 different agents and one never knows the results of the path no taken but perhaps if there was a relationship with one of those agents there would have been more than 4 agent driven deals in his portfolio.  I am guessing agent 1 never got too excited about bringing him the best deals when he saw there were agents 2, 3 and 4 in the mix.

One question I have not seen posed here.  If the state law says agency relationships need to be in writing (as does the law in Virginia, your state) and the agent says forget it, we don't need an agreement, do you want to work with that agent?   I know I would not want to work with anyone trying to get around the law.  Most of the time, this little faux pas will not hurt anyone but if a problem develops, it will be a bigger mess than it needs to be.  And as the buyer I would be wondering if the agent's personal ethics allow him to ignore this law, what else is he doing that may hurt me down the road.

Again, it does not need to be an exclusive agreement. It can be for 1 day or for 1 property but it must be in writing in VA.

I receive lots of messages and am reached out by quite a few of out of state investors. I'm sure it is no surprise or secret that Texas is a very hot and desirable real estate market. I always do my best to provide value and guide the potential out of state investor to the best path possible for their goals. I always end the phone call or conversation saying that I 200% believe they should take the time and money to fly out here and see the neighborhoods and city for themselves. Many people see this as an "expense" or "waste". Google street view and "investor agents" can show and tell me everything I need to know. Yes those things can help you get a better idea, but they are only part of the picture. Google street view is a few years behind and A LOT can happen in 2-3 years in a neighborhood. I have never had anyone take up my offer, I always get "that's too expensive", "what happens if I don't like it and waste my time and money?", "I don't have time for that." My reply is always IF YOU ARE SERIOUS YOU WILL DO IT! You CAN'T afford NOT TO!!!! It is not a waste of money, it WILL SAVE YOU THOUSANDS by helping you to avoid a bad deal!

This past weekend for the first time ever, I had one of those potential out of state investors reach out. She said her and her husband were flying out and wanted me to drive with them around the city and show them the neighborhoods and my opinion on them. Needless to say I was in shock, and instantly took them that much more seriously. The knowledge they gained far outweighed the cost of the flight and hotel. In all honesty in the 5 hours they spent with me driving around and looking at comps, they learned more about investing here in San Antonio than probably 50% of the agents who have lived here their whole life.

Taking the time to fly out is not only for yourself seeing things, but should also be a time to meet with agents, wholesalers and other investors in that market. Putting a face to the name will instantly increase your credibility to them. You are seen as a serious person who is putting their money where their mouth is, and really takes their out of state investing future seriously. I'm sure agents, brokers and investors get the same thing from people looking to invest in the market and are "newbies" or just are ignorant to the market. There is something about meeting someone in person, shaking their hand, and talking in person that intensifies, and solidifies that relationship. This business relies heavily on relationships which is why I think this is such a crucial action to do if you are looking to invest in a market.

Long story short is I whole heartedly believe if you are looking to invest out of state you need to take the time to go out there for yourself and see the city/market in person. Real estate is so much different in person than it is online. You need to have some idea of how things are and what is going on in the city. I posted this because I know some people are in a market that isn't very investment friendly, and are looking other places to put their money. Please do your research guys and take the time to go there and see the market for yourself! I wish ya'll the best of luck and really hope that this encouraged some of you guys to make that investment. Please take this step of action in your out of state investing journey and I promise it will be worth it!

@Sanjoy V., CA/DFW/TX now you are talking about 2 different geographies with their own vastly different economies - so it will be hard to compare the 2. The TX tertiary market (Kileen, waco) is similar or better than CA tertiary (Fresno, Madera, Stockton) market per my opinion. Now within these tertiary markets there are probably A - D class areas with A-D class properties. It's hard to find a A class product in D class neighborhood but it's probably possible to find D/C class product in A class neighborhood. What I am saying is in DFW, the gap between cap rates for C & A class products has shrunk quite a bit between now and what was it few years ago. What that means, you can probably buy an A class product with almost the same price or slightly more than what you would pay for C class product - so be wary of that.

For  A class neighborhood in CA, there is negative cap rate - because it's more of an appreciate play vs in DFW you might get is for 3 or 4%.

What to look for in a good broker?  I was just asked this question and I feel like I flubbed the answer.  In your opinion, what makes for a good broker here in Austin, Tx?