All Forum Posts by: Ryan Pyle

@Dan G., there are times when it gets crazy, but for the most part it's pretty easy. The key ingredient is tenant screening. As long as you have good tenants, there really isn't that much work to do. Mostly bookkeeping, scheduling my maintenance guy, and managing tenant flow (move-in's, move-outs, lease renewals, rent increases, etc.). I also spend a fair amount of time growing my business...looking for new buildings to buy. 

As far as my demeanor, I've learned over the years to not take anything personally. Yes, I guess I am pretty patient. If a tenant is screaming at me about something, I just shut up, let them say what they want to say, and then address their issue in a  professional manner. I only speak in facts...I never give opinions. opinions lead to arguments. The same goes for evictions, lease violations, etc. If they don't pay, I don't get mad, I just hang the 3 day and calmly explain to them what the next steps in the process are, what the fees are, and what they need to do in order to stay. I don't try to make them realize that they are screwing me or anything like that. It's just all matter-of-fact.  

By no means was I good at this when I first started. It's taken me a long time to get here, and i still slip up from time to time. I've made many, many mistakes along the way and at times have wanted to give up and try something else. This is just a small business like anything else and there are good months and bad months. But, it;s what I've always wanted to do, and I often make sure to take a breath and realize that even when things suck, it's a pretty great way to make a living!

@Bill S., I think the entire point of this community is for people to share and learn. I am an open book with my successes and failures. When I was first starting in this business I wanted so badly to see numbers like those shared in this and other threads so I could get an idea of what real investors were doing. I got my start by doing the books for free for a very large investor. That gave me the opportunity to see the real numbers of a real investor. I try my best to give my real numbers to the BP community when necessary. If that's seen as bragging then so be it.

I own and self-manage 213 units. 34 are SFH, 10 apartment buildings ranging in size from 5 - 64 units. The larger the building, the easier to manage.

I have one full time maintenance man. He has a crew of up to four laborers that he brings on as-needed for unit turns or as extra hands. I have a regular sewer guy, electrician, roofer, etc that I call as needed.

At my larger buildings I have live-in caretakers who, in exchange for free rent, handle all of the service calls, mow the lawns, clean the hallways/grounds, and shovel the walks. They are also my eyes and ears. It's wonderful....I get hardly any tenant phone calls from those buildings as the caretakers are trained to take good care of the residents.

I do all of the leasing, accounting and customer service myself. Sometimes I feel like I'm just a glorified call center! I use Appfolio for tenant management (CRM) and Quickbooks for accounting.

I was once told that one can handle up to about 20 units before they need to hire a PM. Of course it was a PM who told me that. I have found that as long as I screen carefully and choose my tenants well, there really isn't that much to do. Think about it, once a unit is filled, unless there is a maintenance issue, what is there to do? I work maybe 20 hours a week on average. Most of it is spent bookkeeping (which is my favorite part of the business...yep) and delegating. Right now the rental market is good so I'm on wait lists at all my buildings. So I'm not spending much time on vacancies. This past October through December, however, I had an unexpected rash of vacancies (about 15 at one time) and I was working crazy hours showing apartments and screening applicants. But that's how it goes. I was thinking about this yesterday, the rental business is one of the few where when things are "slow" that means you are doing well! 

Congrats and good luck to all. This is an interesting thread!

Hi Camisha, welcome to BP and to the world of RE! I think getting your license is a great first step. I've been investing full time in Toledo since 2005 and my one regret is not getting my license. Hooking up with a good broker who can provide some mentorship and guidance will also be invaluable. 

Please let me know how I can help. I've done flips, rentals and wholesales in Toledo and I've made every mistake in the book, so feel free to learn from my mistakes. Good luck!

Hi Chris, welcome to BP. I've been a full time investor in Toledo since 2005. My main focus is apartments. That focus changes and evolves as the market changes over time. I've done flips, wholesales, rental houses and apartments. Each of those areas has been my focus at one time in my career.

Feel free to give me a call with any questions. I love to help!

Jim, in my opinion you can go a long way before needing a PM. The key is placing good tenants in your properties. For the most part, once a unit is filled there is little to do to manage the property. If you don't want to fix toilets (I certainly don't) then send a plumber to do it. That's what a PM would do, so either way you'll be paying for it. Plus you'll be paying a PM 10% (or whatever you negotiate) off the top. 

I used to say I'd hire a PM once I got to 20 units. Then it was 40. I'm now at 213 and still self-managing. I have a full-time maintenance man plus live-in maintenance guys at two of my larger apartment buildings. 

Again, they key is being patient and putting good tenants in your units. Good tenants need very little management and require very little interaction.

Hi Jim, PM me and I will let you know who I use. It's a local company that builds and installs their own windows for around $200 an opening. I'd post it here but I assume the post would get deleted.

1. Midland Title.

2. Don't buy the park at City Park and the Anthony Wayne Trail. It's a dump. :)

I haven't found any that will go 80% on smaller multis or SFR. US Bank will go 80% on larger multi unit deals.

@Dennis Jayy that Park has been slowly going downhill for years. I think it's literally going downhill too as there is a lot of erosion towards the back of the park going down into a ravine. The neighborhood around it is about as bad as it gets. 

It is very close to downtown which is going through a revitalization, but it's separated from downtown by I-75 so I don't think that would help. 

I personally would love to see someone make this Park work as its a major eyesore, but it will be a very tough task.

Best of luck.