All Forum Posts by: Ronald Perich

I had the opportunity to purchase a nine-unit complex last August at a great price, but it needed a lot of work from both a resident retention (and reduction) and deferred maintenance perspective. The 8 two-bed, two-bath rents were in the $600 to $625 per month range, but only about half the residents were paying and three of the units were vacant. The 1 bed studio had been empty for about four years. It's a "B" area and was probably a C- property at best. 

My total cost was right at $200K. The previous year's taxes were just a touch over $12,000. I bought it on Aug 31st. (That was a mistake. Always buy it, if you can, sometime after the 1st of the month for the rent credits.)

Back to my point, nine days after I purchased the property, I walked into the assessor's office with all of my paperwork to get the valuation lowered from the $475K they had on it. I only had until the 12th of the month per statute, so I got somewhat lucky there. Sometimes, timing is everything.

My property tax bill just came in at a touch over $5K. That's $7,000 more in cash flow! 

If you just purchased a property, check to see if your purchase price is less than the valuation provided by your county. If it's higher, challenge it!

To your investing success!

@Sharon Rohner, don't feel bad. These companies are very good at what they do. I've been enticed many times myself and somehow avoided it. But it happens.

What are you being taught that's contradicted? Perhaps you can ask your questions here and get some advice from a giving community like BiggerPockets?

A last piece of advice... jump in, but not blindly. Get a book (like the @J Scott book on Flipping) and read through it. And follow his advice. And read the some of the free resources and blog posts on this site. Maybe a week at most of hard-core, basic education. Jumping in doesn't have to be completely blind. You have friends around here.

Good luck!

 I think it was around $9K, but it was in real bad shape and that area of town isn't my type of investment. But that's just my preference. Alton has a lot of opportunity, but I am not too involved in that town.

It seems the market is too hot for the value, so you need to get a lot in front of you beforehand. Continued blessings to you.

Good Luck! Sounds as if you've found a strategy you like. Might consider the rent being too low if you have a waiting list.

If you are here, let's meet up!

As my tagline implies, I prefer multifamily over SFH. I personally think it is easier to get a PM on multifamily properties because they like the concept of scale, too. You'll have higher turnover and more operating expenses with a multifamily over the SFH. On the other hand, you'll have lower per-unit acquisition costs and lower CapEx costs over the lifecycle. (In general, this is the case).

I doubt a good agent will allow the seller to accept your offer if you don't have a solid financial status. If you mention wholesale or assignment, you'll be rejected.

Lots usually have to be bought at a very low price because they can take a while to sell. There are a few people on this forum that work with raw land.

My collection provider just sent me word they can no longer collect rental payments due to their clearing house provider ceasing that service. I've considered Cozy and decided to take the plunge.

One thing people seem to forget is that Cozy is free for you and the resident. If you are getting a free service, you'll often have to take some less-than-ideal features with it. Some of the other services mentioned here charge for their service (some quite a bit). 

Personally, 4-5 days seems better than the 8 days I was getting with my other provider. The other provider also allowed resident gets to choose when they pay. You want them to decide if it's the 25th or the fourth Friday or whenever so you don't get bounced checks. And some government services don't deposit until the 3rd of the month. It's better to get a payment two days late than to have a bounced check show up two weeks later IMO.

Using Cozy means I will probably need to stop using my other online application service. So I'll need to rework that part of my process.

Leaking water heaters will do more damage than you save by waiting for it to happen. You do it on your terms and schedule. 

Screen, screen, screen just like normal. And talk with other investors in the area about the local HUD office. How good are they at responding to issues? How fair are they at dealing with complaints? How strict are they with following the inspection manuals?

My office is pretty reasonable. But I know of an office nearby that is horrific. Each office is independent from the other and you have to make sure you know which one will be handling your potential resident's case.