All Forum Posts by: Ross Leavitt

There are parts of the law that will apply and parts that won't. One obvious example is that the restrictions on discrimination are much more lax when it's an owner-occupied unit.

Since the details are complicated, and I'm guessing she isn't looking to do an intensive study of the law herself, I would suggest joining her local Rental Owners' Association. Fees will probably be less than $100 a year, and there is usually a hotline to an expert to help with any questions. It's a fantastic resource and a huge bargain. Just write it off as a rental expense. 

Sounds like an exciting plan! HELOCs are great for for downpayments on new investments. Do you have a team in those out-of-state areas? How are you looking to do your research?

Having a JV partner could be a great idea on this project, even if this guy might not be the best one. Have you posted your property on the BP marketplace? You might find some more experienced builders/investors who would be interested.

I second Brett. I'm assuming you're not considering taking over a 1.1M loan on a 900k property. 

I second the advice to use a lawyer. They can make sure you don't do anything dumb (illegal) and are cheaper than an agent.

Still, if I were you, I would buy one or two houses WITH an agent first. After that, you'll know the process well enough to handle it on your own. That experience will be worth the commission. Plus, that agent may bring you deals in the future. We buy without an agent when we can, but the biggest value of our agent is the deals he brings us that we would have never known about without him.

That sounds like an exciting project! We've built 4-plexes, many large houses, and are in permitting for some small apartment buildings, that are rented to students at OSU here in Corvallis, OR. We did the 4-plexes with a partner who has been a longtime friend and colleague with my father in his other business, and everything else has been on our own.

I am glad we did those two projects with a partner, because he has more experience in the market than we do, and he had very good input in the design and construction. We also get his input in determining rents, and potentially down the line, selling the properties. Of course, cost of that is that we're sharing the returns.

However, since we have done many more projects on our own than with him, we get to benefit from his input with our wholly-owned properties as well. To us, that is the best of both worlds. Partners with an expert on one or two projects, wholly-own similar projects. Share a little of the returns, benefit from the wisdom permanently on everything.

I'm assuming that you have access to the cash you would need to do it alone and that is a real option, since you're asking the question. I suppose that the other issue is whether you have other projects you'd rather use that cash for, with even better returns. Have you talked to a banker to see how much they would loan for construction, given your current equity position in the property?

I'm sure I'm not unlike most other BP users in spending a large portion of my workday talking on my bluetooth headset, but all too often the caller complains of poor quality until I take it off. I got a Jawbone Era which is supposed to have good quality, and it still doesn't cut it. Have any of you found a bluetooth with great audio quality in real-world situations?

That's great to hear, Chad. Get in touch anytime!

Hi Cindy,

The general contractor I'm using for construction projects is awesome. I'm not sure if he's done rehabs, but if you message me I'd be happy to give you his info.

Vacancy varies widely from campus to campus, and you should be able to get a good idea of what to expect locally from other property managers. The two large colleges near me have nearby vacancy rates of about 5% and under 2%, respectively. 12-month leases are standard in both of those markets for any property that is reasonably updated and in good repair. I'm sure other markets have very different standards, though.