All Forum Posts by: Samir Shahani

I don't know about your area, but my suggestion would be to self manage as long as possible.

Very few, if any, property managers will treat the home as well as the owner 

I mean, without a question, you only need the ones already mentioned. - Zillow and Craigslist

but if you are looking for more- Cozy and Apartments.com are great resources as well.

@Darius King Davis

While many may not agree, I think it’s important to start small and then scale up - find out if it’s for you first.

Some people learn within a couple weeks that landlording and the inherent risk (though minimal in my opinion) associated with rentals is not for them.  In that situation it would have been far better to have bought a couple single families or maybe a small multi family.

Before doing anything, though, heed the advice of our peers here, and learn a lot before pulling the trigger. 

This is a game of confidence, and those who study and learn the most are the most confident.

@Tom Liu

Call an exterminator and find out what the extent of the damage is.  The biggest concern is structural damage; as any termites would cause cosmetic damage, the real painful issues are related to the structure.  A qualified exterminator should be able to advise you on all considerations.  You can get multiple bids to help you sleep better at night.

For future reference, generally speaking, an inspection prior to the property purchase picks up these things. 

To buy and hold investors: what tools do you use to look at your business?  Do you have a balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement (the three 3 financial statements)

Are you calculating ROI year over year? Are you looking at other metrics? COC return? ROE? ROA?

What else is important to you? 

I like to provoke some thought! So here is a  general question for all full time investors:

How do you spend your days?

Are you self managing? If so, how many units? How do you streamline it?

If you have a property manager or a larger business in action, what do you focus on? How are you spending your time?   Are you adding value daily or just coasting?

@Mike Kole

You’re looking for any major bank. Try PNC !

@Howard Cabalfin

Hey Howard , welcome to the community! It’s a fantastic place to learn and teach.

What are your goals? Do you plan to make some extra income? Or are you trying to shoot the moon?

Do you have any prior RE experience?

@Dave Vona

My experience in life has suggested that whenever you take a shortcut (hiring an unqualified guy or trying to skip a step)  you end up paying more than the original price of doing it correctly.

I can paint (no pun intended!) a pretty bad picture for the scenario you describe:

Your non-malicious handiman hurts himself in on your property by mistake and sues you.  

You still have to get the work done & now you are dealing with a law suit!!

@Jarett Tigges

My suggestion would be to go knock on some doors (banks).  Get pre-approved for $xxx and bid on a house.  When you have the property under agreement start negotiating with the lender you got the pre-approval from as well as others.  I try to find the terms that best suit the application!  

Remember, you are the customer.  The bank's job is to give loans!  A lot of people forget that.  They have to cater to you, not the other way around!!!