All Forum Posts by: Scott Schultz

we allow pets regardless of being service animals, we require they have renters insurance, and the breed is allowable on that insurance, we set our units up with no carpet, as to not be as big a problem with pet mess. 

Im not an attorney, but i was advised that if a tenant has a pet, and they do not have insurance, and the pet causes damage or harm to another, it can fall back to the landlords insurance. be careful out there.

I will also add the Turn over in 1 bedrooms is quite high, I bet they average less than 2 years per unit, probably closer to 1-1.5 year tenancy, 1 bedrooms tend to be temporary and transient tenants, till they find a significant other and start a family, or need more space. turn overs get expensive. honestly the more i think about your deal the less i would pay.

What is the debt cost? utilities (for common areas and typically water)? i dont see capX. vacancy, the annual repair number seems quite low thats only $71/year per unit, as does grass and snow you have only $55.50/mo. i doubt that covers one snowfall or grass cutting per month , you will also have garbage service you need to pay for, and if the city requires you to pay for Fire inspections, or licensing being commercial they can, as well as sprinkler system and fire extinguisher contracts, common area cleaning and maintenance,  and Management. im probably missing something here yet. 

so rents average $500/mo fully occupied?  I dont see the numbers working, spending $41K per unit, you can get much better rent, with longer term tenants in single families. in my opinion, $32K or less per unit, or dont do it.

Get ahold of Joe at ABC Rental Management, he can give you an idea what rent should be, and is a great property manager,  he is managing 10 of mine right now, you may be surprised how high rent is

Maybe i should clarify, I prefer to do business with companies that share similar political views as I, because those profits contribute to causes I tend to believe in, if i buy a Sara Lee Pie, they make a profit from that sale, and a small portion of that contributes to anti gun efforts, which i disagree with, so I choose not to buy their product, because I dont want to support that cause, this is a simple free market concept, it does not make a huge difference, but in my opinion, every little bit makes a difference. this is my philosophy, and how I choose to spend my money, and is the right I have in a free market society

@Tanya F. My agent has me with Auto Owners, probably one of the most reasonable price, and they will still do cash value base instead of replacement cost, my typical 2-3 bed SFR in town insured for $60K is like $260/year with rental risk, the ones with wood burning accessories like fireplaces, and wood furnaces are $350/year. we have about a dozen with them right now, hope this helps. at some point State Farm wont cover you anymore anyway, they dont like rental risk, (i have a friend thats an agent with them)

@Account Closed I make many of my buying decisions based on political contribution, if you spend your money at a business that contributes to a PAC or organization, a portion of the profit from your sales goes to that cause. I refuse to patronize Hallmark, Sara lee,   Buffalo Wild Wings, Applebees, and a bunch of others, because the contribute to anti  2A  efforts, I am a Right leaning Libertarian, and avoid doing business with people and companies that support left leaning causes, i voting with you pocket book sends a message, and I have to feel good about where i spend my money. 

If you listen to rich dad radio, you would understand. All that Robert is saying is be prepared, many investors have been wiped out when economic tides change, and the current markets feel a little "toppy" I wouldn't say sit on cash, but at minimum have equity to draw on. I am quite worried about all the people doing BRRR at 80%LTV, especially in commercial balloons, like I do, but I never go more than 60% LTV so I can absorb a 20% downturn and still refi, I also keep some paid off ones with lines of credit so if all hell breaks loose, I can buy when everyone is selling. Moral of the story, be prepared, the market will change at some point, it always has, like Warren Buffet says "we will all know who is swimming naked when the tide goes out"

There are a ton of them out there, I used the one the Realtors Assn. had in our forms program, but if i would have known then what I know now, I would have just hired management from the start, and let them take care of it.  

Originally posted by @Caleb Schmitz:

Hello all,

I am new to investing and will be purchasing my first property later this year and hopefully develop a portfolio from there. Now, I am searching advice on some of my investment ideas. I am a design engineer in Wisconsin, and thought I could incorporate this into the portfolio marketing.

I have 3D designs of a few secret bookcases and want to develop a portfolio of properties (rental or other) that have some form of secret bookcase or passage. Since I designed it myself, it only costs around 300 for materials to put it together, so not a significant investment. I think that this may draw attention and traffic to my website or advertisements during vacancies. This would hopefully payoff quickly because my vacancy time would decrease. These secret bookcases or passages may range from simply having an in-wall mini bar or secret closet all the way to a panic room.

My main reason for doing this is that it will drive interest to my properties and advertisements as portfolio increases. I suspect that this will give me more applications so I can select the best tenants. Another minor benefit is that if I were to sell it in the future, it would be a way to attract buyers.

What do you think about this venture and concerns on this type of investment? All comments would be great!

 given your "interest" idea, the Octagon House is in Foreclosure, that one would be interesting to say the least. 

I dont have a recommendation other than working with Pro Vision,  but if you use someone local, there are 2 things the accountant MUST have, Be a CPA, and Own several pieces of real estate, dont be afraid to ask. Good Luck!