All Forum Posts by: Spencer Hilligoss

@Sharon Tseung - Hi Sharon, we own 5 rental properties in Kansas City. We purchased them turnkey and they are cash flowing nicely with excellent property management. They are lower maintenance than our local duplex that we own in the bay area. 

I recently posted on a similar thread about this topic. Here's a link to that discussion

Happy to provide more insight on our experience if you want to DM

It's a well-intended update with a cleaner UI. Unfortunately, the cleaner UI comes with dozens of significant bugs. 

As many others on here have called out, I bookmark BP.com on the Chrome browser on my iPhone

@Philip C. this is where we step firmly into the 'it depends' arena. If the property is 2 blocks from a university, in a block that is largely populated by students... rent rates will likely reflect student lifestyles. Student lifestyles and property conditions may not meet expectations for a family. Wish I could give something for definitive for you on this, but it depends on the submarket 

@Alex M. - re: Anderson advisors - yep! found another couple firms with similar models, as well. I think those types of firms are good fits if you have a functioning business that's generating profits. they aren't a great fit for fledgling businesses. 

Based on how you describe your REI experience and recent activity... sounds like you've got a good thing going and maybe they'd be a good fit

@Ron Rohrssen - when it comes to 5+ multifamily, I found that only a couple books were meaningfully helpful vs. the following options: 

• coaching programs
• podcasts
• forums
• networking 
• deal underwriting / analysis 

That said, here are a few good reads that help lay the initial knowledge foundation multifamily investing:

Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate: How a Small Investor Can Make It Big

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures, Updated Edition

Keep in mind, there are dozens of other amazing REI reads... but they don't necessarily focus exclusively on large multifamily (the BP published books, for example). Awesome that you're focusing on multifamily!

@Alex M. - shop around. We have used LegalZoom (a couple hundreds bucks) and paid our CPA+Biz services firm ($500) for real estate LLC formations. Our needs were relatively simple compared to yours, so it's tough to say if $1,500 makes sense for your needs.

At minimum, you'll want at least 3 quotes from well-reviewed entity formation professionals. I recently came across an awesome firm that even provides a "unlimited entity formation" package for RE investors if you pay an upfront fee (a few grand) and a modest monthly subscription. They were a combo CPA+legal+bookkeeping+biz services firm. 

Legal zoom is a fine option, unless you have tailored needs or don't know what you need. You can head down that path, but if you can't size the risk you're taking... how risky is it?

@Moira Mosley-Duffy - In addition to the commentary already provided by @Milton Rivera and @Grant Rothenburger... it's worth mentioning that we've had a positive experience with the service called WeGoLook before entering due diligence, when purchasing properties remotely.

They took updated pictures, did a 2 page (simple) PDF summary of neighborhood observations and we paid a couple extra bucks for iPhone videos of the neighborhood, to make sure we weren't purchasing properties in warzones. It was well worth it, for us... and built confidence that we were putting in the right offer. 

@Peter Prawel - lasting businesses are built on mutual trust, built over time and multiple transactions. 

I agree with the the wisdom shared by @Jay Hinrichs @Joe Villeneuve.  If someone has a deal THAT good, in a market THIS competetive... it’s likely they have reliable financing relationship already well-established and the lender knows they’d be screwing themselves out of future business by screwing over a proven operator with an established track record.

Are there anomalies? Sure. But most of the best deals go to investors with the means of secreting them 

@Philip C. - sure is. Demand is market-specific... and even sub-market specific. Determined by drivers like job supply and renter demographics. 

Re: 2 BR vs 1 BR - 2 is markedly more flexible and attractive than 1. (3 is even better, obvi) You’ll have a very hard time putting a family in a 1 BR

@Caleb Heimsoth aside from the epic detail in those two posts, I’d say the real make/break step in that entire process was calling the bank and even walking into a local branch... until I zeroed in on the ONE perso at the bank who worked in Servicing that 1) knew what I was asking for 2) actually showed a smidge of customer service and empathy 

... without her help. It never would’ve happened!