All Forum Posts by: Stacey Mollinet

I have found Maple Heights inspections to be much less picky than Shaker Heights or Cleveland Heights.  In fact, I haven't had any inspection problems with my Maple Heights SF.  

I like renting to Section 8 because the rent is guaranteed and they generally are not going to get evicted, which is very expensive.  In the Cleveland area, section 8 rent also tends to be slightly higher than market rent.  The only downside to section 8 is the yearly inspections and having to fix picky things.  I still find it worth the hassle.  

I have a 5 plex under contract in Roosevelt right now, which is about 30 minutes west of Vernal. I had been looking in Davis and Utah Counties and had not found anything that fit the numbers I wanted.  When cap rates are what he can get other easier ways, my husband prefers I not invest in real estate. We carefully considered the market in Roosevelt before making the offer.  I spoke to several property managers as well as researched current rents and occupancy rates.  The property managers all indicated that there is a price that will keep an apartment rented and that number is much much lower right now than it was during the boom.  Rents are down $100-150/month for a 2 bedroom since 2013-14.  The property managers all said they are leasing steadily if the price is right and they have seen an increase in occupancy in the last several months.  The key is buying the property at a good price to support those low rents.  We offered very low and they accepted.  At the price I am buying it at, I will make a good return at the current low market rents with a higher vacancy.  If rents go back up to 2013 levels, I will make a VERY good rate of return.  If it doesn't go back up for several years, this property will still return what I need it to.  The other bonus to buying right now is that contractors are available and able to help with the rehab.  It was apparently difficult to get contractors to talk to you a few years ago.  If you do your research and you can make the numbers work under current weak market conditions, it will be a good investment under both weak and strong markets.  

Hi @Ammon Gutierrez!  Bigger pockets is a great place to start.  There is so much good information here.  Once you decide your area of focus, and it sounds like multi family maybe an area you're interested in, then you may also want to look for podcasts that talk about finding and managing multi families.   There are lots of good podcasts out there. You can search for topics that interest you. I put them on double-speed and listen while I am cleaning and driving. You can get through a lot that way. The bigger pockets books on finding real estate deals and managing multi families are also very good. 

It's true what people say, you just need to find your first deal. It's not easy to find one on the MLS right now. Still, keep your eyes open and have a real estate agent send you alerts when new properties are listed. Other sites such as a estately.com also let you set alerts. Having an agent working for you is good because if you see a deal that may work, the agent can give you more information about previous rents, utility payments, and other numbers that are not available publicly. Get yourself on some wholesaling email lists, too. I'm on one called Salt Lake wholesale properties. They send out email alerts whenever there is a property available. Other people on here could help you find other wholesale lists. Some deals are better than others. You will have to look at many properties before you can find a good deal right now that fits the specifications. Make a goal to run the numbers on a certain number of properties each week. Even if none of them work, it's still great education.

Doing the first deal though is the best education. You learn to overcome each obstacle as you encounter it. Read, listen, and learn as much as you can while you are looking so you will know what to do. If you don't know what to do, research it  or ask on a forum.   Someone else has encountered the same thing and their experience can help you. When you find a deal that fits your numbers, move on it right away.  

 Don't worry about getting your real estate license right now. Get your first deal and maybe your second. By then you'll know if you want to get your license or not. 

 Good luck with everything! 

 I currently own a couple of investment properties in Davis County, so I looked at this post.  I don't know as much about cache county. I've been looking for a new property in Davis County and I'm not having much luck. As you have seen, the 1% rule rarely applies  with the current market conditions. In my opinion everything is overpriced. In general, the deals I have found in the past have been in older run down neighborhoods where you go in and update an older house. In order to make the rents work, the price of the house needs to stay low, in the $150,000 or lower price range. A townhome in the same complex as one I currently own just sold for 50% more than I bought mine for.  Rents have gone up $250 for a 3/2 in the two years since my tenants moved in.  The rent is higher, but I don't think it justifies a 50% higher sales price. 

 I finally found a deal that I can make money on in Roosevelt Utah. Roosevelt and Vernal have had quite a downturn over the last three years from the bottom dropping out of the oil market. It looks like new contracts are coming to town and they may be pulling out of their slump. The property I found makes money even though the rents are much much lower than they were three years ago. If I can make money on it with the current market conditions, it should do well once the oil market recovers.  It's a riskier investment though. 

 Good luck finding something. You may need to make multiple low offers in order to get something that works. 

My daughter just moved to an apartment with w/d hookups.  The complex will rent them a set or they can buy their own.  Management is definitely making money on it so it is better for her to buy a used set than to rent them from the complex.  Providing that option would be a money maker for the owner.  

I can't see any of those. Bigger Pockets says the page doesn't exist. 

Munir, the management company handles everything for me since I live far from Cleveland. They collect rent, they clean after a tenant moves out, they have in house maintenance people or get bids from other contractors if needed (roofing, etc.), they meet inspectors, advertise, sign leases, do a monthly statement, transfer money to my account, pay utility bills if needed, handle evictions (yes I've had a couple), arrange for lawn care (not for Maple heights since it is a single family home but for my multi families), and are very responsive on answering questions by email. The handyman I used to hire before switching to Dave now works for him and is really good.  I wouldn't recommend two contractors from early in my investing there. 

 I own a single-family home in Maple Heights and it has been a good experience for us. The city does have a point-of-sale inspection, but it wasn't too rigorous and they don't have city inspections every three years like Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights have. there is a registration with the city when you have a tenant. We use David Terbeek with Remax out of Solon for property Management. They have been great. 

Welcome! Congrats on getting your first property under contract.  You'll learn so much!  Don't start on another property under you are through the first one.  You only want to learn the lessons once. We made that mistake having our 2 - 4 properties in rehab all at the same time.  It was tight on money and we almost didn't have enough to finish with the unexpected problems.   I've looked recently at properties in Moab to use as a vacation rental, but haven't seen anything yet that seemed to fit the numbers or my style.  You're right that choices in Moab seem to be limited and the prices seem a little higher than I expected.   Moab has a real demand so hopefully you will do well.