All Forum Posts by: Stephen J Davis

This depends on the trust level and experience of the property management team. The answer is yes if you can trust them. Make sure they get three bids and let you choose the contractor based on the referrals until you have a contractor that you can trust as well. Hope this helps.

Congrats on your 10 units. I would join your local apartment association before doing anything. They know exactly what the best solution will be for your situation and city codes. Start at www.naahq.com.

@Richard Coleman You are wise to have learned this early. Don't sacrifice your time with your kids or your romantic time with your wife. Stay balanced. Almost every deal that I do has rehab in order to get it at a deep discount. I do none of the work myself. Find a contractor that you can trust and let them do it. The rule is that if you are picking up a hammer or paint brush, you are doing it wrong. 

I agree with @Mark Durham I joined several groups and cultivated a group of about 35 or 40 buyers. Get them to commit to what they are wanting as well. I knew exactly who wanted rentals and who wanted flips. As you do deals with them gather more information like how much cash they have and so on.
Check out www.nationalreia.com to find groups in your area. Good luck.

@Anthony Wick I am not your average investor who is only concerned with the rate of return. Most look at money and only money. I ask this question first. Will this property improve my quality of lifestyle? If the answer is yes, then and only then do I look at the cash flow and equity capture. I don't want any calls from my tenants about problems. This took time away from raising my kids and romancing my wife. When I got to 100 houses I had almost no maintenance calls because of this strategy. Once you move to apartments it is even more important. 

Check out www.nationreia.com to find clubs across the US. Good luck in your investing!

I don't use them either. Rehab your property the day you buy it and replace anything that does not have at least 5 years left on it's life expectancy. My maintenance costs are very low because of this strategy. It also helps with tenant retention and attracting the best tenants.

Wow. Sorry to hear you are in this situation. Based on your comments, that lease sounds weak. I would get a copy of the lease that realtors in the area use and hire a non-family member attorney to explain it to you line by line and modify it for your use. This is a one time cost but I think you will be much safer and happier. By the way, $250 is a low price to pay to keep the family happy if you know what I mean. That is up to you though. Just don't use that weak lease.

It can take some time to get to the right person but just call the bank and ask for the REO department. (Real Estate Owned) Same thing with the city. Try to get the whole list not just the ones that you are interested in now. Make sure that you have your buyers lined up so you can safely get it under contract quickly. If you don't have a buyers list, join a local real estate investors club and get about 35 buyers names and contact info before you start writing offers. These deals usually have short fuses.

You are right. I have found that tenants don't turn bad after they move in. They are bad before. Screening is key. Credit and criminal reports. Talk to the last 2...yes 2 landlords. Verify income and so on.