All Forum Posts by: Steve Hall

It's not always about "price". Make sure you look at the vacancies in Lawton. I have found them to be quite high recently. Sometimes accurate vacancy numbers are hard to get unless you ask for a detailed T-12 or annual RR, and then figure out the vacancy rate yourself.

@Ricardo Rodriguez How did you know if this was a good deal if you did not do an appraisal and you have no idea how much it will cost to rehab it?

This is a perfect example of how not to buy an investment property.

Great thread with lots of great answers. I voted for all of the following posts:

@JD Martinhas great advice: No discounts. Only terms, and then fees for non-compliance.

@Thomas S. has great advice: Don't let one incident change the way you've done things for 15 years.

@Wesley W. has great advice: With shorter term leases, or Month-to-Month, you can quickly terminate the tenant. 

@Max T. has great advice: Only fix legitimate maintenance issues, in your case, nothing.

@Erik W. has great advice: Use a Google voice number. Set business hours. Have recording about calling 911 or utility companies.

To expound upon what @Wesley W. said: A 1 year lease is just a false sense of security the landlord. Tenants can just break it whenever they want, and you're bound to it until it expires.

The only advice given by @Erik W. that I would not suggest you follow is to issue a non-renewal notice with 4 months left on a lease. A spiteful tenant may just stop paying rent, then you would have start eviction, and by the time you got a court order the lease would be up!

I see this all the time, speculators saying: "I found the deal, I'll do all the work, you bring all the money."

Um, I can find deals myself, I can hire anyone to do the work, and I have the money! Go get a loan...

@Christina Morales Welcome to BP!

Impressive first post. Disappointing second post. It seems the responses given above have lead you to believe "I can't afford it." That's unfortunate.

If you want a $1 million apartment complex, figure out how to make it happen!

Forget about HML. That's for short term investors, like flippers. Can you think of other ways to get what you want?

I'll get you started on some things to think about:

1) Connecticut properties are too expensive and have low cap rates. Look for apartment complexes in other states.

2) Seek out seller financing deals. Every seller is different; find one that is open to terms that work with your situation.

3) Regarding not having a large enough down payment, have you tapped all of your resources: IRA, 401K, Life Insurance cash value, equity in your home, etc?

4) Find other investors in the same boat, with the same goals, and go in on an apartment deal together. Owning 25% of a $1 million apartment complex is better than owning nothing, right? Plus it gets you MF ownership experience!

Remember: never say "I can't afford it.", instead say "How can I afford it?"

Wow - very wise of you to create a BP account and ask for advice @Victor San Gil. Without more details, is it hard to say for sure, but it is highly likely that you don't have a proper business structure. Remember that you didn't just inherit an income stream, you inherited a business along with liability. I highly suggest that you sit down with a real estate attorney and a real estate savvy CPA and ask them what the best way is to structure your business(es). It will cost more than you might want to spend, but in the end, everything will get straightened out, and it will be well worth it.

Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned minus the value of all outstanding liabilities. So, if your hotel is worth $4 million, and there is a $3 million debt service, and you are 25% owner, then your Net worth of that property would be $250,000. (Assuming there are no other liabilities.)

 You shouldn't care whether it's a condo or a house. Run the numbers and see which one is better. 

Again, run the numbers. If trailers don't appreciate, (or if they depreciate) factor that in.

Reg flags are if the numbers are red. You're looking at rentals as if you are buying for yourself.

Read it again... you missed the point. Then read Rich Dad's Guide to Investing.

@Rachel Damaral  Just 2 months ago you posted that you and your partner were looking to "build a team" in Charleston, SC. Did you not know 2 months ago that you would be moving to Jacksonville?  How sure are you that you are going to stay here?

I owned a food service franchise back in the early 2000's. All I can say is if you are considering a franchise, or if you own one, then you really need to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad again. You may think you are in the "B" quadrant, but you are actually in the "E" quadrant.  A franchise is a liability, not an asset. You are making someone else money, even when you are losing money. The franchisor is the smart one here... not the franchisee.

Most important things to consider:

1) You pay royalties (and marketing fees) on your GROSS sales. I you don't make any profit, you still pay the franchisor.

2) The franchisor makes the rules (thousands of them), and if you don't follow them, you can lose your license.

3) The franchisor can change the rules whenever they want. (Try playing a board game where someone else can change the rules as you're playing the game.)

4) If the franchisor pulls your license, your capital investment is gone, and you are out of business. And there's not much you can do about it.

I would highly suggest that anyone considering a franchise read this article on Nolo.com.