All Forum Posts by: Steve Kiser

As a person who has paid for some of J Massey's courses, at this point, I think there is a lot of amazing information available for you which you don't need to pay for.  The primary difference is, you need to know what you want to learn.  In purchasing a program, any program, you will go along a very scripted structure.  As an independent researcher/learner, you will be guided more by what interests you.  If you DM me, I would be willing to provide you assistance.  No fee.

This property looks interesting.  Please contact me about this.

The primary purpose of this particular meetup is to help people understand the relationship between their personal balance sheet, income statement and cashflow.  I do this through playing the game CashFlow by Robert Kiyosaki.  I try to ensure that someone walks away with more knowledge than when they arrived.

Is that something that you are looking to do?

@Fernando Corrado and @Walter Roby jr please stop by the meetup and introduce yourselves.  I would love to meet you.

I currently host a monthly CashFlow game at Panera Bread. It is held the first Wednesday of every month. I have been thinking of expanding and creating a REIA, to review changes to the economic environment, investment opportunities, etc.

Are these something that woud interest you?

 https://www.meetup.com/Woodland-Hills-Cashflow-Clu...

Ahmad, I am interested if this is still available.

@Mabel L., I don't respond to post too often (but I am endeavoring to do so more in 2017).  Here are my thoughts staring with the cond on SF.  

First looking at the motivations for your tenant, this is a hard deal for her to turn away from.  A lifetime agreement with, based on what you mentioned, modest rent increases.  What motivation does she have to leave?  Until she is married with kids, I would assume very little.  So given that it is break even, selling this might be difficult.  Also, depending on how the lease was written, I would ask another question which is, does she have the ability to sublet.  If so, then this property is never going out of her hands.  Make sure you have these issues identified before you start to market and move the property.  I am certain that you can sell the property but you would need to do so the the right person.  

In regards to So Cal, my first question is why there?  Lots of places have housing shortages.  What draws you to So LA?  What kind of tenant are you looking to serve?  For my multi-family we aave only purchased B/C complexes.  For houses however, we focus more on the A/B market.  The expectations are different and the returns are different.  I would suggest that you have a good idea of who you are looking to serve before looking for the property.  After the 'who' question, the ask the where question.  Where do the numbers make sense given the client that you are looking to attract.  Do you have a team or the ability  to assemble the team to support you.

Lastly, while appreciation in SF or even in LA my be attractive, I would caution you to not count on that as, unless you are finding a way to manufacture the appreciation, don't count on it.  By manufacture, I mean add a room, convert a 1/2 bath to a 3/4 or full bath, add a laundry room, etc.  Those items change the utility of the building.  I typically do not assume that market appreciation will exist.  If I can't control it, I don't want to count on it.

I do not know if I am answering you question with a no/no-go but I wanted to give you some factors to consider in your equation.  I hope this helps.

@Heidi B., You are very wise to be a bit cautious in your thought process.  I think the key for you would be to first truly understand why you are purchasing any particular property and how does it fit within your specific Investment philosophy.  I, for example, have purchased properties at retail in my past, but will not do so any more.  All the sayings of 'you make your money at the purchase' are true, from my experience.  I too see some issues on the horizon so I am very particular in regards to my current purchases.  For starts, I will run the financials for any property to ensure that it can carry its own weight, i.e. pay for itself.  Second, if I make the assumption that it will appreciate, I specifically identify which type of the 5 types of appreciation I expect and why.  I NEVER assume that a property will just 'go up' due to market conditions.  I view that as extra but not calculated.

I also have specific investment criteria for purchases.  Having such prevents overpaying for properties.  What it also may do is have you look outside of your current area.

I see by your profile that you are in Agoura.  I work in Calabasas (and went to Agoura High - go Chargers!!) so if you ever wanted get together and refine your investment philosophy, just PM me. 

Ben,  Congrats on the contract.  I am looking to expand my holding in Memphis.  Please feel free to contact me.

BTW - how do you get that little @ 'persons name' in the response boxes?

I may be a little late on this thread but here goes... I live in LA as well (West Hills - in case you wanted to get a coffee and discuss any of this).  I own investment property in 3 different states - none of which are California.  I do own in Memphis and I can state that it has probably been the most challenging and rewarding.  I do have local property managers for all my locations and I would state that Memphis probably needs it more than other areas.  During my site visits, I can state that a street, a single street, can make a HUGE difference.  I have been on property tours where the street we were on was the correct street however the next street over was a cul-de-sac and you would not want to be on that street... ever.  Memphis is a fairly blue collar city with some great areas (such as Germantown and Collier).  There are some great prices in Frayser, but similar to other folks, I do not know if I would call them 'deals'.  We have a great property manager in Memphis who understands what we are looking for and when a property which fits our investment criteria comes along, he shoots us an email.  We purchased a 6 unit last year which needed some rehab.  The manager knew this is what we were looking for and it is performing nicely for us now.  We have used the same manager for the first building we purchased and that required much more extensive rehab. 

Turn key is certainly a good way to go, however as someone else had mentioned, due diligence is still important.  I have a couple of friends who purchased TK's from same vendor.  One was satisfied while the other was not.  I was tempted as well, but chose to go independent.  I am happy that I did as I feel the education about the market and my objectives are more clearly defined.  I am not a pro member so I do not know if you send me a PM.  I would however be happy to share my knowledge and contacts with you at your convenience.