All Forum Posts by: Matthew Masoud

1. You need to start considering multifamily. Single family in general has razor thin margins.

2. You can find decent deals on market, but that likely means placing offers far below asking. You may want to start considering digging off market. Call/emails/letters to property owners is how you buy assets and deep discounts. Plus if you find leads that don't want to sell at a discount but at market you can be the listing agent and make some more downpayment money. 

3. Getting phone numbers/email/addresses is not easy, you just have to dig deeper. If you find the owner look them up on truepeoplesearch.com and try those numbers. If its an LLC take the time to look it up on your states secretary of state.

Are you in the growth phase or the harvesting phase?

If you're still looking to grow, look into 1031ing into a value-add deal. Maybe another multifamily property or retail center where you can still raise rates.

If you don't have the time or energy to continue building the nest egg, you can get some decent yeilds 5%-7% on some strong backed single tenant NNN properties (think Burger King or homedepots)

 They kept me on the platform. I had 30+ listings at the time, so I knew it was a gamble. 

But who are we kidding, they were making stupid amounts of fees from me. Paid them probably over $100k in fees to them in 2023.

Last year, I had a guest check in for a 5-week stay. Within hours, he messaged me complaining about a smoke smell. I acted fast—offered to send my cleaner with an ozone machine that same day. He declined. I still apologized and even asked the tenant in the next unit to stop smoking inside.

Then... radio silence.

Five weeks go by. No complaints. No issues. He checks out like normal. My cleaner goes in, all good.

Then the bomb drops.

I get an email from Airbnb—they canceled his reservation retroactively. Said he “didn’t stay due to smoke odor” and would be fully refunded. Not only that, but they were deducting the refund—over $3,000—from my future payouts.

I was stunned. Furious. The guy stayed the whole time! And now I was getting stiffed?

I tried calling Airbnb multiple times. Nothing. No explanation just the good old Airbnb runaround. 

So I did what every host should consider doing when they’re screwed over—I filed a small claims lawsuit.

Cost me $75.

Weeks go by. Then, right before our court date, Airbnb’s attorney calls me trying to settle for $500. I laughed. Not a chance.

We went back and forth and finally settled for $2,800. I got almost everything back.

Moral of the story: Don’t let Airbnb bully you. If you’ve been genuinely wronged, don’t be afraid to stand up and fight. Hosts need to know we do have rights—and sometimes it pays to push back.

Yeah, insurance used to be an afterthought. A few days before closing on a property, I would reach out and get insurance quotes.

Now it's something I have to do during the due diligence phase. Insurance can really blow up a deal.

Just to add, watch our for lower quality neighborhoods.

Your criteria might lead you to C or D-class neighborhoods. 

What might look like a great deal on paper is actually going to be a money pit. 

Bad tenants, harsh weather, and old buildings are a recipe for disaster. 

As I fellow SoCal long-distance investor, let me be the first to tell you, there is no easier way to lose money then buying in very low-income neighborhoods.

My first long-distance deal was a triplex in one of the worst neighborhoods in Cincinnati, OH. Things go so bad, I had to move out there for several months to get it cleaned up. Somehow, I still made money on that deal. 

You have to go beyond the price of the property, look at the neighborhoods. what looks like it will be good good income on paper will actually be a money pit. 

a $30k house is bound to be in bad shape in a bad neighborhood.

Being long distance means doing your homework is just that much more important. 

I would let them install it under the condition that the wiring must be returned to original condition before the end of the lease or they will be charged for it.

Or they can just leave the charger installed, great value if you want to sell or increase your rent a bit for the next tenant.

 Yeah been almost 3 years

Not sure what his pricing is now,it's been a while 

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