All Forum Posts by: Travis Biziorek

 I've been considering simply having a security system in place for vacant homes. Any experience doing that, Michael?

Not entirely sure, but I believe as long as the loan amount is at least $25k they would. Not sure it's worth the PMI, higher rate, etc. doing that though.

Hi @Matt Franklin, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. That sucks. Taylor isn't actually Detroit, but a suburb of Detroit. Regardless, I'm glad you triggered my keyword alert for Detroit anyway.

I don't think your problems are unique. Property management firms are notoriously terrible in this area. I haven't actually used one yet but there are two seemingly solid ones I've found during my research. Again, I can't vouch for these guys personally because i haven't used them. I'll send you the info via PM.

Mark,

IMO it's a huge waste to sell this home, especially if you plan to own a rental on your next house. If you can refi this house and get all or even most of your money out, it's a no-brainer. But I get how it's important to be on the same page as the wife... I definitely get it!

In terms of property management, I was in the same boat. I've searched for a solid PM in the Detroit Metro area but haven't found one yet. I've decided to self-manage for the time being and go from there. Ultimately I hope to have enough properties where I can just hire an assistant and continue to scale the self-management model.

PM's in our area are expensive. They generally charge first month's rent plus 10% of gross rent/month. They also have a bunch of fees and I'm sure they up-charge for repairs/service calls.

So if it's at all possible, I'd consider self-managing. Read some books on being a landlord and look into the many tools there are for running that side of your business. It's easier than ever IMO.

Also, I'm in Troy too. Welcome!

Hey Shanae,

Some will tell you banks aren't lending <$50k in the Detroit area. That's not true.

I know plenty of mortgage brokers that will lend down to a $25k loan. So assuming 20% down you're talking a purchase price of ~$32k. I can intro you to a guy I use and many in the area rely on.

So you definitely can pick up properties without paying all cash, but it will limit you to what properties you can purchase based on the terms they accept. Not all sellers are accepting conventional loans. They only want cash. That said, I see plenty of properties that I'm interested in purchasing that offer both. 

Hey Caroline, let me know when you're in town and we can meet up.

In the meantime, I highly recommend searching some other threads about Detroit here. Most will tell you that you can't just look at "areas" or zip codes. Detroit really is street by street, and you need to have someone on the ground to properly vet properties without getting burned.

Steven addressed this nicely already.

I'm all about sharing and helping, but if the person asking for help can't be bothered to do some research and spend their own time before asking, I have a problem with that.

And if you don't understand why I have a problem with that, I truly don't have the time to spend explaining it. I will always put an equal amount of effort into answering questions as the effort that was put into asking them.

 I live in Detroit metro and even dropped by downtown the other month and had lunch with @Jamiel Strickland . He knows his stuff.

But I'll reiterate. Do not rely on Google Streetview. I'm closing on my first Detroit rental next week and did probably 100+ hours of research before locating this deal. I went and walked through probably two dozen houses. 

I can tell you 100% that the vibe, look and feel that you get when you are there in person can be drastically different from what you saw and experience online via Streetview. One property in particular I thought was a no-brainer buy... I went to see it and immediate changed my mind. 

 Click-baiting will never die!

And yes, the current cycle provides plenty of opportunity still, IMO. But if I'm in the wholesaling or flipping business I'd be taking notice. 

Do you want to keep doing the same thing, waiting for the hammer to come down? Or do you want to get ahead of the curve and reinvent yourself to survive?

Better yet, why not reinvent your business so that you thrive? IMO, investing in areas that the big guys haven't expanded to yet is the way to do that, likely as a buy and hold investor.

 Rich, like the local hardware shop before Home Depot arrives in town, I think the answer is yes and no.

As Jay notes below, margins will compress. Your small, rural areas will attract folks that can't make the numbers work in the more urban parts. Obviously, this will compress margins. 

You may have to reinvent yourself or differentiate to survive. I don't know what that looks like as I'm not in the wholesale or flipping business, but it will have to happen.