All Forum Posts by: Tim Swierczek

@John Lewis sounds like you need to get a commitment from the builders, put the land under an option contract, and then assign the contract to the builders. Have them pay you an option fee and do their due diligence.

Hey @John Lewis The best people to ask would be the local land brokers in your office. People from other parts of the country or non-land brokers are not likely to give you an accurate view. You may get some good tips from builders as to what interests them. Have you gotten information from the farmers as to the terms that Lennar & DR Horton will offer?

Hey @Luis Maqueira:

I'm in the St Paul area, live and invest here. Let me know if you want to talk about this market.

You're going to lose tenants who want to smoke in their units, but you're going to gain tenants who don't want to walk through hallways that smell like smoke. And, you will get tenants to rent who are currently turned off by the smell after the showing. I think it will be a net positive. No need to worry, if a tenant wants to smoke inside, they will leave. You don't want those tenants anymore, so move on, politely and professionally. You are correct in that you have to wait for leases to end to forbid it in the units. I am not an attorney, but I doubt you need to wait to forbid smoking near the doors or in common areas. You also have the option to try to negotiate through a cash-for-keys deal to get individual smokers to leave early.  That might be helpful for any recently signed leases for tenants who smoke. Many non-smokers will not rent from you until the building is 100% non-smoking.

Hey @Mason Vitalis 

Good overview—I'm on the same page with most of your points. I haven’t done a deep dive into the tax differences between Hennepin and Ramsey counties, but from my experience as a loan officer, they seem fairly comparable, with Hennepin trending slightly higher on average. Curious—what data or method did you use to determine that taxes are higher in St. Paul?

Quote from @Logan Privette:

Anyone know investor, friendly agents in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Me and my partner have talked to a few, but no one that seems to wanna work with us 24/7 they just seemed to answer  texts and phone calls days later and we're trying to find deals and buy deep so we want a very active agent if possible. Any suggestions are welcome!

Logan I know most of the best investor-friendly Realtors in the Twin Cities, and I talk to many of them frequently. The ones I know are very responsive and work hard for their clients. In fact, I have witnessed them working well into the evening when it's appropriate.  Typically, that would be when an offer was made earlier, and a counteroffer is created back and forth. 

On the flip side, if you are trying to "buy deep," which means you are purchasing dramatically below the list or market price, you are inherently going to be doing more work for less reward.  Most of the agents I know are fine with that understanding, but when that is your strategy and you expect them to reply to texts late into the evening, you have signaled to them that you don't care about them or their family time, and you are not worth the headache.

While I endorse you're strategy and am not asking you to change your buying criteria, you must have some self-awareness of what you are asking of your business partners. It's possible you have chosen the wrong Realtors, but I doubt it. Most Realtors need clients right now, and they wouldn't take days to get back to you if they wanted to work with you.  I'd try changing your approach, and if you think you had a good agent or two, I would buy them lunch and determine if they are able and willing to work with you and under what circumstances.  The big thing is do not make a 9 AM problem a 11 PM problem; that will never get you in their good graces. 

@Reid Truschinski I have a method of analyzing I call bulk analyzing. I've analyzed both Minneapolis and St Paul markets using that approach. I think the method will help you. Private message me if you want a link to the two podcast episodes. 

@Mason Vitalis , I totally agree. A down payment does not need to be a hindrance to buying your first home. The key is to have a stable and adequate income to support the ongoing costs of home ownership. Even ongoing costs are easier than the media lets on, provided you watch your other spending. It's much harder when people have ongoing monthly subscriptions to every TV service, a monthly expensive coffee habit, a big car payment, and use door dash on a daily basis.

@Michael Nahm this sounds like both an expensive and complicated insurance claim.  I think you need someone on your side. You can hire a public claims adjuster; if you do that, I think you will need to pay the adjuster separately, but you would have all the knowledge needed to make sure you get what you deserve. Public adjusters know the game and are the best protection you can get. There are companies who will represent you on a contingency if cash is tight. They work similarly to personal injury attorneys and are only paid based on a successful settlement.  I don't think you want to manage this alone against pros from the insurance company whose job it is to short you and do it all day, every day for decades.

I asked AI to help with the difference between an independent (misleading term) and public adjuster, and here are the differences:

Independent Adjusters:

• Represent: The insurance company.
• Paid by: The insurance company.
• Objective: To minimize payouts and ensure the claim aligns with policy terms.
• Fee Structure: Typically paid a daily rate or a percentage of the claim settlement, but ultimately paid by the insurance company.
• License: Must be licensed, but may not require additional bonding or testing.
• Example: A staff adjuster or a contractor hired by the insurance company to handle claims.

Public Adjusters:

• Represent: The policyholder (you).
• Paid by: The policyholder (you).
• Objective: To maximize the settlement amount and ensure the policyholder receives fair compensation.
• Fee Structure: Typically charge a percentage of the final settlement amount, which can range from 2% to 25% or more, depending on the claim's size and complexity.
• License: Required to be licensed, bonded, and tested by the state.
• Example: A professional hired by the policyholder to navigate the claims process and negotiate with the insurance company.

@Sahil Tadwalkar I'm glad to hear you are looking to LP & JV before getting into sponsoring a syndication. I've sponsored 6 deals so far. I'm not planning any new ones at the moment but would be happy to meet and discuss future opportunities.