All Forum Posts by: Todd Pultz

@Cherif Medawar very nice detail. I have a few friends that work the commercial space in this manner and they are successful. I have not heard or thought about using it as assignment scenarios, but that is really interesting! Great deal! Keep it up man!

@Chris Gawlik I forgot to answer your eviction question. In the last 2 years I’ve had to do maybe 4-5 evictions. Highest vacancy we ever ran was 3%

@Chris Gawlik so drugs are different by the city. We do not have a huge meth issue here like California, but we do have a serious problem with opioids. Although it exists and yes, I have found it in units and properties.

This is my simple answer to your question. If someone had enough time to set up a meth lab in your rental property or devise an organized drug ring in one of your units, you suck as a property manager! Ok ok, maybe you don’t suck, but you are not an active property manager or owner. We have cameras at every property and review them often.

We also establish certain policies to avoid these. Example, the second Thursday of every month is a standing inspection day for pest control. My pest guy goes into every unit. I’ve trained him on what I need to know about besides pests. The 4th Thursday of every month is a standing inspection for fire prevention to check all smoke detectors and CO detectors. My maintenance go in the units to check these items.

So at a minimum we are in units twice a month and keep our eyes on stuff really close

I go out after hours and sit blacked out at my properties to see if there is any traffic that there should not be!

Example from yesterday, while at a new property with another investor a girl approached us and offered dope and whatever else we wanted! I gave her my card and told her I was happy we ran into each other. I told her I was the new owner and she looked like an upstanding gal that likes to make money! From there I told her I was working with the drug task force to shut down the illicit activity in the area and I would personally give her a $500 reward if she identified any of my units that were dealing dope! I told her there just some things our cameras can’t see and I needed local experts like herself to help me catch the s^*% heads! After a stunned and surprised look, she basically told me it was a family oriented community, LMAO! Will she snitch? Hell no, but she knows I got her and her boys number everytime I catch them on my property.

Gotta be active when your in this space!

@Marc Estepa please don’t take my comment as a knock by no means, but you made it point in your first post to mention you sent them pictures everytime the carpet frayed or you got injured by a staple or a nail pop. I found that statement very odd considering you would not have know at that point you would be battling over deposit for a carpet.

I was only curious why that was emphasized at the beginning of your story unless there was some other facts leading up to this moment. Like, you guys already were having discussions about the carpet previously or something. Sorry man, I’m a investigator by background and nature. I just found that odd.

Like my C class properties when rent is due, I start getting laundry list of issues from a few tenants justifying why they might not pay their rent....lol. But as soon as rent is paid, I never hear from them again. That does not compare to you, but just an example.

And I could be very wrong, I was only curious if the problems started before this moment

@Christina Dillard in many scenarios my tenants have 0 or negative credit scores. If someone gets a 500 return, I’m super pumped lol! You have to change how you screen. Criminal past and eviction history are key, but number 1 for me is looking someone in they eye and making a decision with all of the reports on my tool belt!

I’ll wait for someone to beat me up on here for renting to someone with a -1 credit score, but I will compare my 3% vacancy and cash flow to anyone on this site lol!

There are key indicators outside of credit that will help you make a decision

@Diane G. We handled the security for it for many years, but one of my partners handled some management for it, but was removed from that position when the new owner bought the property. The rest was downhill!

@John C. @Chris Gawlik I agree with many points John listed. I have hundreds of C doors in Dayton, OH and some D neighborhoods. Let’s make sure we are clear though, a C building can be in a D neighborhood and a D building can be in C or B neighborhood. So you need to ensure your looking at the building and neighborhood which it sounds like you are.

Managing these properties are very hands on and you have to be serious about your business. Firm, fair and consistent will go a long way and tenants need to know you will not put up with any crap! We address quality of life issues immediately and I spend plenty of time at the properties so they see my face. I also challenge the neighborhood when they test the waters to see if they can loiter on our properties.

You can do this out of state, but you have to have the right PM and very few have the ability and skill to manage challenging areas. If they are timid, the residents will know this! My background is law enforcement and I am still the VP for a large security Officer firm. We specialize in security at C and D properties in challenging areas. We handle security for metropolitan housing as well and in my younger police days I worked off duty at the worst of the worst properties in this city. I say that because I am a little different and I know how to adapt and handle these properties. Most PM’s will not.

Just yesterday I had an acquaintance with me driving properties and looking for properties for him to invest in. While at a new building of mine, we were approached to buy dope and other stuff. @Jesse B. Could probably share an outside view of this interaction, but you have to address these situations head on or they will take over your property.

Recent D story you can google is Western Manor Apartments in Dayton, OH. 15-16 years ago the property was a war zone!!! We took security in and cleaned it up and we also took over a small portion of management for the owner. Property was successful for the next 12 years with minimal issues. They sold the property two years ago at a good amount due to the success. Mostly section 8 buildings. However, new owner pinched pennies and started cutting onsite security. Against our best advice, they cut security down to a few hours a week. We knew this was not effective and they stopped paying their bill. We cut services off. That was less than a year ago. A little over a month ago the city shut the entire complex down and made everyone get out. This is over 200 units. That property is vacant and now sitting being destroyed as we speak and the owner has about 6million in loans on it.

I guess the point is if you know nothing about these neighborhoods, stay away unless you commit to learning and being hands on.

However, if you do it right, the cash flow can be very nice! It’s not hard for us to get $300-$400 cash flow per door! We work our tails off though to keep them right

The only thing I disagree with from john is all the ways to collect rent. We have two options, they can pay on our software through their app or they can drop payment to our office durring office hours. If they don’t pay we issue a notice, if they don’t respond we evict. We do not chase rent!!!! We run 3% occupancy. It’s about changing the culture of your tenants and training them how to work within the system you have created. We never give cash for keys, because that’s unfair to next landlord! We need to be able to see evictions through our screening process.

@Marc Estepa sounds like you’ve done everything that you can at this point after the 3rd cleaning. Every state has a timeline on when deposits must be returned, so determine that and give him something in writing expecting the deposit by that and what course you will take if not returned.

First, I don’t think you owe him for the carpet if all of your statements are true. He would probably be fine charging for paint and such, but not replacing the carpet.

However, I just wanted to touch on something nobody else has. You mentioned in your earlier statements that you sent him messages or pictures every time there was a carpet fray or someone was injured from a staple or a nail pop etc. Something tells me there is a bit more to this story we are not getting as that statement seems a bit odd. Not saying it changes the outcome, just seems like we are missing something here that started before the move out. I could totally be wrong, but I’ve seen this movie before.

Best of luck to you.

@Susie Evans I thought I read they put a $4,000 deposit down, so one would assume this is not a crap property. I doubt this is a slumlord and it’s unfair to categorize him as such without knowing the facts. Sounds like he may just not be an experienced landlord especially considering he’s moving back into the house. Doesn’t mean he’s unprofessional either, just means he may not be educated on landlord/Tennant laws.

@Sid Naik @Jon Schwartz it seems like you guys enjoy the platform we are all using today for this conversation. I came across a guy on Instagram today you might have heard of? His name was @Brandon Turner! Just happened to post about lying cash flow and true cash flow, lol! He talked about what cash flow he looks for. I would imagine he might steer some of us towards finding properties that cash flow and appreciate together. Wealth is not created by using a single lane pony! Being creative and using multiple strategies to be the best you will build wealth! And guess what.....it’s ok to have Google stock while buying real estate that cash flows lol