All Forum Posts by: Trevor Ewen

@Curt Davis 

Just looking for an un-biased review, and one that can be helpful to others. I see turnkey-reviews has them listed here: Memphis Invest

No reviews yet, but if you have any feedback, I would be happy to hear it anonymously (via a review site) or via message. Thanks.

Turnkey Rate is an investor community for providing un-biased ratings on turnkey property providers. Turnkey Rate is not trying to sell you anything. I would very much appreciate if someone (with specific purchase experience) is willing to write a review in regards to: Memphis Invest

@Danny Diaz & @Charles Worth 

Recently detailed this in my member blog here. Interested in your thoughts.

@Mark Alphonse 

I tend to prefer to finance. You have to with your own comfort levels and consider external factors. As my lender says: 'Money is cheap' right now. Interest rates are incredibly low. Go fixed, go 30 year. Take the rest of the money, buy another property or do something else (investing) with it. 

With the spread between 20 & 30 you will get much better terms as you head toward 30. It's all a matter of personal preference. If you're having trouble deciding, split the difference, and go with 25% down. I use this technique often when attempting to decide between two investment extremes.

@Jay Hinrichs 

As a big believer in regression to the mean, I do get your point :) 

As a native Illinoisan I am often found on the coast(s) exclaiming the Chicago-area lack of natural disasters. You could argue that winter is a natural disaster, and that Chicago politics is a man-made disaster. 

Nonetheless, certain areas rank high in my mind as well insulated against disasters that are all too common in other areas. It's one of the only things I like about my hometown. It's also why you can't really place a number on this, but I would keep it in the qualitative ratings.

@Greg Johns 

There is a category of 'softer adds' that I think are nice to consider. These may not factor into the same distribution, but can be placed in another score that could weight similar metros against each other:

• Diversity of business types / employers. Example: Detroit - Not Diverse, Little Rock & Chicago - Very Diverse.
• Property tax rates.
• State Government >> landlord friendliness score. Example
• Nearby universities can be viewed as a + or -, depending on your tenant base. In my opinion, mostly positive, because of the cultural overflow.
• State reputation for public schools/education.
• This is a tricky one, but I would try and derive a natural disaster score. Example: If you were evaluating two similar areas, but one has had two rough tornadoes in the last decade. And the other, none. I go with the other.

Just a few, but should help you get a more rounded picture on two areas that are exhibiting similar numbers in other ways.

#askbp

- What are alternative ways to get involved in REI when/if your spouse is not on board with direct investment?

- What are your most important tools for technical/market analysis?

@Cindy Oswalt 

I am not quite sure this forum will give you a ton of great responses in regards to your topic. Self-storage and temperature controls are not really a common thread of discussion around here. 

Should you want to talk about investing in self storage buildings, I bet there are many who would speak to you

@Timothy Cervantes 

I see it as the market for superior deals leveling off quite a bit. Investors should be on the move when everyone else is grim. They start unloading assets when the retail market is back. My dream would be to unload my homes to a retail buyer. They will pay premiums in good season, much more than an investor attached to a spreadsheet (which I aim to be, myself). 

It is keen to note that a decrease in institutional activity will put some good property back on the market for the smaller investors. I would target properties that are being let go out of mismanagement, not because growth in an area has merely sloped.

@Kim Handelman 

I have used PropertyShark for some simple address searches. Not sure if a quick look could help you: http://www.propertyshark.com/

I don't know how they do on commercials. I have used it successfully for SFRs. I bet it's unlikely, but sometimes it can give you another hint.