All Forum Posts by: Troy DeLong

@Holly Horn I highly recommend you have tenants pay for their own Electric & Gas when possible (The meters are split). Tenants are MUCH more 'energy efficient' when they're paying the bills themselves. But, not all properties have split meters, which then you would have to include it in the rent and add a 'margin of error' in there since it could fluctuate hundreds of dollar from month-to-month. Water/Sewer & Trash is recommended to have included in rent. 

For your listing to stand out, I highly recommend professional photos of your units that you can use for several years before needing to update. These will stand out much more than photos taken from your phone. Also, as @Brad Hammond mentioned above, you will want to point out all of the great aspects of your property. Type of neighborhood, access to highways & shopping/entertainment, all the utilities that will be included (even if they seem like little things) and any services you might offer as the landlord (Snow & lawn maintenance provided, 'FREE Heat', etc). Also, take advantage of all of the great marketing services out there for rentals. Apartments.com, Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook rentals, etc.

Hey Shanice, 

I'd say that most owners are selling right now because of the high prices. They wan't to cash out and run, or cash out and reinvest elsewhere. Just because they are selling doesn't mean it can't be a good deal. 

When dealing with tenant occupied properties, I'd say some questions to ask would be...

1) Are the tenants on a year lease or M2M (month to month)?

2) How long have the tenants been there? 

3) What utilities do the tenants pay for? Are the tenants in charge of lawn/snow? 

4) Are any pet fees included in their rent? (Some sellers include this and this can/will throw off your analysis when accounting for rents)

As always, make your offer 'contingent upon satisfactory review of all tenant leases'. If you come across a property that is already tenant occupied with quality, on-time paying tenants, it could be that the owner just doesn't want to manage the property anymore and they want to cash out. You'll just have to get on the phone and ask them... 

Hope this helps! 

**UPDATE**

Just got back from my trip to Gulf Shores / Orange Beach. The tourism down there is booming and some new builds are starting to pop up.

While down there, I was able to meet up with both Candace Pfab (EXP Realty) and Alisha Hileman (Gold Star Realty). Both were VERY helpful and knowledgable in our talks about the Short Term Rental market down there.

I highly recommend reaching out to either if you are interested in the Gulf Shores / Orange Beach area. BP Forums won't let me share their contact info, but message me if you'd like their info. 

@Nick Meland Congrats on starting in Real Estate! Lansing is a great spot for affordability and cash flow. Rents are steadily going up and the market here is very easy for new investors to get started in. Out-of-State investing is MUCH easier than most think. 

I'd love to chat with you and maybe even run through some real world examples of current listings. 

@Daniel D. Grand Rapids is the prime market in Michigan right now. If the prices in GR work for you, then I would say go ahead and invest there. If you're looking for something with a smaller purchase price to start out, I highly recommend Lansing and the surrounding areas. Cost is very affordable and rents are rising. 

I would be more than happy to chat if that interests you. 

Hey Connor, I'm in the Lansing area and a group of us usually meet up twice a month. An evening event at Tony M's and then a morning coffee meetup that following Tuesday. We just had our coffee meetup this Tuesday so we'll most likely get together again near the end of July. There's a FB group called Lansing Real Estate Investors.

What part of Real Estate are you looking to get into? 

@Lyandrea Russell Hey Lyandrea. What type of work are you looking to do? Is this handyman type work for smaller stuff or bigger projects like a full remodel? 

Morning Joseph! I recommend always sending out a 60-day, 45-day, and 30-day notice to your tenants for lease renewals and/or rent increases. 

My recommendation, for your situation, would be to NOT raise the rent on your current tenants if they re-sign a new lease with you. Them paying for their own water will be enough of an 'increase' for you at the moment. Then, next year is when I would start to raise rent on them ($20-$30/month more). A rent increase (along with paying their own water now) and you could lose that tenant and easily have that unit vacant for 1-2 months. That vacancy time will kill any and all 'rent-increase income'. 

If your current tenants don't want to renew a lease, then I would definitely raise rents to match closer to market value. 

Again, this is simply what I would do. There are many ways you could go about this. Hope it helps! 

@Veronica Hennessey Lansing, MI would be a great area for what you've got to spend. Plenty of 2-4 unit properties list around here within that price range. 

Michigan, and the Midwest in general, is great for cashflowing rentals. Find yourself a good property manager and you'll have a steady investment. I'd be more than happy to chat with you offline more in depth! 

@Candace Pfab Thanks so much Candace! Received. 

@Luke Carl Quickly put, I'm looking for the big picture of the Gulf Shores / Orange Beach area. Average price for a condo/SFR that's move in ready, on-the-beach vs. off-the-beach properties (cost & rent), occupancy rates (busiest/slowest times of the year), property management cost (I'm seeing 22%? That's a big increase from Mid-Michigans 10%), and is the STR game doable for someone on the other side of the country?

@Paige Hutchinson Is your 'Under Contract' property something you would be ok with sharing as far as purchase price, terms, profit analysis, expenses, location, etc? 

Thanks in advance all!