All Forum Posts by: Travis Washington

Hey BP fam,

I’ll try to keep this short and simple. Have a primary home moving out of and analyzing whether to sell or rent. Stats:

-PITI: $1950

-Rent: $2750

-Current Loan Amount: $300K

-Current Value: $475K -$500K

Other factors:

-Interest rate: 2.75%

-House was built in 2018 so maintenance and repair should be minimal 

-Current housing inventory in our market: 0.2 months

-There is a housing shortage going on right now that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Selling or renting are both too easy.

-Moving into another property in town to house hack (that we’re already up $40K in equity on and have a great rate of 3.375%) so we’ll be in the area to self-manage.

What would you do? Interested to hear what fellow investors here think about the situation.

@Eric Smith do you still work the Tampa market? I am looking for insight on areas as well. How is V.M. Ybor for rentals? I’ve seen some nice looking rehab properties at the northeast intersection of highway 275 and 4.

All in all, this was been a great learning experience and like you said, @Ross Denman, PM pays a major factor and situations like this come in due time.

@Nathan Gesner @Ross Denman  There were a few other factors that have caused the long spell.  

Month One and Two:
The original property manager we had was an issue.  We had been with the PM company for two years prior and at the end of 2018 they went through an ownership change and the new owner I think bit off more than she could chew.  They had the listing for the first two months and after doing some quality control spot checking on the listing, I realized they were doing a HORRIBLE job marketing and maintaining the property.  I take blame for that as I should have jumped on that within the first three weeks.  Needless to say, we decided to switch property management after that.

Month Three:
The third month was spent conducting the property management handover.  During that handover the new management noticed quite a few things that needed to be done to get the unit rent ready and competitive again.  All said, the turnover rent ready cost was roughly $1,200.  That included professional cleaning, painting, minor repairs, and replacing windows.  The condition of the house now is better than it's been in the past.

Month Four:
Month four was marketing at the $800 rent with the new management team.  We had quite a bit of showings.  Roughly 8-10 so we were confident we would get a lease signed.  However, as time went by, the majority of the feedback again was the fence.  Other feedback was lack of storage and a garage which is par for most of our comparables since most of the nearby homes lack garages.

Month Five (closer to three weeks):
This month has been marketing the home at the $750 rate.  Again, we received one or two feedbacks addressing a fence again.

The fact we already spent $1,200 on repairs and turnover was another factor in delaying the installation of a fence in addition the the amount of showings we were getting.  We also wanted to test the market at a lower rent rate before proceeding with that course of action.

After talking with our PM team, our three COAs going forward were:
1. Drop the rent to $700 (which would equal an annual rental income loss of $600 [$2400 over four years] vs a $2500 cost for a fence)
2. Market at $750 for two more weeks (while we wait for the second quote) and if a prospective tenant mentions a fence, we promise to install the fence immediately upon them signing a lease on the terms of $800 a month.  If after two weeks and no bites, install the fence and market at $800.
3. Install the fence immediately after we receive the second quote and market the home at $800 a month.

We decided to go with COA #2.

Thanks everyone for your insight!

I have a house that has been vacant for roughly five months now.  The home is in good condition and we have had a lot of showings.  However, a major feedback we have been getting is the fact there is no fence.  We have listed the property in the past for $720 and $750 without a fence.  For those two times, the home was rented within one week and one month, respectfully.

We originally listed the home $800 and then dropped it to $750.  The quote we received for a new fence was $2,500 and I'm currently working to get a second quote.  I was against installing the fence due to the price but at this point, I am tired of the property sitting vacant and feel that a fence may also add value for resale and future rent.

My Question:

Would it be sound (and permissible) to raise the rent back up to $800 with the installation of the fence?  The property is located in Oklahoma.

Note: There is a duplex that I own as well right behind the house so a fence would provide some privacy.  Additionally, I had a bed management team prior and already had to spend close to $1,000 to get the property back into rent condition after switching management companies. 

Awesome! Looking diligently right now for a flip opportunity in Austin. Extremely competitive tho! The prices have been tricking up and an unbelievable rate! Anybody else have any luck in the area like this recently?

@Michael Hayes I see you mentioned LP is doing you good.  Did you say you tired IC out too?  If so, how was the comparison?  Personally, I think the LP sites look more sleek and inviting but everyone seems to say IC is top notch...  WHich would you advise after operating for some time now?

@Michael Sanders how is your site performing?

I am in the same position as everyone else here.  Sounds like IC is a fan choice but tie-in of REImobile with LeadPropeller is very intriguing...and its cheaper...

Would love to see lead numbers for both sites posted here.  That would really help out a lot.

BP,

I'm currently scoping the ATL area for potential AirBnB/VRBO/short term rentals properties. These are the following buildings that have caught my eye thus far.  Does anybody have knowledge on these structures? If they're good locations?  Which are best? Which should be avoided?  Which is the best bang for the buck?

(1) GE Lofts in Castleberry Hill ($140K)
(2) The Windsor ($130K)
(3) The Metropolitan ($90K)
(4) The Sky Loft ($110K & $70K)
(5) The William Oliver ($115K)

I'm not from the area so the more insight I can get would the better.

Thanks BP fam!