All Forum Posts by: Tyler Watts

Please forward the student housing project to me as well at [email protected]

thanks

Student housing is definitely a specialized niche. Just like any class, it has advantages & disadvantages and can be very profitable or the exact opposite. It's more than just "student rentals" that can make it profitable or not. It's like anything else, it has to be purchased correctly, rehab correctly (if needed) and managed correctly. If these are done correctly it can be extremely profitable. If they are not, you will loose money just you would on any rental. Expenses may or may not run higher, but that is something that is taken into account in your underwriting to see if the deal can work. 

Student housing is just a specialized niche withing the multi-family world. 

 I would recommend finding someone local in that sector and offer something to them. Trust me, there are plenty of investors at Notre Dam that would mentor. These guys were young hustlers at one point and typically are happy to mentor someone that has a true passion for the game. Some may not be easy to find, but go after them and offer them lunch or coffee. 

Took me 7 years to to find one (I knew him for 5 years without knowing he was into real estate), now I'm a full time investor with him.

If it's student rentals, feel free to email me at [email protected]

Cold call them and ask. Most likely it's going to be a local bank vs your bigger banks. I would recommend Alliance Bank (based out of Gastonia, NC). Not sure they can do it but worth a phone call. 

We focus on student rentals on the East coast. Dm me and we can discuss.

I agree, $900/mnth cashflow is nothing for 37 units plus this looks like it fits into the student rental world which should drive your cashflow up higher, if not, then someone's numbers are incorrect. Either yours or the owners.

Student rentals are a different beast and have to be evaluated differently as turnover needs to be timed and management needs to be correct for this product. Dig into their financials and see if they make sense on what they are bringing in vs spending. That close to campus should be renting by the bedroom, NMSU is a large school so the demand is there. There are a lot of kids that need a place to live. Student rentals also require knowledge of the school and it's future plans. Last thing you want is to buy this and the school to pass an ordinance requiring freshman thru juniors to live on campus. Universities are going to make money, your best bet is to play the game with them and sometimes you can't b/c they simply control the market too much. Each one is different and their strategy depends on the demands they have. 

Good luck.

I give a 30 day notice for rental increases. Just my preference and it's worked really well so far with 0 turnover from a rental increase. Now there's more to it than that. I just purchased a 12 unit  with rents $150+ door below market. I first went to every tenant and asked what maintenance they needed done and did it quickly. Then freshened up the outside with painted shutters and a little landscaping. Then I sent out notices of a $50 per month rental increase. 

So my target goal is toe get them close to market rent within 2 years. This is a steady increase but still in a solid time frame for me. No tenant turnover for the first increase. Matter of fact no one complained b/c guess what.....everything in their unit was fixed and the place already looked better than it did when the old owner had it. I have them ZERO reasons of why they could complain. Now again this is my strategy and works.

The biggest topic is do your market research and understand what your competitors are doing and understand the market. His craigslist/hotpads/zillow/trulia b/c your tenants will look at them and see if they can find a place and use that to fight your case. 

My goal is to have a better product at a slightly lower price. Again I eliminate all routes that they can take before I send the notice, and I know this contributes to ZERO turnover. They simply can not find a better product for the same price and so they stay. Yes, they'll not like it but it's a business and it should be treated that way. 

All depends on your goals. I have another property that needs extensive rehab and there are a few inherited tenants that would not pass our regulations for screening from what I've gathered so far. Most likely they are going to get a move out notice so we can perform rehab efficiently and they are welcome to apply for the unit once we are done, however they will be screen properly just like the rest.

I'd recommend partnering with someone who is already in the space. Yes you won't have 100% of the deal, but the knowledge and insights you'll gain far outweigh the other partner/s split. 

I was in a similar situation not to long ago. I knew my end game was buy & hold real estate. I had the W2 job, but was pumping every dime I could scrap up into buy and hold deals. During this process I came across a seasoned investor who seen my eagerness to grow and my hunger to get after it. At the time i never knew he was into real estate. I knew him for 5 years before discovering this.  After discovery I picked his brain on anything and everything. Fast forward 2 more years and we are now investing full time together. 

There's a lot more details in that story, but the moral of it is: HUSTLE

There are more than enough people who are willing to mentor, but they first want to see your drive/grind/hustle. 

I was basically being evaluated and didn't even know. I'm not the smartest or have a million to toss in a deal. What I do have is a hustle that that is second to none.  You can't teach hustle, but you can teach real estate. 

Determine your goal. If buy and hold is it or  you think it could be, network and go all in with Hustle. Listen to every podcast/go to real estate meetings/network with agents/brokers/investors.  Educate yourself, better yet consume yourself in real estate from all angles.  Seasoned investors know they can teach you the in's and out's but they want to see that your hungry. Hustle a deal for this guy or put him touch with someone that would benefit him to show what you can do.  Make yourself valuable to him

Over time, hands down it will pay off tenfold. 

Hustle wins at the end!

If there is a mortgage against the property you will need to consult with the bank. They have the right to call the loan due. Very unlikely but they have that right if the name on the deed changes. They may encourage you to re-fi and during the process you can change the names. 

Also if your going thru the trouble it's likely better to start and LLC and put that on the dead. You both can be 50/50 on the LLC. This takes your name off the property which is public knowledge. Disgruntled tenants can figure out who you are thru a few searches. It's good to have an LLC on there instead of your name. They can look up the LLC, but most don't know how.