All Forum Posts by: Will Fraser

Hi @Patricia Smith, 

I'd recommend a few things:

- NEVER use an agent who is managing properties on the side.  It's too important of a role to be done by a moonlighter whose business doesn't rise and fall on it.

- Understand what you value . . . do you want to have a phone call from the PM every Friday?  Are monthly updates preferred as long as there is bulletproof accounting?  Do you want cheap, regardless of speed and communication?  Do you want tenant-friendly or a hammer?  Do you want a company that will keep the long-range investment objectives in mind or one that focuses on today and today's profit alone?     --> These values will often change what kind of PM company you use.

- Understand the role of trust.  Trust = Speed x Cost.  If you can or do trust your PM company then speed can increase and costs decrease over time.  Where trust is low, though, things are slower or more expensive or both.

- Understand that you can have never more than 2/3 of the following:  Fast, Good, and Cheap.  

Good luck and Godspeed

I'm sorry to hear of your dilemma here, and I'm glad you all have been spurring one another on to a better understanding here.

It's worth mentioning that a person-to-person conversation with the PM could go a long way here.  if you can coolly (i.e. not already peeved) have a call with them and ask them (in better words) "how is this not a bit skeezy?" then if you understand things correctly they will likely also agree that the fee is skeezy.  If that's the case, then it would be natural to, person-to-person, ask them to drop the skeezy fee.

If that fails and they are unyielding and you are sure that you have a full understanding of the situation (both sides), then the Real Estate Commission and the Court of Public Opinion both stand ready to hear the case.

Great thoughts here!  

I'll second the sentiment above that cheaper isn't better.  It can be, or it can't be.

You can have cheap, fast, or great.  You CAN'T have more than 2 at a time.

So if speed is your thing, then it's either going to be cheap OR great.

If cheap is your thing, then it's going to be fast OR great.

If . . . you get it :) 

 Get it!!  This is so flippin' inspiring, pun totally unintended :) 

Great thoughts above!

I'll add this . . . depending on YOUR situation you may have very different drivers in your investment decisions than others.

For example, if I had a rich uncle who just gave me $20MM I wouldn't give a second thought to positive cashflow.  I would buy as many vacant homes with more than 45 DOM in the Salt Lake valley as I could buy with $15MM, refinance them, rent them out, and use my remaining $5MM to pay the negative carrying costs.

However, if I just got to the point where I can afford my cost of living and have zero savings or an emergency fund then there is NO WAY I'd take on a negative carry.  Instead I'd be patient to find well-located distressed properties (or better yet, distressed owners who own well located properties) OR I'd buy some . . . D class cashflowing assets and then use that cashflow to buy A and B class properties that will likely have a negative carry.  I'd go in knowing that the D properties will have D problems, but in the end I'm embracing the suck in order to achieve the greater good that is accomplished with the better properties.

Different folks = different strokes

Hi @Petya Toncheva, in my opinion the principal at play here is "best and highest use" and since a room need only have walls and a door to be an office space, but needs to possess more to qualify as a bedroom you're generally better off qualifying it as a bedroom and advertising it however best fits your market.

Do be mindful of total square footage and overall utility.  In my home market of Oklahoma City there is a part of town with abundant 950 sq ft 3/2s and 1,000 sq ft 4/2s . . . there are trash to live in because, simply put, there is not enough space in 950 square feet to have 3 GOOD bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  As a result, these homes have reduced sale and rental values than they otherwise could.

So, be sure you are creating a functional space with whatever designation you are going to give to it, and generally the more restrictive classification is going to be the best and highest use to strive for.

What was your draw to T-town?

@Brendan Harrison do you live in OKC or Tulsa?  

I wouldn't balk at the idea of self-managing.  Know going in that your time will be valued at $2-$7/hour and you will make a LOT of mistakes, YET you will learn a lot about managing properties.  Then, when you make the prudent decision to hire a savvy professional company to manage your properties you will understand well how much value they are delivering.

Go into it with the mindset of a professional and not a side-hustler.  If you're going to manage well, learn to manage well.