All Forum Posts by: William Walker

Same thing when you go out to eat.  The waiter at the kid's restaurant does 10x more work than the waiting at the super fancy restaurant.  But the tip is a % of the food and drink, so the fancy restaurant waiter makes a lot more money for less work.  Nobody charges a flat fee and then little charges for each thing the waiter does like bring a refill or check to see if your food is ok.  It's just the way the industry works.

@Thomas S.

If they grow up to be a drug addict, prostitute, criminal or simply irresponsible it's because you didn't train them right and you should put them on a M2M!

@Michael Henry

To be blunt, you're the PM - do your job.  You are being paid to "manage" a property that has a tenant who has failed to pay and new people illegally residing in the property.  If I was paying you I would expect you to crush the problem according to the owner.  It's not up for discussion about using the previous tenants security deposit or paying this months rent later (both a huge NO even in normal circumstances).  I know this is going to come off as rude but posting on here about this problem and not handling it comes off as very amateur.

Welcome!

Change your degree to something you're passionate about that will aid you in RE.  It would be more debatable if going to school was putting you in a crippling debt, but it's not. 

Hi @Gregory Schwartz,

I used to be military in Jacksonville and now own a rental and primary residence in Wilmington and know the area pretty well.  You're in a great area with lots of renters but I'm curious if you'll see a higher turnover if you're getting military tenants.  I used Alpha Mortgage for my rental in Wilmington and my experience with them was a pain in the ___ and I got an OK rate but nothing special.  Are you going to use a PM or do it yourself?

@Mike Cumbie

Why not a flat fee period.  Not a fee for each thing the PM does, but a flat monthly fee and then a fee for placing tenant/renewal.  I currently pay a monthly % and then separate fee for placing/renewal.  I don't think (hope) no one is advocating for a fee for each petty thing the PM does.

Maybe the answer is that this would reduce the people that bring their properties to the PM.  They would get higher quality rentals as it benefits the owner, but would reduce the overall number of properties as people with lower rents would rather pay a % than a flat fee.

I think a lot of people are missing the point of the original post. 

The question isn't if a PM is worth it, it's why pay a % instead of a flat fee.  A lot of posts are stating why a PM is so great (and I agree), but that's not the question.

A property in a D area is most likely going to require a lot more work from a PM who is going to get paid less for it due to the lower rent, versus a property in an A area that brings in more rent (more money to PM), but in general requires less work from the PM.

@Brandon Johnson

Tough spot for everyone.  You seem like the charitable type and I would rather see my charity have a direct impact on a family rather than give it to a large organization and never really see it's impact (United Way CEO salary = 1.2mil). 

One option would be to set a date.  Say 3 months, no rent, after that the tenants have to move or pay rent in full.  Stay firm on that decision when the three months is up and they say "but....".

And to totally sidetrack this post, saying she "was given up on by the medical community" is total BS.  If that's what the tenants are telling you, then don't expect future payments from them because they are BSers.  If you believe her statement, expect lots of more excuses because they're going to keep feeding you.  Her doctor didn't say "Meh, I'm over this cancer patient, just send her home."

Welcome @Adam Frank!

I was also stationed at Lejeune, I got out in '14 and have an investment property in Wilmington.  I agree that most of the multifamily properties downtown are in shady areas.  I think if a multifamily in Wilmington hits Zillow it's probably not that great of a buy.  Seems the good ones get snatched up by people with connections.

One thing I'm not sure on, you said you're going to use a VA loan to buy your first property, but you're looking in the Raleigh are. To use the VA loan you must live in the house for about a year after purchasing, meaning you would be driving a solid 2 hours one way every day. That would get old really fast, and would eat into any profit from the property.

Best of luck, please let me know if you have questions about the Wilmington area, I know it really well!