All Forum Posts by: Scott Williams

I am in the process of relocating to western Mi mostly to invest and work in real estate.

Grand rapids is a nice city, lived there briefly way back when.

I am looking more at Battle Creek/kalamazoo though, lots of family there and love the idea of living in a smaller to medium sized city.

Ken, If you are interested in Detroit you may look at Flint, same region although hugely smaller and I have read some good things from people investing there.

I do the same as Chase. Not real tech savvy so I just use the all in one for copies and outgoing faxes and use efax for all incoming faxes.

Make sure you get a wireless all in one, nice to be able to use it from anywhere in the house.

+1 for what Will says.

Another nice thing about this is if they work only with reo's they know alot about whats on the market. Once they get to know you they can save you some time by recommending listings they know you will like.

Tom, I am looking at the Kalamazoo and Battle creek areas atm.

Grand rapids is probably the best city in my mls area..but I am a little tired of the bigger cities right now. Its kinda nice looking at houses in cities where the "hood" is three blocks long as opposed to what you see in the bigger cities.

I will check investor nations website, sounds like a great program.

Thanks for the replies! Its nice to know there is potential.

Lots of good pics and the recent/past comps real close by might help sell the neighborhood.

On the rehab end I would just be offering a finished product to the investor.

Prices being what they are properties that need alot of work are not so attractive anymore. Plus being a contractor and underemployed to boot I would do most of the work myself.

Regarding equity, I think I would rather focus on the details and not make any claims, let the investor determine the properties fmv. I always feel sceptical reading peoples equity claims, no point giving people a reason to be sceptical of me.

What about the tenant? Would investors rather see a tenant in place or just the details of the people doing the management and maintenance?

Been reading some of the "So you think your a wholesaler" threads lately and both agree with most of whats said and see myself as one of the newbies.

I have had mediocre success with both a couple of rentals I currently own and several flips over the last few years, but have learned along the way.

I also went ahead and got my real estate license both to help with investing and generate additional income.

So my question is what are your thoughts on the market for turnkey rentals?

My market will be SW Michigan. Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek are all incuded in my mls area. Kind of ironic the attention Birmingham is getting for great cashflow rentals while I want to move away.

Unemployment and property taxes are both high in Mi, but there are some really wonderful deals. I have looked at houses that meet the 50% rule and the 2% rule while still being in nice neighborhoods. Rents seem steady from what I can tell.

My thoughts are that by finding properties, sprucing them up and having a tenant/pm in place I can offer a good value and make a little something on the rehab as well as on the property itself.

I would love to buy and hold for myself but cannot afford it, my goal here is to work one or two deals at a time and slowly build up some rentals for myself.

When people talk about private money they are talking more about finding regular people who would invest in your deals, as opposed to a hard money lender who is going to hit you hard with points and interest.

I bought 2 houses with hard money..even though I felt like I got a good deal compared to other hml available it still felt like it took alot of money out of my pocket :lol: .

Thanks Jon, actually thats exactly what I did earlier today and there is enough that needs to be done to keep me out of it.

On a project like that the inspector is very important, I really wanted his input specific to that building.

Time to continue the search, Thanks all.

Scott

Thanks for the replies. I will follow some of your suggestions, the condemnation is a big thing it opens up a large can of worms I know.

What difference would what I am doing with the rest of the building make to a retail tenant, as long as their space is nice and they are not affected by it? They will not be using the same entrances, bathrooms, etc. Not even sure they would be able to hear anything.

I am undercapitalized and thats a big concern..seems like if I have the cash to get the exterior and mechanicals finished it will be alright, I don't need the rents to live and have a decent income. Still would need to get the easy to fix and rent spots done asap.

Thanks, Scott

Ran across what seems like a good deal on a commercial building in a small town.

Roughly 4000 sq' and needs alot of work, has actually been condemned by the city. 1st floor has a few business rental spots, needs work but not in too bad condition. Upstairs has apartments but needs to be gutted and redone. Roof has leaked for awhile and needs to be completely redone.

Nice looking building in a good location, shares exterior walls with a nice building on either side.

Wondering what sort of the problems I may overlook, worried about missing something important.

I have a decent amount of experience with remodeling and a little extra cash, probably enough to get it dry and the bottom rented, then start picking at the upstairs.

Going to call the city and ask them about it tomorrow, any advice on other things I need to check or think about before buying?