Mark Strobel

I am an energetic family guy who loves people and loves finding properties that will provide cash flow, long-term appreciation, and improve our residents' rental experience. I left a large engineering firm in 2018 to open our own environmental compliance consulting company in which we help manufacturers and businesses with their environmental permitting and reporting obligations. I really enjoy going into all of the various manufacturing facilities and helping the companies figure out how to keep making their products in the USA while still meeting the onerous environmental regulations in place today. I average approximately 10-20 hours per week in this job. For the remainder of my 60-80 hour week, I focus on our growing portfolio of residential rental properties. We currently own: 1 - 12-unit apartment community 4 - duplexes 17 - single family residences Recent purchase (July 2020) - Single Family Home (4 bed, 2 bath) in Wausau, WI. Will be renovating during July and August with goal of renting by Sept 1. Purchase price $70,000. Rehab estimate $25,000. Rent estimate $1,300. This is a bit below our normal goal of 1.4 to 1.6 percent of purchase price + rehab costs, but we are finding that it is getting increasingly difficult to make that in today's market and we desire to keep growing. Plus the added benefit is that I am able to keep our contractor busy so that he always knows he has at least one bigger job in the hopper with us and he doesn't go find other work. It is even harder to find a good contractor now. Experience: I have been intrigued with real estate investing since about 2007. My wife and I were about to make the big step into purchasing a 17-unit apartment building in 2008 when an automobile accident put those goals on hold. In June 2015, after 7 years of rebuilding from the accident, we purchased a small SF home through our LLC for the purpose of renting to one of our children as well as the added benefit of this rental being an educational step for all of us. These purchases have been funded from a variety of sources. All but two were financed with bank portfolio financing. Down payments were provided primarily from our savings and as our companies have grown, from operating cash. We have been successful at working with sellers to hold back a 2nd mortgage on some of the larger purchases. I've really enjoyed working with our residents and learning new aspects of the business. BiggerPockets has been a huge help so far, and I continue to be amazed at the knowledge base available through the BP community. Kudos to all of you! Real Estate Goals: Buy and hold rental properties for the purpose of cash flow, long-term equity growth, and to provide vocational training and employment opportunities for my kids. Currently Seeking: In developing relationships with my local banks, I've been pushing hard to find local banks and investors who will keep all the notes locally. All of our purchases have been successful using this philosophy to date and we've developed some nice relationships. Before long, I can see the need to consider finding investing partners who may be willing to offer capital for future purchases.