I agree with Ziv….
Though I'm a Real Estate Broker here in Florida I hate to say there are plenty of people out there trying to take advantage of those whom are out of the area.Always do as much due diligence as you can. Here are a couple of website to get you started:
For business practices: http://centralflorida.bbb.org/
For individual licensing and company licensing: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/ with this site you can see if the person or company has had any complaints filed against them, if the license is active, etc. And one thing for sure is that the State of Florida will certainly prosecute anyone who takes advantage of others.If I can be of any assistance in this or otherwise; here is how to reach me via my site: http://www.usainvestment.net
John-USA-CommercialRE
Email Meworldinvestor wrote:Trust nobody……You need do your own homework and most importantly understand what you are researching.
Plenty of information on the forum to help you.
So true trust no one home work and research are the key to investing . This is a common sense approach to life. When I want some thing new for the house. Could be a computer , lawn mover I start my research. This is the same for investing , or building a business. My wife is been working on creating a second company ( triathlon store for Rock Hill SC ) The research she is been able to find and process is amazing . So again use this forum and the internet to you advantage.
Going to do a separate post for a simple approach to Real estate Investing
jayhinrichs wrote:Alex now your talking Aussie language rentals by the week
… I think in OZ they do it by the week because they pick up 4 weeks of income that we lose here in the states renting properties by the month… Its brilliant really the weekly rate…
Weely rent in the US is synonomis with a boarding house type environment or a motel that has been tuned into weekly monthly rentals…. just have to really stay on collections not something that a out of area owner could possibly do well at.
Jay this 100 % the truth been there with him while he collects funds (rent). Now he is an old retired contractor for section 8 gov building in Washington DC.( Moved down to the Carolina's in the early 80 S ) He carries a 9 ml and has his son who stands about 6-5 280 pounds. Every Fri as he collects rent. Yes the weekly things work for him as a major company ( Bowater has season and monthly workers flying in . So he fills the places up pretty good.
Joel,,,
what do you mean something goes wrong with the property in one year….
All the proformas from the marketing companies show little to no maintenance reserves and or vacancies are you saying something could go wrong?
jayhinrichs wrote:Joel,,,what do you mean something goes wrong with the property in one year….
All the proformas from the marketing companies show little to no maintenance reserves and or vacancies are you saying something could go wrong?
in real estate things will go wrong.
tenants do move out in the middle of the night
lower end rental more head aches
tenants will not pay rent
tenants will break things
mechanical things do break ( ac – water heaters – plumbing )
these are all things that will happen
being prepared is the key
Jay is absolutely right. Most of the spruikers in Oz make no mention of vacancies, repairs, leasing fees or replacing carpets etc. Even in Oz, we have to allow for those things. In the US, it seems that tenants have little regard for property and in Oz we don’t have people stealing the a/c compressors!
I am still doing battle with John Patchin of rewholesaleking in Kansas City. Kyler has very kindly gained access to the property and it would appear to be partly rehabbed so not sure of its value. Considering it was supposed to have been tenanted at one time and sold as a turnkey, it seems likely this is just another lie.
Getting very wary of investing in the US. Oz is a very long way away when you have to foreclose!
Oh no – it would probably have been tenanted – they probably marked up the house to subsidize the tenant though…
I used to be asked what the difference between me and the other "buyers agents" were (aka those unlicensed sitting in Australia who had been here perhaps on holiday) and I used to almost want to cry…ASK ASK ASK!!!!!!
1) LICENSED…. actually can legally use the term "US buyers agent" – you CAN sue me with recourse (watch how careful you get on that level in the US = ) I don't say "fabulous home you can buy" – I say this has these pros and these cons because they ALL do …. but I OWE you honesty – wholesalers …..? Not so much!
2) Don't mark up repair costs – as in yes, project management included
I spend 10 hours at least on every property – every one going over EVERY item – HOW LONG DO THEY – WHO DOES??3) Don't charge to rent your property – not even a renewal fee – and if evicted in the first 6 months you don't pay a cent there either (obviously didn't exactly find the "right" tenant at that point)…
BUT EVERYONE SAYS/SAID THE SAME PRATTLE….dear god the websites might as well have been written by the same person …
How the HECK would you tell the difference? I don't know… I seriously don't. I used to say ask them how much a toilet is at Home Depot…There are NO guarantees in life and especially not in investing…. all I did was think of the worst of my nightmares and try to think of reassurance factors to eliminate how to NOT get screwed – at the buy, at the repair, at the rental…. and I can tell you right now – it is hundreds of hours of work.
This annoys me because Alex, Jay, Kyler are STATESIDE people who I believe anyway AREN'T ripping people off but again – WHO IN THE US AS AN AVERAGE INVESTOR WOULD BUY THROUGH A WHOLESALER???? NO ONE UNLESS THEY WANT TO FEED WITH THE SHARKS….NONE of my friends, my former work colleagues would EVER, in ANY market go "hmmm, I want to invest in property…… let's go to the auctions and find me a wholesaler"…. they would go the course that offered legal recourse…. even if they were hopeless they could sue.
Guys, there are SLIME in both countries… and I don't have a solution….
I'm not sure I would wish the ground stuff on my worst enemy unless they have a passion for it (note NOT a passion for making money but for actually SOLVING a problem). The angst and I mean angst of an untenanted house – doesn't worry the construction dude at all….so if his repairs go over the 15th and you are trying to get a tenant in by the 1st?
Does your real estate agent panic about the date you actually close on a property that needs a lot of reno's…..it freaks me out but I can walk the neighborhood putting up flyers, instantly drop a rental amount etc.
I HATE mid month closings – anything after the 10th is fraught with angst….
Look – unless your guru is sitting here amongst the crap, you need to talk to the person that is. The tradesmen that promise they will be there Monday – you need to be there Monday to check they were etc…
The nuances to this are so so so so so much more than just "you can't lose" – someone SERIOUSLY has that as their "campaign" in Australia…..
FOOLPROOF
If you are interested in yield – you need to play hard ball with everyone get 3 quotes, ask to review the candidate, get involved with the rental ask – do your research because you are in BUSINESS.HOWEVER……. If you are interested in a capital growth…..??? Seriously… if it were me??? I would put the lowest rent possible on your property, interview 45 applicants and ask them to write an essay about how well they will look after your property, include photos and videos of their current house that they must have lived in for at least 5 years, get 20 testimonials including work and their reward is an unbreakable 5 year least at ??$500 a month on your property CANCELLED IMMEDIATELY THEY ARE A DAY LATE IN RENT…….Applicant MUST BE MAINTENANCE ORIENTED – PREF HVAC SPECIALIST and call it good……. bonus each year paid to them if they don't have any issues on your mandatory tax deductible inspection trip by someone.
Do away with property managers, tenant changeover etc….
Simple.
I'm not really joking – take a 5% yield slash but be happy.
Emma,
I have done the exact same things as you describe about making a deal with the tenant.
I had 3 rentals just north of San Francisico… They were wobley box’s on thier own private lot.
I put the tenants in there at 30 to 40% less than market… market was about 700 I rented them for 500..00 and told them never call me.
All repairs are on them…. One tenant lasted 15 years… Now when I got the property back I had to haul it to the dump and sell the lot to habitat for Humans…. But hey I only paid 7k for the property I got 10k for the lot and feel good for selling to HH…And made what 6k a year minus tax and insurance say 5k… And other than maybe flying my plane down there from oregon every 2 years… Which is 250 each way just for gas.
then rent a car and ride around…. So made say 400 a month positive for 15 plus years… And it all went into my IRA so I really never saw it.
Since we really do not fixate like OZ investors do on Rates of return gross or net… Just hey is it good or not and do I have to feed it or not.this was a good deal for me…
YOur thought could work but you would have to do all the background work and definatly have a drive by at least once a quarter to make sure things were progressing as agreed…
I like the idea had not thought of it in a while… I think I will take one or two of my homes and try it and report back..
JLH
I did this very successfully for 2 years on a 4 plex I had in Alaska…GREAT family babysat it for that time and I cried when they left (and sold immediately)… it was enough for them to watch it and for me to visit every couple of months for the thorough go through……
Alaska as the long term threadies know, was my real estate training exercise from hell…. namely the lure of 30% yield on paper … aaaah, the newbie errors people make… sigh, so glad hopefully some people have gained from those days…. NEVER BUY COLD WET SNOW etc etc…
This ploy worked brilliantly for me – and back then, real estate was a hobby and a passion but supplemented by my real job so yield wasn't the big play ( THANK GOD) – in Alaska I would just be happy they were still standing another year.
I must say every storm I am through in Atlanta just makes me pray the same for my properties here…. GOD this climate over this neck of the woods is DIRE for longevity ……the GUSHING water and almost horizontal rain coupled with that wind……
Tenant issues aside……for those of you in Atlanta, please do not underestimate the severity of these storms…… coupled with humidity… nothing better than water + humidity. Actually get an HVAC specialist who has done roofing.
emma171 wrote:I did this very successfully for 2 years on a 4 plex I had in Alaska…GREAT family babysat it for that time and I cried when they left (and sold immediately)… it was enough for them to watch it and for me to visit every couple of months for the thorough go through……Alaska as the long term threadies know, was my real estate training exercise from hell…. namely the lure of 30% yield on paper … aaaah, the newbie errors people make… sigh, so glad hopefully some people have gained from those days…. NEVER BUY COLD WET SNOW etc etc…
This ploy worked brilliantly for me – and back then, real estate was a hobby and a passion but supplemented by my real job so yield wasn't the big play ( THANK GOD) – in Alaska I would just be happy they were still standing another year.
I must say every storm I am through in Atlanta just makes me pray the same for my properties here…. GOD this climate over this neck of the woods is DIRE for longevity ……the GUSHING water and almost horizontal rain coupled with that wind……
Tenant issues aside……for those of you in Atlanta, please do not underestimate the severity of these storms…… coupled with humidity… nothing better than water + humidity. Actually get an HVAC specialist who has done roofing.
Emma Charlotte and Atlanta so close and Florida all should keep in mind the storms. It has been hotter then I can recall in years and we only in July . The pop up thunder and lighting storms with strong wind and rain , with the humidity is not joke.
This is global warming…
the Pacific Northwest just gets more temperate.. We are having 70 to 80 degree days now…
Thunder storms on the other side of the Cascade range.
Some fools Tied 300 party balloons together and a couple lawn chairs below and launched from Bend Or destined for Montana.
They made it about 30 miles East when a Pop up thunder storm appeared right over them and brought them to the ground they were lucky to not be killed.
we get occasional T storms here but no Twisters with them… Just thunder lighting and heavy rainfall or hail.
There was a big one that put the Lanceair airplane manufactorer out of bizzness 6 or 7 years. Ago they have 40 brand new 600k airplanes on the ramp at Bend Or.. facility and a huge thunderstorm with golf ball size hail damaged everyone of those aircraft it was a huge problem and the company never recovered and was then bought by Cessna and shipped to kansas… Its the Cessna Corvallis for those interested in aviation.
Jay
This is hottest summer I can recall in the South and been here for 20 years. This is late August weather and we are only in July.
Crazy some thing going on out their.
All I know is that it adds a serious concern that should not be underestimated on wear and tear….. Roofs especially but vinyl siding etc… Just basic hard yakka on buildings, drain spouts etc.
Just back from mandatory 24 hour beach trip…. God that ocean and white white sand of the Gulf makes up for slogging it ATL style..!
emma171 wrote:All I know is that it adds a serious concern that should not be underestimated on wear and tear….. Roofs especially but vinyl siding etc… Just basic hard yakka on buildings, drain spouts etc. Just back from mandatory 24 hour beach trip…. God that ocean and white white sand of the Gulf makes up for slogging it ATL style..!Where did you go? and the Gulf is always nice to check out.
My oldest Brother is a police office in Sarasota Florida ( lives in North Port )beaches are awesome their
Emma
Not sure what our talking about,,, all the turn Key spruikers that put no maintenance reserves in their numbers or some really low number that is not reality
Are you saying even after a reno there is on going maintenance costs with our US rentals… And that if they are in areas with 4 seasons it could even be more than one would expect.
And that rain and humidity are tough on houses…. IS this what your saying????
I Know here in Oregon were we have no real humitidy but lots of rain.. Houses need annual maintenance even if they are new builds.
Just back from mandatory 24 hour beach trip…. God that ocean and white white sand of the Gulf makes up for slogging it ATL style..!
When i used to live in Florida, would see my neighbor on the way to work and the normal greeting would be. How are you today? Normal reply was, another day in paradise. Yes it was, how i miss it… Can't beat those white sand beaches in Panama city, Destin, Pensacola area.
I'm looking forward to seeing the great barrier reef when i go to OZ this fall.
I am heading back to Queensland’ Sunshine Coast in the next month or two, Kyler. Happy to show you the local sights, mate.
@ilovehouses where are you based? Lived in Noosa 98 until 2010..
jayhinrichs wrote:Just thunder lighting and heavy rainfall or hail. There was a big one that put the Lanceair airplane manufactorer out of bizzness 6 or 7 years. Ago they have 40 brand new 600k airplanes on the ramp at Bend Or.. facility and a huge thunderstorm with golf ball size hail damaged everyone of those aircraft it was a huge problem and the company never recovered and was then bought by Cessna and shipped to kansas… Its the Cessna Corvallis for those interested in aviation.They could do what Nissan did in Mississippi:
"
Concerned that hail storms could damage the paint on newly manufactured cars, the company has been using "hail suppression cannons," which send a loud sonic blast into the air above the factory, according to recent stories in the Jackson, Miss., Clarion Ledger and in the industry newspaper Automotive News.
The system is supposed to protect about 12,000 brand new vehicles, worth about $400 million, parked in the factory's shipping yard, according to a Nissan spokeswoman quoted in the Clarion Ledger.
The cannons' blast is about 50 decibels, according to a Nissan engineer quoted in the Clarion-Ledger. That's similar to the noise level near a highway, the engineer said.
Theoretically, the system prevents hail over an approximately 1-mile radius by vibrating water droplets in the air that form hail. Vibrating the droplets supposedly disrupts the hail-forming process, preventing hail storms.
The cannons are connected to equipment that detects weather conditions under which hail can form and they are supposed to fire automatically as needed, according to the Clarion-Ledger.
A National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration scientist quoted by Automotive News said there is no scientific evidence that hail cannons actually work.
An engineer with Nissan insisted that the hail cannons are working and that people at the Nissan plant have seen evidence of hail in the area, but not over the plant, according to Automotive News.
Nissan's Mississippi neighbors should be pleased that the company has at least fixed the cannons so they will no longer fire continuously regardless of wether hail conditions are present, as they had been doing,"
TZ,
I have a house in Buderim but I am presently managing an apartment block in Port Macquarie, NSW since 2010. We have sold the business and will be returning to Buderim some time next month hopefully. The Sunshine Coast is still growing really fast but not as fast as it was due to the recession.
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