Investing in Houses and Small Multi-Family Properties in Phoenix
One of the most common paths into real estate investing is starting with residential properties … single family and small multi-family.
To be successful … the secret is picking properties in solid growth markets … and teaming up with a competent and dedicated property manager.
We’re talking with experts in BOTH investing and property management who work in one of the hottest residential markets in the United States.
In this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ show, hear from:
- Your invested host, Robert Helms
- His multi-faceted co-host, Russell Gray
- From P. J. Hussey & Associates, Patti Hussey, and Andrew Thruston
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A market with room to run
It seems like it’s harder and harder to find deals … but we’re talking about a market where deals seem to be everywhere … as long as you know where to look.
Phoenix, Arizona, is a great market for a lot of reasons.
Phoenix has a great cost of living and lots of things to do. It offers diversity in industries and socioeconomic levels.
If you look at the data on the best places to raise a family and where rent growth is the strongest, you’ll see cities that are part of the greater Phoenix Metro … like Gilbert, Mesa, and Tempe, Arizona.
Phoenix is also the distribution hub of the American Southwest … which means a ton of merchandise moves in through its marketplace.
The silver tsunami favors cities like Phoenix that offer retiring baby boomers a warm climate with great medical care.
If you’re sitting in California and looking for a place to relocate, Phoenix is one of the locations at the top of your mind.
We’ve been involved in this market for more than 15 years … and it just continues to grow and improve. It continues to be stable … and we continue to see opportunities.
This is a market with room to run.
So, what does that mean in terms of specific opportunities for real estate investors?
Perfecting property management in Phoenix
Patti Hussey and Andrew Thruston of P. J. Hussey & Associates have been involved in the Phoenix market for a long time.
They specialize in a unique part of real estate … property management. They also do construction … everything from rehabs to new builds.
Their niche is in single family homes as well as small multi-family units of 18, 25, or 50 apartments.
Patti started out in banking many years ago. But when a friend bought a property and asked her to run it, she thought it was a good idea.
She found herself in property management … what we consider the most important … and least appreciated … part of real estate as the owner and broker at P. J. Hussey & Associates.
On the other hand, Andrew Thruston grew up in a real estate family … and didn’t want to go into property management.
“Growing up, I saw how much my mother worked, and I swore it off. But over the course of time, I just saw so many opportunities in the industry to serve other people,” Andrew says.
By bringing the property management and the construction piece of the investment puzzle under one roof, Patti and Andrew are able to serve investors more wholly.
Many folks who flip houses are looking to do as little as they can to get the right price and then they move on.
But when an investor is putting in the work alongside their property management company … you need to be prepared to hold the property for a long time.
“We try to figure out what are the best improvements that will maximize the rent. That’s our focus,” Patti says.
In the Phoenix market, some of those common improvements include having laundry in every unit and additional storage options for renters.
Investors in the Phoenix metro benefit from fair landlord/tenant laws and tenants usually stay at least two years in a property.
With the migration boom, there are tons of opportunities for growth in the Phoenix metro area. Thousands of apartment units are being built … and thousands more are needed!
But in a competitive market, there are always things to be aware of. Do your due diligence.
The power of the property manager
The client base at P. J. Hussey & Associates has changed over time … just as Phoenix has changed and grown too.
For example, in the last several years, positive exchange rates led to a surge of Canadian investors.
They also work with everyone from large purchasers down to individuals looking to purchase an initial investment property.
They have also worked with a variety of property sizes and qualities … from D to A … and cover a huge geographic area surrounding Phoenix.
“One of the things that we have done to be able to manage an area of that size effectively is departmentalize all of our services. This allows experts in each field to focus on what they do best regardless of location,” Andrew says.
P.J. Hussey & Associates also has technicians and maintenance staff in house instead of contracting out to third parties … helping them to respond quickly when needs arise.
“Without happy tenants paying the rent, we don’t have happy owners. So, we really focus on tenant service and responding promptly,” Andrew says.
And that’s the hardest part of property management … keeping tenants happy. As an investor, you want to ensure your property manager is treating folks with respect.
Remember … property managers are the boots on the ground team. They have valuable knowledge to share … so take advantage!
More From The Real Estate Guys™…
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The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training, and resources to help real estate investors succeed.
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Podcast: Investing in Houses and Small Multi-Family Properties in Phoenix
Getting started in real estate investing usually begins with residential properties … single family and small multi-family. One of the secrets of success is to pick properties in solid growth markets. Another is to team up with a competent and dedicated property manager.
In this episode, we visit with experts in both investing and property management in one of the hottest residential markets in the United States.
So listen in and learn about small to mid-level residential property investing in a strong and growing market.
More From The Real Estate Guys™…
- Sign up for The Real Estate Guys™ Free Newsletter
- Check out all the great free info in our Special Reports library.
- Don’t miss an episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show. Subscribe on iTunes or Android or YouTube!
- Stay connected with The Real Estate Guys™ on Facebook and our Feedback page.
The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training, and resources to help real estate investors succeed.
Love the show? Tell the world! When you promote the show, you help us attract more great guests for your listening pleasure!
Halloween Horror Stories 2019
Another year … another Halloween … another classic collection of creepy catastrophes from our listeners.
The stories you are about to hear are all true … terrible, but true!
And while these investors paid the price, YOU don’t have to … if you learn from their experiences.
Tune in for terrifying tales of toil, trouble, and real estate!
In this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ show, hear from:
- Your spooky host, Robert Helms
- His cooky co-host, Russell Gray
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Halloween horror stories … and important lessons learned
Welcome to another bone-breaking edition of Halloween horror stories!
Alarming anecdotes and deals that went wickedly wrong can contribute compelling lessons for real estate investors.
It’s our annual edition of Halloween Horror Stories!
Real estate is a messy business … but this episode isn’t designed to scare people off. Instead, it’s a way for us to share tribal knowledge.
Somebody paid full price for these lessons … so you don’t have to.
The never-ending cosmetic refresh
Curtis Drake and Ryan Pedit acquired a property in a market that they were previously in. It was light rehab … and they wanted to do the cosmetic piece.
They met with their on-the-ground property management company and went over the timeline and expectations for the updates. They closed on the property … and took off.
But the whole project went sideways with no revenue income.
What they learned was that they were doing things that were outside of their management’s wheelhouse. That team typically just managed property … they didn’t handle cosmetic overhauls.
Many property managers have a bevy of contractors in their network. So, when you say you want to do some light rehab, they think, “Yeah, we can do that.”
But rehab isn’t the same as upkeep.
Curtis and Ryan also share the importance of having a written agreement with dates and times established. Their handshake agreement left them without any leverage to fall back on.
Should have built from scratch
Loe Hornbuckle has been on the show before. He is a super syndicator … but even he has a horror story to share.
Loe did a project where he bought an existing assisted living facility. There was a lot of due diligence involved … but even then, some things slip through.
Turns out the property had an illegal fire suppression system that was not caught by any of the previous inspections.
Instead, it was caught when they filed for a permit to expand the property footprint into the garage.
Loe began working with the city to resolve the issue. It took six weeks for the city to articulate why the system hadn’t been caught and what the next steps needed to be.
Turns out the city allows certain fire suppression systems in single-family homes and others for businesses. When the property applied for a permit, the city thought it was an SFH.
But the property actually had an assisted living component … and with a certain number of residents, a different class of fire suppression systems is required.
So, Loe and his team had to rip out the old system and install a new one … about $15,000 worth of unexpected cost … and they lost 15 to 16 weeks of time.
Lessons learned … there may be more to your due diligence than you think. Really focus and take account of the physical pieces of the building.
Just because something has been checked off … it doesn’t mean it’s correct.
Another lesson Loe walked away with is that there is power in building from the ground up.
When you purchase an existing property, there are things you will need to tear out and replace. Sometimes, you might as well start from scratch.
Tragedy turns into lawsuit
Our good friend and wonderful attorney Kevin Day shares one of his own client’s horror stories.
This particular client had an apartment building. One of the tenants had a boyfriend who was home babysitting her son, left food on the stove … and went to sleep.
A fire started, and only the boyfriend was able to get out. The family went after the apartment owner in a lawsuit.
It ended in a settlement with insurance, but there are lessons to be learned.
Kevin says the big lessons are to separate targets. As you do your business and estate planning … remember that privacy is important.
The lower profile you have … if they don’t know you have five other rental properties … the less of a target you are.
Fully occupied … or not
Patti Hussey and Andrew Thruston from PJ Hussey … a property and construction management team in Phoenix, Arizona … have their own Halloween horror story to share.
The team was taking on a 28-unit apartment complex in the northeast portion of Phoenix.
One thing they noticed was that all of the tenants’ leases were month to month.
It was a hundred percent occupied with rents through the roof … but the day the deal closed, they lost 10 tenants.
The previous owner was calling tenants and telling them that they were free to move into the next property. The strategy was to build up residency in these multi-family apartments, sell them … and then move tenants to the next property.
Everything was to give the allusion of high residency.
The PJ Hussey team jumped in and worked to fill apartments with appropriate leases … but it was challenging.
The big lesson the team took away is to really be careful how you do your vetting. Talk to the tenants and ask them how long they have been there.
If things look suspicious … trust your gut.
For more Halloween Horror stories … and lessons learned … listen to our full episode!
More From The Real Estate Guys™…
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- Don’t miss an episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show. Subscribe on iTunes or Android or YouTube!
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The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training, and resources to help real estate investors succeed.
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Market Spotlight – Jacksonville, Florida
It’s the first week of our market spotlight series … and we’re starting with a city that has been on our radar for a while … Jacksonville, Florida!
There’s a lot to like about this Northeast Florida city. To start, it’s the fourth largest economy in Florida and has the largest population in the state … which means HUGE opportunities for real estate investors.
Listen in as we visit with some of our favorite boots-on-the-ground experts and explore all Jacksonville has to offer.
In this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ show you’ll hear from:
- Your sunshine-loving host, Robert Helms
- His sunny-side-over co-host, Russell Gray
- President and co-founder of Southern Impression Homes, Chris Funk
- General manager of Southern Impression Homes, Chandler Janger
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Why Jacksonville?
There are so many places for you to invest in real estate. So, for the next few weeks we are highlighting some of the markets we find interesting this year.
Jacksonville, Florida, is a place we have been looking at for a long time because there are SO MANY reasons to like it.
Jacksonville has the largest population in Florida and the fourth largest economy. And did we mention it’s a no-income-tax state?
Florida is the No. 1 location that baby boomers choose to retire in, but the year-round sun attracts younger tenants too. Variety and diversity is the name of the game.
Whether you’re a single-family-home investor or are interested in multifamily properties or even vacation ownership, Jacksonville is full of possibilities.
Opportunities for high returns in new construction
Our guest today is Chris Funk of Southern Impression Homes. Chris started out in the dry-cleaning business … and then the ’08 crash happened.
Like many business owners, Chris lost about 20 percent of his revenue. He needed to find a new source of cashflow. What he found was real estate.
Ultimately, Chris bought up about 25 homes. He bought them cheap, renovated them, and rented them out. The cash came in … and Chris was hooked.
He expanded his portfolio and soon went from buying 50 houses a year to buying 50 houses a month!
The biggest challenge for Chris was finding good property management, so he decided to do it himself.
Before he knew it, Chris was running a large property management company and expanding from renovations to land purchasing and new construction in Jacksonville.
Chris says that renovating older homes is still his bread and butter, but he realized there are great opportunities for profits from new construction.
New homes come with limited maintenance costs, and when you build from the ground up, you have 100 percent control over every aspect of the build.
New construction is often more attractive to tenants … much of the growing labor force in Jacksonville has chosen to settle in new construction.
And more interested potential tenants means properties are more attractive to investors like you.
It’s this aspect of business that makes Chris’ approach to the market unique. Instead of focusing on selling to individual owner-occupants, Chris tries to sell most of his inventory to investors.
“Investors have been our lifeblood ever since we started in our real estate business,” Chris says. “We’re investors ourselves, and we built our property management company as a company that is built by investors for investors.”
Chris says he doesn’t want to just sell a house and go away. He wants to become part of the investor’s team on the ground and manage their assets … all of them!
It’s a long-term opportunity instead of a one-time sell. And investors who work with Chris do more business, more often.
Investment opportunity in Jacksonville isn’t confined to single-family homes. Chris knows this and builds new duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes as well.
Like many other markets, the cash-on-cash yield for a multifamily property is higher than that for a single-family home … but you do give up some appreciation.
One of the most attractive elements of the Jacksonville market is affordability. Single-family homes range from $150,000 to about $200,000. The highest priced fourplexes clock in at about $550,000.
What investors need to know
Jacksonville … like the rest of the sunshine state … has had double digit population growth every year since the census was created.
It’s not a town full of retirees either. Young professionals settle there to take advantage of affordable prices and job opportunities.
The city has a booming financial district with major corporations like Fidelity National Title, Ameris Bank, and Wells Fargo.
There’s also a thriving industrial sector. Companies from Coach to Mercedes and FedEx have major distribution centers in the metro area.
The United States military maintains a large presence in Jacksonville … and they are expanding their ranks.
From a tenant perspective, Southern Impression Homes General Manager Chandler Janger says this means the average resident is middle to upper middle working class … largely reliable and looking for a great home at a great price.
By keeping property management in-house, Southern Impression Homes can give investors in-depth insight into each of their properties. An online portal offers instant access to occupancy, payment, and tenant information.
Owners are paid electronically the month after rent collection and receive a monthly statement broken down by property.
Chandler says if there’s one thing investors should know, it’s that communication is key. In property management, there are a lot of moving parts … clear communication makes everyone’s job easier.
With great teams in place on the ground and beautiful properties, Jacksonville is a market worth looking into.
To discover if Jacksonville is a good fit for your portfolio, check out the Jacksonville Market Report prepared by Chris and his team at Southern Impression Homes.
More From The Real Estate Guys™…
- Sign up for The Real Estate Guys™ Free Newsletter
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- Don’t miss an episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show. Subscribe on iTunes or Android or YouTube!
- Stay connected with The Real Estate Guys™ on Facebook, and our Feedback page.
The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training, and resources to help real estate investors succeed.
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Property Management – The Key to Profitable Investing
Buying a property is one thing. Operating it is another.
Many investors buy property but fail to think about where their money will really be coming from … the tenants.
If you can’t take care of your property or your tenants, your income stream will be in big trouble. That’s where a property manager comes in.
In this episode, we invite a special guest to discuss the finer points of developing your property management philosophy.
He’ll offer tips on how to find a stellar property manager, what to expect from your property management company, how to manage a team, and MORE.
You’ll hear from:
- Your philosophical host, Robert Helms
- His phil-o-what? co-host, Russell Gray
- Property management professional, Ken McElroy
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Why do real estate investors need a property manager?
We want to make it really clear … property managers are the unsung heroes of the real estate business.
As a real estate investor, your money is coming from your tenants.
Property managers interact directly with tenants. A good property manager will maximize the return on your investment by finding … and retaining … paying tenants.
If you’re a new investor, you may be fulfilling the role of property manager yourself. As your investments increase, however, you’ll soon find it necessary to outsource property management tasks to someone else.
Every real estate investor is running a business. If you want to grow your business, you need to make sure that every vital function is scalable as you move up the ladder and acquire new investments.
Overall, scalability means two things:
- Making sure that every aspect of the business you handle personally is either scalable (you can handle more of it as you get more properties) or can be delegated
- Making sure the people you rely on are also scalable
Make sure the system you set up has redundant life support systems. In other words, if one part of the system fails, you have a back-up plan to ensure everything is running smoothly and your cash flow won’t be interrupted.
And make sure your property manager has a back-up plan too and won’t be overwhelmed when you add to their workload.
Your property manager is essential to your process.
We’d caution you to consult with property managers BEFORE you even purchase a property … they have their fingers on the current state of the market and know what’s happening now.
And make sure you are not only thinking about how your property manager can help YOU, but also how you can help your property manager.
What does a property manager do, exactly?
Property managers are responsible for two essential tasks:
- Finding, vetting, and placing tenants
- Providing ongoing support for the tenants and property
Different property managers have different philosophies on how to fulfill these tasks.
You can approach working with your property manager in several different ways:
- Establish your own policies and require the manager implement them
- Pick the right person and let them do their job, using their own established policies
- Work with your property manager to establish a routine that’s somewhere in between.
Whichever route you choose, you want to keep your main goals in mind … to keep your property manager happy, to keep your tenants happy so they stick around, and to keep your property in good shape … and, just as important, to make sure your cash flow is stable.
Sometimes, the best option can be trusting your manager’s experience and letting them decide maintenance and marketing strategy.
Picking a property manager can be tricky, but the VERY LAST criteria you want to use when shopping for a good manager is price.
DON’T pick the cheapest property manager.
If your property manager is poorly paid, they’ll be unmotivated to do a good job, and you’ll end up losing more than you save.
Don’t begrudge your property manager the money they get for doing the easy jobs, like handling long-term tenants.
You want your property manager to be happy … it’s a win-win for both of you.
The bottom line is that real estate is a people business, not a property business.
Your managers and tenants aren’t widgets. Value them, and they’ll value you.
Want to help your property manager without giving them a raise? Consider referring them to other investors in the market for a manager.
Referring a good person or company is a win-win-win for you, your investor friend, AND your property manager.
Pro tips for property management
Ken McElroy started managing properties as a college kid who wanted a free place to stay.
Today, he runs a 250-person property management company that manages properties in Washington, Oregon, and California.
We asked him what he’s learned about property management over the years. Here are some key questions and answers:
What are the basics of finding a good property manager?
First, look for experience. Collecting rent is harder than you think.
Second, look for people who can hold down the rules without being too confrontational.
What should investors expect from good property management?
Two things:
- The return you budgeted for
- No issues
Ideally, Ken says, there should be no reason for you to call your property manager … in other words, your property manager should be responsible and responsive enough to handle issues as they arise and get you your return.
How do you manage a large team?
Ken’s company employs 250 people who work at the corporate office or on the ground at the properties.
“The key to everything is communication,” Ken told us.
One of his strategies is to have on-site managers hold daily meetings with all staff members, including workers responsible for maintenance, landscaping, and leasing.
Is it better to outsource maintenance and repair services or hire in-house teams?
This comes down to what the residents need.
Retention comes first, says Ken, and to retain tenants, managers want to handle any issues immediately.
A tenant will not want to stick around if you don’t handle a broken heater or jammed plumbing as quickly as possible.
Whether in-house vs. outsourced is better ultimately comes down to what strategy will allow your property manager to solve problems immediately.
What’s your client retention strategy?
Ken implements a policy of making sure one of his employees reaches out to every resident, every month.
He also hired a relationship manager to contact new tenants about the move-in process right away.
And he has his team reach out to tenants well before their lease is up … six months before, in fact … to check in and get tenants thinking about renewing their lease.
He shoots for a 50 to 60 percent retention rate.
What kind of tenant screening do you do?
Ken runs a criminal background check and a sex offender check. Someone with terrible credit and multiple evictions is obviously not the ideal tenant.
What advice do you have for new investors?
Going into property management as a new investor with no prior knowledge can be a recipe for disaster.
If you really, truly, have the time and can show up, you could successfully be both owner and property manager, says Ken.
But if you’re just doing it to save money or don’t have time to have your boots on the ground, disaster is a certainty, not a possibility.
The golden rule of property management
We love talking to Ken because he has a “No BS” policy. He has a ton of experience, and he’s not afraid to share it.
He’s also always looking to learn. For example, he’s been incorporating social media into his marketing strategies over the past few years and is always looking to learn how to use new technology.
If you want to read a whole book of tips and tricks, we highly recommend you check out his book, The ABCs of Property Management.
Looking for more property management advice? Check out Terry’s Tips for Happy Tenants, a report compiled by business owner Terry Kerr that you can find on our website.
Want to know our golden rule for flawless property management? Treat each tenant like they’re gold.
More From The Real Estate Guys™…
- Sign up for The Real Estate Guys™ Free Newsletter and visit our Special Reports library.
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- Stay connected with The Real Estate Guys™ on Facebook and our Feedback page.
The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources to help real estate investors succeed.
Terry’s Tips for Happy Tenants
Terry’s Tips for Happy Tenants
When the rental market gets competitive … secure your CASH FLOW by finding and keeping the BEST tenants! Learn exactly how …
We had our friend Terry Kerr, founder and CEO of Mid South Homebuyers, compile a comprehensive report on his most successful methods for making tenants happy. Who better to offer advice than the CEO of a company that’s purchased, renovated, and sold over 1.7 million square feet of real estate in Memphis, Tennessee? We think Terry really knows his stuff.
Terry’s simple tricks might be common sense, but we bet you haven’t thought of them yet. From inexpensive but surprisingly effective remodeling tips to small but worthwhile improvements to the application process, Terry’s tips offer budget-friendly ideas that will improve your tenants’ experience … and benefit your bottom line!
Discover how you can make YOUR tenants happy! Simply fill out the form below to receive a complimentary copy of Terry’s Tips for Happy Tenants.
11/30/14: Deep in the Heart of Texas – The Real Estate Landscape in Dallas
The Dallas real estate market, just like the Dallas TV series and the Dallas Cowboys, just won’t go away. It’s one of the most resilient, tenacious, dependable real estate markets in the world.
To find out what’s doing in Dallas, we pay a visit to two of our boots on the ground team.
- Hosting the hot talk, Robert Helms
- His tenacious temporary co-host, Russell Gray
- Returning contributor, Jay Hartley
- Special guest, Pam Blanco
Our expert guests for this episode are both active Dallas Metroplex real estate professionals with a long history of residential brokerage and property management. They were there before Dallas caught the world’s attention…and they’re there now.
And because they both deal with investors from all over the world as well as tenants right there in town, they have a perspective that just can’t be found simply reading headlines, charts and graphs.
Most investors buy local and don’t see the big picture. That’s a great way to get blindsided by things like bond market collapses.
Some investors are big picture only. They study a market from afar, decide it’s the one for them, and then throw a dart at a map and buy whatever it hits.
That’s a great way to become the proud owner of a huge problem on a bad street.
We think you need to have both a big picture perspective AND a strong local market team who can help you find the right neighborhoods, properties and tenants.
Pre-recession, Dallas was a pretty ho-hum appreciation market.
While markets like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Florida and California were shooting to the moon…Dallas plodded along with a great economy, solid employment, good cash flows…. and boring stability.
Then, when the sub-prime bomb detonated and all those high-flying appreciation markets imploded….
Dallas just sat there.
Sure, there was an increase in foreclosures, a decrease in values and a decline in job growth. But compared to the rest of the country’s pneumonia, Dallas only caught a cold. And it quickly recovered.
Long time listeners know that this is when Dallas caught our attention.
Just like in human relationships, your relationships with markets will be tested. And when the chips are down, you find out fast who your friends REALLY are.
In the Great Recession, Dallas demonstrated its dependability. Suddenly, boring was beautiful.
Over the last five years, we’ve discovered a whole new sexy side to Dallas. It’s been one of the leading appreciation markets coming out of the Great Recession.
It turns out that we weren’t the only ones who suddenly got interested in Dallas. Wall Street hedge funds got heavily involved. So did Mom and Pop real estate investors from all over the world.
The lesson is that solid fundamentals will almost always leads to a solid trend.
The bigger lesson is that if you focus on fundamentals…the inner beauty of a market…and not just the glamorous make-up of a hot trend…you can catch a rising star.
Today, Dallas is hardly a secret. Investors worldwide know Dallas real estate is a great place to store and build wealth. So it’s no surprise that 11% of the home sales are to foreigners…or that hedge funds have bought up thousands of properties.
Does that mean that the deals in Dallas are done?
Not necessarily. But they’re harder to find.
So getting into the deal flow in ANY market is essential…and even more so in a high demand market like Dallas.
The key to getting into the deal flow is having great relationships with well-connected people in the local market. The closer to the street they are, the more likely they are to find the opportunities others overlook.
So listen in to this episode to hear from two real life pros who live in the trenches in the Dallas Metro…and if you decide Dallas is a market you’d like to explore, make plans to join us for a fun-filled field trip!
Listen Now :
- Want more? Sign up for The Real Estate Guys™ free newsletter and visit our Special Reports library.
- Don’t miss an episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show. Subscribe to the free podcast!
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The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources that help real estate investors succeed.
9/7/14: From Orlando With Love – Tips and Tricks from the Trenches
Let’s face it. Property management isn’t the most glamorous profession.
But your property managers are arguably the most important member of any buy and hold real estate investor’s team.
So we spied out a 20 year veteran real estate investor who self-manages his dozens of properties and asked him to share some of his secrets for profitable property management.
Under the Cone of Silence in a secret bunker hidden beneath a non-descript building somewhere near the Windy City:
- Your suave and debonair host, Robert Helms
- His oft kicked in the side sidekick, Robert Helms
- An international man of mystery, a double “O” as in Orlando agent….Bond. Greg Bond
The iconic movie spy, James Bond, was cool with a double O.
Though it wasn’t easy, some how, some way, he always managed to come out on top…in more ways than one.
Why?
He was well-trained, had all the gadgets, he had years of experience, and he seldom lost his composure or sense of humor.
James Bond would have made a GREAT property manager.
We tried to get James for this interview, but he was in the middle of a long shoot with a beautiful starlet. So we connected with his distant cousin, Greg Bond.
Greg isn’t quite the ladies man that James is. And he doesn’t have a license to kill (though we’re sure there are those occasions as a property manager when he wishes he did).
But he’s one heck of a property manager…which pretty much gives him a license… to print money. 🙂
We first met Greg when he joined us on our 12th annual Investor Summit at Sea™. When we found out that he owned and managed dozens of properties in Orlando (one of our favorite markets), we couldn’t wait to interrogate him.
Turns out, he’s very focused on single family homes. He’s particularly active in specific sub-markets and neighborhoods.
He’s developed all kinds of techniques for making his properties profitable over the long term….including thriving through the Great Recession, even though Florida was among the hardest hit.
No surprise his success is the result of diligent attention to detail and consistent application of proven practices.
Of course, those practices were proven in trenches over the last 20 years. So we asked him to share the things he knows today that he wishes we would have known from the beginning.
Greg is a big believer in checklists and standardization. When his portfolio was small, he could rely on memory and make decisions on the fly. But when he started having to keep track of dozens of properties, there’s too much to carry around in your head.
So Greg has a checklist for tenant screening. He has standards for paint, floor coverings, door locks, etc.
He’s also learned how to buy better, because a reduction in expense is just as good as a rent increase for boosting the bottom line…but it doesn’t risk chasing the tenant away.
He shares a lot in the interview, but we also hit him up to write a report on some of his most important tips and tricks. You can get it for free here.
Meanwhile, we don’t want to steal any of Mr. Bond’s thunder(ball)…so listen to the interview, then request the report (for you eyes only)…
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The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources that help real estate investors succeed.
Three Easy Steps to Improving Your Holiday Rental Listing
A decade or two ago, vacation home rentals were handled by professional vacation rental managers. Now, only 40 percent of these rentals are managed by professionals, according to the Vacation Rental Managers Association. If you are a vacation homeowner who has decided to tackle renting out and managing your vacation property on your own, you may be wondering how to boost your appeal. Using these tips, you can ensure that your holiday rental doesn’t sit empty very often:
Maximize the Internet
One of the reasons holiday property owners no longer have to turn their properties over to professional managers is the rise of Internet-based listing sites. Sites like AirBnB.com, HomeAway.com, and VRBO.com allow owners to post a free ad. Interested guests can search for holiday homes based on amenities, location, number of bedrooms and more, and guests can even pay for the rental through the site, which ensures that you don’t get stuck with a missed arrival and no payment.
If you opt to use one of these sites, ensure that your listing really sings. Write about bedrooms and bathrooms near the top of the listing as these facts have a huge impact on how many people can comfortably stay in your property. Remember to include compelling pictures — you might even want to invest in a professional photographer.
Boost Your Amenities
If you aren’t getting enough interest in your property, look at the most successful properties on those sites, and ask yourself what they have that you don’t have. Clearly, you can’t move your small town bed and breakfast to the city and you can’t move your cabin in the forest to the Alps, but you can make a few changes. You could add an exercise room or a hot tub. Specials on used equipment from stores like 2nd Wind Exercise make setting up an exercise room affordable, and there are always used hot tubs available on local resale websites.
While adding amenities, keep in mind that travelers like to be comfortable, and sometimes, it can be unnerving to stay in someone else’s home. To soothe your guests, consider adding a top rated security system from Lifeshield. These are easy to work, and they provide your guests with peace of mind. FlipKey.com also recommends adding amenities to be used in the area as well — offer you guests discount tickets to nearby restaurants, ski hills, or amusement parks.
Recommend Yourself
You know your property is great and so do the people who have stayed there. It’s time to let the world hear your positive reviews. Solicit former guests to write reviews for you on online travel sites. Post their glowing words on your social media account or copy them into a brochure. Guests like to stay in places that have a good reputation, and you can boost yours with a few free recommendations. If your former guests drag their feet on writing your reviews, give them a free night or a discounted week in exchange for their reviews.
Getting Started
If you are just getting started, you can post an ad on the sites listed above and increase your amenities as allowed by your budget. You will find it harder to get recommendations. Instead, invite a traveler blogger or someone else who can help you to get exposure to tour your place. Let them post pictures and reviews of your vacation home on their website. These three easy steps can be accomplished over a weekend, and many of them can be taken care of in just an hour or so. You will love the difference it makes in keeping your rental full.
This post provided by The Real Estate Guys™ guest contributor, Norma Martin
10/31/10: Halloween Horror Stories – Getting the Lessons When Things Go Wrong
Sometimes real estate is hard. You want a rent check, but get a reality check instead. However, the best lessons often come from studying problems, so next time, you can avoid them – or least solve them faster.
So once a year at Halloween, we set aside an episode to look back over the year and pick out just a few of real life case studies where a property owner endured a difficult and often painful problem with their property ownership.
Sitting on the tomb behind the microphones in our radio crypt:
- Your scary smart host, Robert Helms
- Creepy co-host, Russell Gray
In this episode, we discuss six different tales of trouble – and look at the problem, the solution, and most importantly, the lesson. So grab your Jack O’Lantern and Trick-or-Treat bag and get ready to collect several tasty tidbits of real estate wisdom from these horror stories of real estate reality:
- Those Pesky Swamp Things – Creative solutions to tenant service when they’ve lost their cool and the heat is on.
- It Came Through the Ceiling – Water you going to do when your all wet tenant’s trying to soak you?
- A Deal Too Good to Be True – Come on over and I’ll sell you a story, but is it okay if I don’t have a title?
- When the Levy Breaks – Don’t lien on me when things go wrong.
- The Hand in the Till – Could you manage to send me an explanation of these expenses?
- Master and Servant – It’s all good until it’s not, then when a one-size-fits-all lease doesn’t, it can give YOU fits.
Enjoy this spooktacular show!
The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show podcast provides education, information and training to help investors make money with their real estate investments.
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