The "be all" investment properties thread

[barronj]

do you suggest property managers at a certain point, when someone has a said number of properties or can they/you be beneficial at all entries to the investment game?

pm sent

[Frank]

Let's talk about appliances. Range/oven, overhead microwave, dishwasher, fridge. Do the landlords usually leave these appliances in place? I'm about to build a house and I would prefer to pick out new appliances so I don't care about taking these with me.

[barronj]

Of all those appliances, the only thing that's not *always* present is the fridge. Most property managers will not repair a fridge, if it is included (unless it's newer), but they will include it. Kinda like a washer/dryer, they're the appliance most prone to break.

On the distressed properties, in poorer neighbhorhoods, I generally put a fridge in to get it leased.

[03mustangdude]

One of my irrigation guys that i deal with installs drip irrigation systems around his clients houses that is controlled by the landlord ( basically set for hour day stuff like that) and locked to make sure the renters dont let the foundation crack.

Is that a good idea or can their be a clause put in to make the renters water the lawn?

[Snatch Napkin]

I like the idea of boat storage over renting a house. We have 53 units that rent on a month to month basis at $100/month. We also keep a decent sized waiting list to get into a unit.

The overhead is extremely low, to the point of maybe spending $300 year on average for the last 15 years.

Our customers are mostly bass boat owners who either live in a HOA type environment that doesn't allow trailers, or they simply don't have the room to keep a boat stored at their own house. The benefit of this is the customer base. These guys aren't going to let their boats go. They will pay their rent every single month, with a lot of them paying for six months or a year at a time.

The nice thing about where we are located is the fact that there are 27 lakes within 2 hours of here.

Initial start up can get pricey, but we lucked out in having extra land behind our business to start up with by erecting one building of 5 units, then two, and so on. Each building paid itself off and put money in the coffers for the next set.

Key factors to a successful boat storage business.

1. Location. Semi-centralized spot in comparison to lakes. The more subdivisions with restrictions, the better. Ease of access like a main highway.

2. Setup. Metal buildings with 12'x30' stalls is a minimum. Furnish electricity so they can maintain their batteries and see at night. We have one outlet with a switch to one bulb in each stall. Concrete, not gravel. Gravel looks cheap and creates too much dust which makes dirty boats.
2. Security.. Depending on your location you might want to have a gated storage place. We have a mostly fenced property with several cameras around.

It really is pretty simple to do. I'm sure there are some tidbits I'm forgetting.

We also store to a more specific industry, but that's more of an experimental thing. However, if/when they get their own place, then we will simply put in walls to make more over the exact same units as our boat storage.

That will put us at 65 units.

Doing the math and figuring in the lack of stress as compared to a rent house makes it a pretty good deal.

[03mustangdude]

Going off boat storage idea,
How much was initial startup besides land?
Do you do storage units as well?
Where do you advertise or do you wait for walkin customers?

[Snatch Napkin]

Going off boat storage idea,
How much was initial startup besides land?
Do you do storage units as well?
Where do you advertise or do you wait for walkin customers?

Our first building was done with cement block. It is an excellent insulator and happens to be claimed long term by some awesome customers. I can't recall the cost of it off hand. We moved to the metal buildings after thinking about "what if a person backed in at a bad angle or too deep?" The repair cost would be much higher than with a metal building.

As far as pricing goes, my Grandfather designed his buildings, then ordered them himself. He had paid the concrete guy to pour to his specs, then paid an erection crew to put up his buildings. He was pretty much the contractor that only paid for labor. My Father and I put in the electrical.

Now days, I would expect $30,000-$37,000 to get a building of 6-8 units done in that manner.

We have a couple long time customers that store various things here, but all buildings are identical for the main purpose of boat storage. The few times we have had anyone flake out on us, they were storing junk in my opinion. We have never had a boat owner, classic car owner, or race car owner flake out.

We do not advertise, unless you call the phone book advertising. Everything is word of mouth for our entire business. It has been that way for 30 years.

[03mustangdude]

Are you based in dfw?


Do most investment properties owners hold full time jobs as well or do the properties take up most of their time.

[Snatch Napkin]

Are you based in dfw?


Do most investment properties owners hold full time jobs as well or do the properties take up most of their time.

No, I'm in East Texas.

That all depends on how hard you want to play, man.

[Frank]

Have any of you established yourself as a corporation or some means of protecting yourself? Just curious when its worth the trouble and what pros and cons might be of doing so.

[SMKR]

yep.

They get a pretty sweet package. I find it, get it closed, have it rehabbed (I manage everything), list it, lease it, and manage it. I don't charge for the GC part, because I wet my beak on the other 3 items. 3% on the deal (paid by the seller), 50% to lease it (low), and 8% to manage (average). Most of the properties need no oversight at all each month.

Hey by chance do you know my buddy Cord Shiflet (Moreland Properties) down there?

[Nate]

Good info in here...

[Frank]

Good info in here...

Yeah, I was wondering if there are workshops or something for folks who want to become landlords. I don't mean workshops that all they talk about are the finding/buying of properties, but the management side of it. I still have a lot of questions.

[Treasure Chest]

Let's talk about appliances. Range/oven, overhead microwave, dishwasher, fridge. Do the landlords usually leave these appliances in place? I'm about to build a house and I would prefer to pick out new appliances so I don't care about taking these with me.

You can leave them, but make sure your lease specifies that you do not accept responsibility for the maintenance of said appliances. Many renters will come with their own fridge, and in that event, we would remove the fridge and throw it in the garage for a beer fridge.

[Nielgolden]

This is one of the best affairs to discuss on now a days. The investors invested on houses are somewhat securing their lives than others. This has became very popular and most predominant that being a owner of a rented house. All the queries that we have mentioned int he post are very necessary to have knowledge about. As home prices fall and rents rise,Some investors are plunking their money into the real estate, chasing the cash flow that comes along with becoming a landlord. "For the first time in a long time, We can buy that home and get a cash-on-return immediately.