Posted by Mark (SDCA) on October 14, 1999 at 10:14:13:
I have 29 units spread over 11 properties. I have been doing this since 1991, almost exclusively buy and hold. I started with SFR but focus mostly on 4-plexes now. Tenantitis?? Not at all.
(Not that I don’t have horror stories. Everyone does. My favorite (hilarious now, not AT ALL at the time) would be the tenant who was using the pool as a fridge). The vast majority of my holdings are in a state which has favorable tenant-landlord laws. The rental market is very tight right now. And I have set up a system where I work mostly strategically. I have top quality maintenance people. I have property managers, and I have a lawyer who specializes in real estate matters (evictions mostly). I deal with the tenants almost exclusively by mail or phone. It’s great.
I generally don’t do LO because I don’t want to dispose of the properties. There is one house that has not been a great performer so the next time it goes vacant I will probably LO it.
Long term plan? Well, yes, sort of. I am in a transition state now. Until now, I have been 100% geared toward growth and acquisition (reaching what I call “terminal velocity” which is similar to Kyosaki’s concept of financial freedom). I am very close to that right now so I am “milking” the properties a little, but I am still a buyer. Probably always will be at heart. I really don’t have an “exit strategy” because I don’t plan to exit. I buy and re-finance. That’s it. If I ever did decide to sell, it would be a LO or a land trust/seller carry deal probably.
My attitude may change. The market may change. Who knows? If so, I will adapt.
I am doing some serious soul searching to see if RE investing is the right thing for me, as I hope it is! I am trying to compare the pro’s and con’s of this business (I know that they will be different for everybody). I feel that the good will outweigh the bad. However, would someone please comment on what have been some the pro’s & con’s that you have encountered. I just want to make an intelligent & informed decision here. Not one based on hype! Thanks in advance for your comments.
For some more info read through all the how-to-articles, money making ideas, and newsgroup 1. You may want to post this question on newsgroup 1. Also try the chat room.
Real estate is a business just like any other business. It takes alot of work to get things started but once you get going the profit can be great. Depends on what niche you are looking for. Landlording, flipping, rehabbing, mortgages, lease options, mobile homes, etc.
Posted by Mark (SDCA) on October 13, 1999 at 09:59:16:
All I can say is that for me the pros vastly outweight the cons. (And yes, there are cons. I won’t give you the late night tv pablum). I had a friend who said I would regret that 1st purchase within a year. 8 years later it is still rented to the SAME TENANT. Talk about auto-pilot!!
Anyway… I believe the key is to find your niche. There are some many angles from which you can approach REI. You need to find the one that really excites you so you won’t give up when the business gets frustrating or negative. I come from a buy and hold (rentals) mindset so if you are interested in the pros and cons of that, feel free to email me.
You buy and hold. How many and for how long ? Are you suffereing from “tenantitis” yet ? I have a number of properties and I have caretakers but I still have to deal with the real bad tenants and I don’t like it. I kicked the door in on one this week to collect my rent. Now I have no rent and a busted door. Not good.
Do you have a long term plan with your rentals ?
Do you do any lease options - in order to get better tenants ?