Archive for February, 2008

Minneapolis Rental Property Owners Workshop

I have attended this event in the past and it is fantastic for any new landlord in Minneapolis. It is a great place to meet the Minneapolis Police, inspectors, and other Minneapolis landlords and talk about any issues your are having with your investment property, your tenants or neighbors.
Community Crime Prevention/SAFE of the Minneapolis Police [...]

I have attended this event in the past and it is fantastic for any new landlord in Minneapolis. It is a great place to meet the Minneapolis Police, inspectors, and other Minneapolis landlords and talk about any issues your are having with your investment property, your tenants or neighbors.

Community Crime Prevention/SAFE of the Minneapolis Police Department and Minneapolis Housing Inspections are providing this workshop. Attending the workshop provides owners and managers with valuable information, resources and opportunities to network with other property owners. Workshop topics:

• The ABCs of property management
• Working with the Minneapolis Police Department
• Working with Housing Inspections
• Tenant behavior issues
• The risk of lead poisoning
• Hennepin County Housing Court / mediation
• Networking opportunities

The training and landlord guide provided by Community Crime Prevention/SAFE is intended to foster healthy and safe neighborhoods through property owner/manager involvement to reduce drug dealing and other illegal activity in the community. The materials and training should not be regarded as legal advice or considered a replacement for the property owner/manager’s responsibility to be familiar with the law.  If you register and do not attend, you will receive the materials and a DVD on Hennepin County Housing Court instead of a refund.

Rental Property Owners Workshop
DATE: Thursday, April 10
WHEN: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
(Registration at 4:30 p.m.)

PLACE: St. Mary’s Greek
Orthodox Church
3450 Irving Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Registration Form can be found online at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/outreach/docs/RPOW.pdf
Please be sure to bring your check to the workshop. Please register by April 3 to ensure your space.

Cost: $20.00 — checks payable to City of Minneapolis
(Includes cost of workshop, materials, DVD on Hennepin County Housing Court, and box meal.)

Pre-registration is required. RSVP by email to ccsafe [at] ci [dot] minneapolis [dot] mn [dot] us or 612-673-2812, and bring the registration form with your check for $20 to the workshop.

Have you always wanted to buy investment property, but never knew where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Allowing Tenants to Paint

I see this happen to new landlords often. A tenant moves in and asks if they can paint a room or wall. Unfortunately, the new landlord agrees and 90% of the time, the tenant does a terrible job or choses a bad color. Now you are in a tough spot. Legally, because the landlord agreed [...]

I see this happen to new landlords often. A tenant moves in and asks if they can paint a room or wall. Unfortunately, the new landlord agrees and 90% of the time, the tenant does a terrible job or choses a bad color. Now you are in a tough spot. Legally, because the landlord agreed and probably nothing was in writing regarding colors or workmanship, the landlord can NOT take any money from the damage deposit.

I rarely get this request from my tenants because I maintain my investment properties well and most are repainted prior to the new tenant moving in. When I do get the request, I turn the tenant down, unless they have professional painting experience (which is almost never).

The Secret for Getting Future Tenants to Call-Even when you are NOT advertising

I have not been advertising for an open apartment for about 30 days. Despite this, I have received 3 calls in the last 2 days from people looking for apartments. These prospective tenants are calling me because one of my current (and even former) tenants recommended me. They say that I am a “good” landlord.
Do [...]

I have not been advertising for an open apartment for about 30 days. Despite this, I have received 3 calls in the last 2 days from people looking for apartments. These prospective tenants are calling me because one of my current (and even former) tenants recommended me. They say that I am a “good” landlord.

Do not mistake “good” for easy! I would consider myself to be firm and direct, but also courteous, respectful, responsive, and friendly. I treat most of my tenants like customers. Consequently, my tenants are happy and most often they are also respectful, responsive, and respectful back.

Additionally, keeping my investment properties in good condition and well maintained has also given me the reputation as a good landlord. But, all of those nice apartments don’t do it alone, I would say the top keys to having happy tenants is that I answer the phone, treat them with respect, and follow through on what I say I am going to do.

These are simple things, but not many landlords do them. I guess it just comes naturally for me (maybe it is that old saying: “treat others like you would want to be treated”). It sure makes investment real estate easier when your tenants are out there selling you as a landlord!

Have you always wanted to buy investment properties, but never knew where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Next Investor Club Meeting

Our investor club was started about 18 months ago under the belief that as real estate investors, we could all benefit from knowing other people in the business. We have at least one keynote speaker per event to do investor training, which has included topics such as: rent collection, evictions, flipping, property management, and tenant [...]

Our investor club was started about 18 months ago under the belief that as real estate investors, we could all benefit from knowing other people in the business. We have at least one keynote speaker per event to do investor training, which has included topics such as: rent collection, evictions, flipping, property management, and tenant screening.

The next real estate investor club meeting is set for March 4 at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park, 6:30pm-9:00pm. Everyone is invited to this free open event. John Caylor, CPA will be speaking on how to streamline your bill payment and tax preparation using technology. As always, we will be having a social time from 6:30-7:00pm and then we will end the night with speed networking to encourage everyone to make new contacts. Plan to attend.

Have you always wanted to buy investment property, but never knew where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now. Attend this meeting!

Buying MN Investment Property with Cash Flow, Another Thought

In December, I wrote about how I was surprised that anyone would consider buying an investment property with little or negative cash flow. I think new investors make the mistake of assuming that your cash flow is simply your rent minus your mortgage payment. Let’s take a step back and make sure we are talking [...]

In December, I wrote about how I was surprised that anyone would consider buying an investment property with little or negative cash flow. I think new investors make the mistake of assuming that your cash flow is simply your rent minus your mortgage payment. Let’s take a step back and make sure we are talking about the same cash flow:

Your property expenses are made of many of the following items (and others that may be specific to your building):

• Property Taxes
• Insurance for your Investment Property
• Water, sewer, garbage (depending upon your city)
• Heat and electricity either for the common areas or if you as the landlord is paying those bills
• Snow removal, lawn care
• Repair and Maintenance (only materials if you are doing it yourself)
• Property management
• Vacancies (this is one of the biggest areas that landlords forget about)
• Turnover repairs and updates (some of this may be charged to the outgoing tenant as damages, but what about painting the unit?)
• Advertising costs for that turnover
• Homeowner Association Fees if you are in a townhouse or condo

Only by including these items can you truly analyze your investment property cash flow.

Have you always wanted to buy investment property, but never knew where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Minnesota Wholesalers put me on your List!

I have spoken to several new real estate investors in the last couple weeks that have decided to get into wholesaling properties. This is a fast moving and exciting part of the real estate business. Unfortunately, it seems that most new wholesalers concentrate on finding the distressed properties to buy, first. Then when they find [...]

I have spoken to several new real estate investors in the last couple weeks that have decided to get into wholesaling properties. This is a fast moving and exciting part of the real estate business. Unfortunately, it seems that most new wholesalers concentrate on finding the distressed properties to buy, first. Then when they find a good deal and put it under contract, they quickly realize that having investors or buyers for those properties is actually more important. My Advice-Build your list of customers and real estate investors and build it big.

Why build a big list of wholesale customers?

• If you are planning to make a living by wholesaling properties, you will need to do about 2-4 transactions per month. Most real estate investors may only be able to handle a new property (no matter how good a deal), every 2-3 months. Therefore, you need 12-18 different buyers that can take the properties off your hands.
• Depending upon what neighborhoods and price points you are working in, you may need different types of investors to wholesale your properties to. Some investors will only take properties that require very little work. Others are looking to rehab a property to provide instant equity.
• With the changing (almost daily) landscape of the mortgage industry, even strong investors are finding it more difficult or slower to execute purchases.

How to build a big list of wholesale customers:

• Real Estate agents like myself, that work with investors primarily, are great contacts to have. In this technology world, my customers have almost the same access to property information that I have. I am always very excited when I can find a non-MLS or pre-MLS property that my customer (and others) have not seen yet.

So, if you are working on wholesaling in Minnesota, send me an email occasionally with a property that you are trying to wholesale. I may have a customer that is looking for exactly what you have!

Do you watch those flipping shows on Cable?  Have you always wanted to try a flip?  Don’t Wait! Let me show you how you can get started today.