Apply Connect Tenant Screening

July 31st, 2018

Think Realty Radio with Abhi Golhar
On today`s episode Abhi interviewed Ryan Green of Apply Connect which is a tenant screening company. I was impressed with the show because the guest was very well spoken and did a great job getting his point across. Unlike yesterday`s show which left me scratching my head, this show was crystal clear.

Apply Connect is a tenant screening company that uses a combination of credit reports, eviction records, criminal history, bad check records, and rental payment history systems checks to screen potential tenants for landlords. He emphasized that they use an objective process of approving a tenant which is important because of the many laws revolving around rental properties. When you use an objective set of rule for checking out your potential renters, you are about to reduce liabilities. Objective data is the answer to avoiding allegations of discrimination.

They are partners with Experian and much of their information comes from Experian`s databases. As part of the approval process with Experian they have had to go through twice annual security screenings to include attempted hacking of their systems. Security is an important part of the screening process because you don`t want to expose your renter`s personal information to bad actors.

One area of concern in the law is the disparities of information found in reports. Sometimes a client can be declined because information reported in their file is inaccurate. The client has the right to view that information and have it corrected, but often by the time the file is corrected, the unit they were trying to rent has been rented to someone else. This has caused some municipalities to consider passing laws to protect tenants. One such purposed law would have given the client 14 days to dispute the information and during that time the landlord would be banned from renting to anyone else. This presents huge issues for landlords and companies like Apply Connect are working to avoid the need for these type of laws.

When you are personally placing a tenant, there are several things you should look for including: * Tenants with no rental history (unless they are 20 this is unusual) * Incomplete Applications
* Eviction judgments AND filings (many evictions are settled before judgments)

Make sure that you contact previous landlords to receive a verbal verification that this is a tenant you want in the building.

Summary by Casey Ryan Richards
http://presidentalbiographychallenge.info

Single Family Rentals in Cleveland

July 23rd, 2018

Think Realty Radio Power Play with Abhi Golhar and Greg Rand
Today`s Think Realty Radio show was about a company called HotelEngine.com. Since it had little to do with real estate investing, I didn`t bother to summarize it in today`s blog. However, the power play at the end of the show with Greg Rand of OwnAmerica.com was interesting. They talked about the Cleveland, Ohio market for investing in single family rental homes.

Greg thinks that Cleveland has some real potential. As you probably already know, Cleveland was a manufacturing power house in the recent past, but as manufacturing jobs left for overseas, the Cleveland area became depressed. Over the past twenty years housing prices have only appreciated 0.4% in Cleveland compared to an average HPA of 3.5% nationwide. This has helped to keep the pricing down and the average home in Cleveland will only cost you $120,000.

The good news about Cleveland is that the bleeding has stopped. They have rebuilt their city around the Cleveland Clinic and managed to repurpose many of those old manufacturing plants to make medical devices. Meanwhile, the locals that were going to leave have already left. Greg predicts that the area will actually start to appreciate over the next few years. You might be able to expect a 2% or even higher appreciation rate.

In the meantime though, there is money to be made. In the average city you might be able to obtain a 5% return on investment for single family rental properties. In Cleveland, you will see a 10% return. Work in that expected 2% appreciation and investments in Cleveland will return 12% or more! Use leverage and your returns will be even greater making Cleveland a market to consider in your single family rental home portfolio.

Casey Ryan Richards
Casey is a Real Estate Investor and a Ohio University Graduate with a BSS in Business, Economics, and Psychology. He blogs about Real Estate including interesting real estate books at http://caseyryanrichards.caseyandmax.com

Triumph Capital

July 11th, 2018 Think Realty Radio on 620 AM Dallas

On Wednesday`s show, host Abhi Golhar of Think Realty Radio interviewed CO-CEO George Flint of Triumph Capital. Triumph Capital (a hard money lender) is looking to put money into good deals with good borrowers and this dominated the discussion on today`s show.

They started off talking about what Triumph Capital was looking for in order to approve a loan. It starts with the infrastructure that the borrower has in place. They want to make sure that you, your contractor, and anyone else involved in the deal knows what they are doing. If you don`t have a contractor they want to see that you have experience hiring sub contractors or if you are doing the work yourself, they want to see that you are capable of handling the workload.

To determine this they will look at your scope of work and materials list. They want to see that this was put together by the investor and not the contractor in order to show a clear understanding of what the investor is getting into. They find that the most common mistakes investors make in projects is overestimating the after-repair-value (ARV) or underestimating the costs. They can usually spot this by reviewing your scope of work. If they don`t like your numbers, they will decline the loan.

As you grow larger they strongly suggest hiring a project manager. This will be a valuable member of your team and having someone on staff that can estimate costs and guide the work is a strong indicator of successful investing.

In the meantime though, as you are just getting started, you will need to hire a general contractor. They recommended subscribing to TheBlueBook.com is order to find a contractor.

Triumph Capital also discussed two new products they are putting out. One is for new construction loans which they define as tearing down an existing property or adding significant square footage to an existing structure. They find that these homes are strongly in demand from first time home buyers if you can keep them in the $150,000 to $275,000 range. Upon completing the build you can offer the home as a lease option, outright sale, or rental property giving you several exit strategies.

The second product they are offering is mixed use/multifamily development funds.

George Flint`s top five favorite markets to lend in are Washington State, Washington D.C, California, Massachusetts, and Texas, but they lend in many other locations. He suggests a 15% gross profit margin and 30% return on investment over a six month period for any projects.

They gave out some good information on today`s show, but I felt it could have used more description on the what exactly they are looking for from first time investors. Do they have cash reserve requirements? What LTV do they offer? Do they require a minimum FICO score? Etc. The show left me with the impression that Triumph Capital isn`t friendly to new investors. Their website is http://www.Triumph.Capital

Casey Ryan Richards
http://TheCaseyRichards.BlogSpot.com
Visit my Real Estate Book Review Blog

Stephanie Singer – This REI.com

July 10th, 2018 – Think Realty Radio – Stephanie Singer from ThisREI.com
Today on Think Realty Radio, Abhi Golhar interviews Stephanie Singer from ThisREI.com which is a consultant company in Kansas City, MO. What Stephanie does is basically to offer guided real estate investing services including flip properties, buy/hold properties, and land purchases in the Kansas City area. Her services are particularly useful for an out of town investor because she stays onboard after the purchase is complete and will work as your local advocate to help with things like dealing with a property manager. Stephanie refers to her services as “on-ramping” and what she means by that is that she will help you to determine the right path for you in order to establish cash-flow and build long term wealth.

What I found most interesting about her interview was the market that she operates in. According to Stephanie, cash-flowing buy/hold properties can be purchased for $30-80k in the Kansas City Area. That is an amazing bargain compared to many areas of the country and Kansas City has lots of good future prospects. Aside for the affordability of the area, the cost of living is low and job growth is robust. There are several major employers headquartered in Kansas City including Sprint and HR Block.

Stephanie got her start as a police officer in LA before moving to Kansas City and meeting up with John Wiley (the Brand Manager for Think Realty). John operated as her mentor and helped her with learning the business. Stephanie now wants to help others through her various services. These include “guided flipping teams”, This Land (a service that helps you buy land to flip, hold for appreciation, or build-to-rent), and ThisCashFlow (purchasing turnkey rentals).

For new investors just getting started, Stephanie recommends flipping. This is a good way to build cash, but she warns that you should split your proceeds 50/50 and invest half into buy/hold properties to help build long term wealth.

*Power Play*
Greg Rand from Own America talked about “Adaptive Reuse” on today`s power play. Adaptive reuse is looking at existing properties and trying to find a new use for them. A common example is warehouses that are turned into sports arenas for soccer games or trampoline parks.

Greg gave an example of a property that was a factory in Yonkers that polluted for 100 years. In its latest life it made high tension cables and tested them onsite. The environmentalists had one idea for this property and the corporate owners another. This entire situation was solved through adaptive reuse when they turned the property into a sound stage for producing movies and commercials.

For us small time investors adaptive reuse can be applied by turning a two bedroom into three or more bedrooms. Look for cheap two bedroom properties and try to find a way to remake it for today`s denser cities where bedrooms are at a premium and you can turn a quick profit.

Casey Ryan Richards
Casey Ryan Richards` Real Estate Book Review Blog

Think Realty Radio: Larry Goins

July 5th, 2018
Think Realty Radio: Larry Goins Interview

Abhi Golhar interviews Larry Goins of the Goins Group (LarryGoins.com) on the topics of real estate day trading (wholesaling), “filthy riches” (lease options/seller financing), and HUD homes.

Real Estate Day Trading is a low money down option for getting started in real estate. Basically, you develop a buyer list so that you have ready buyers whenever you find deals. Buy a house for $50,000 and sell it to your buyer for $60,000 at the same closing. He wrote a book on this topic called “Getting Started in Real Estate Day Trading.”

The lease option play he developed is buying very cheap houses and reselling them with a lease option. He might get a HUD home for $10k and sell it for $40k under a lease option. This creates a $300+ positive cash flow while he waits for the option to be executed. He has a webinar on his website which lays this method out.

Larry`s second book is called “HUD Homes Half Off” and in it he details out how to buy dirt cheap properties to make these strategies work. Hud Homes are sold daily in auctions at HUDHomesStore.com. When you bid, your bid can expire, the can counter your offer, or they can accept your bid. You try every day until you get an accepted bid! He lays out the entire process in his book which is available at FreeHudBook.com.

LarryGoins.com/ThinkRealtyRadio

*The Power Play* (this is a daily segment with Abhi Golhar and Greg Rand of Own America) – Denver, Colorado –
Over the past 20 years the average appreciation is 3.5% nationwide. For Denver, that number is 8.5% putting it in the top three along with Charleston and Washington D.C. Denver`s drivers are its desirability in terms of lifestyle and its legalized cannabis industry. Denver`s outlook remains bullish.

Casey Ryan Richards
http://caseyryanrichards.caseyandmax.com