Questions for multi-unit rental investors

I am not sure, Brian, what all you are looking for, or if I would have other assistance for you, but if you are looking to find some of these investors, I would suggest that you go to wwww.naahq.org, the website for the National Apartment Association, and use their map to find affiliate organizations in the cities you want. Each one will have a contact person, and they may be able to direct you to members of their organizations who own the types of properties you referenced. Hope this helps.

What else can give you a good, stable income better than your own rental property can give you? With the amount of rent getting higher day by day and even more such properties coming in the market with the increase in demand, you can definitely consider buying a rental property as an investment option. If you invest in a rental property, its value or rent won’t increase overnight; you have to be patient and consider it as a long-term investment, which will give you great value over time.

mistakes to avoid while purchasing rental properties by 401(K) 2013

There are a few common mistakes that you would definitely want to avoid before investing in such properties. By understanding these mistakes that others make, you’ll be in a better position to maximize your investment returns.

Lack of Proper Research
One of the most common mistakes is not doing proper research. One will ask here, what should I research? Well, there are many aspects where you want to be pretty sure about things that will affect the rental property’s value and your recurring income.

Also, understanding the demographics is very important. If you’re investing in a property that is in an area where there’s a big company and the company is in financial trouble, then you may face trouble, as the number of jobless people may also increase. Doing proper research about property types, average rent, locality, etc. is very important before investing.

Buying in a Hurry
Certainly one of the biggest mistakes is buying in a hurry. Not analyzing the after purchase implications would even cost you much more than the rent that you’ll be receiving. Do not make any hasty decision because it will only block your hard-earned funds in such, which will not give you substantial results.

Paying a Higher Amount
This will happen if you have not done proper research. The more you pay for the property, no matter how good a deal it is, the longer it will take to get an actual return on your investment. Ensuring that you are paying the actual worth of the property or less than that is a good thing, but also, do your calculations regarding the purchase and your costs incurred after you have acquired the property.

Underestimating Repairs
It is very important to inspect the property you’re going to buy because you may have to incur more expenses after purchasing it in order to make it ready for rental. This also allows you to make out estimates on how much you have to spend on repair costs, which will eventually help you to do calculations on profits and expenses. If you have to put a lot of money into repairs, it is advisable not to purchase that property. Rather, it would be wise to buy another property that has minor repairs compared to the previous one.

Who’s the Renter?
Do you plan to rent your property to anybody that comes in and asks for it? Or are you going to check out their background? This mistake is again common among many landlords. You should not just rent to anyone. Make sure you do a brief background check about the prospective renter. You don’t want to choose someone who has a bad credit history and does not pay rent on time. Check the references and their proof of income, and be very careful when you choose your renter.

Have a Proper Plan
What we’re trying to focus on here is having a proper planning for your investment. You would not want to have this particular property for a lifetime. Rather, you’ll be more interested in investing in some more good properties that give you more revenue. Have an exit strategy. Make sure you know when to sell this property and invest in another one for more benefits. You may even hire a professional property manager to manage your investment and property.

Avoiding the above mistakes will help you make more money out of your property investment. Happy investing! slee

Randy has provided a pretty comprehensive list of the mistakes people make in buying rental properties.
Here's an interesting statement: Everyone wants to be a landlord until they are one. There are enough people making mistakes out there that it can be overwhelming to a new landlord, and a sizeable percentage of first time landlords end up liquidating their properties, or remaining very miserable for many years.
This DOES NOT mean that you have to be one of them. There are other landlords who feel that owning rental properties is the best decision they have made in their life.
My suggestion is that if you can buy properties from unhappy landlords, you can make two people happy--them, for being able to get away from the property, and you, because you are going to be an informed and effective landlord.
The most vulnerable time for a landlord and the time that they consider liquidating a property is while it is vacant. So the best time to call about purchasing a property that is not actually on the market is to call on rentals. I've been able to put together many lease options and other seller finance transactions on single family and small multi-unit properties, and it works on larger residential multi's and commercial properties also. Simply contact them as though you were interested in a lease, and ask the kinds of basic questions related to size, configuration, rent, etc. Once they have described the property, you indicate that it sounds like a very nice property, just what you are looking for, but there is one thing that is also very important to you--and that is that you would also like to purchase the property, either now or sometime in the future. Have they ever considered selling down the road? Using this light and non-threatening approach, you will find sellers who will give you Yes, and Maybe responses. These are the properties you pursue, and may either be able to get a very good price, or excellent purchase terms on a property that is not actually available for sale on the market. I LOVE being able to slide into a deal that no one else is making offers on!