Posted on

BiggerPockets Podcast 341: Getting Started with No Cash to 30+ Deals Per Year and “Free Houses” with Jared Holland

Real estate flipper, broker, contractor, and more!

Today’s guest, Jared Holland, is doing 30 deals a year and profiting from all different phases of a flip-and he shares exactly how he does it! Today’s show gets into the nitty gritty of Jared’s business and how he grow from one wholesale deal to running an entire business in a short period of time. You’ll love Jared’s advise on using a multitude of methods to find deals, how he handled the transition of going from employee in his business to manager of his business, and how he got his first deal from a hedge fund! You’ll also find some fantastic advice about finding the right mindset in an employee/partner, how to find deals if you have no money, and why you should NEVER assume the person you’re talking to doesn’t want to work with you. Jared gives some great advice on why taking big action matters, as well as how to decide which actions you should start with.

If you’re looking to level up your investing, or take your business from successful to great, download this one today!

Posted on

BiggerPockets Podcast 340: How a Mom with a Full-Time Job Bought 10 Houses Her First Year with Whitney Hutten

Would you be interested in taking your retirement account and turning it into 22 cash flowing rental properties? What about doing it with someone else’s capital? Today’s guest did just that!

Whitney Hutten shares her incredible story of how she built a rental property empire off of a 401k account by leveraging the power of a team! You’ll love how she made 50k on one of her first deals (without paying a dime of the mortgage herself) and how she used Brandon Turners method known as “the stack” to keep building! She also shares how she got her start in turnkey houses and moved along a spectrum to get to fixer-upper BRRRR’s, how she bought 10 houses her first year, and why she invests out of state. Whitney goes DEEP sharing which parts of town she invests in, why she invests near hospitals, and how she netted a 30% ROI on a BRRRR gone wrong!

You do not want to miss this inspirational story of how an “average Jane” accomplished extraordinary results through real estate-including how she fixed a bus falling on one of her houses and survived a racoon infestation on another!

This show is hilarious, insightful, and content packed. Download today!

Posted on

Kickstart saving: Millennials turning to crowdfunding to buy homes

Millennials are buying homes later in life or forgoing the purchase altogether compared to previous generations. Between student loan debt, the high cost of living in large cities, and rising housing prices, buying homes has become less practical for young people, according to Investopedia.

Nearly 70% of millennials identify saving for a down payment as the biggest barrier to purchasing a home, according to Bank of America’s 2019 Spring Homebuyer Insights Report. When entering the job market, college graduates with student loan debt must save for an average of 12 years to afford a 20% down payment, compared to 7.6 years for those without student loan debt. For millennials without a college degree, that number rises to nearly 17 years, research from Apartment List finds.

Crowdfunding could be the means to make owning a home a reality for millennials.

Touting itself as the first crowdfunding platform for homebuyers, HomeFundIt offers millennials a way to enlist friends and family to help fund their down payment and other closing costs associated with owning a home. Once they complete a conventional financial agreement with a bank or a mortgage lender, millennials can tap into their networks to start saving.

HomeFundIt offers aspiring young homeowners two ways to boost their savings:

Crowdfunding. Homebuyers can encourage friends and family members to donate to their fund directly. They can tap into their networks by sharing a personal story on social media along with the link to the down payment fund. There are no transaction fees, and funds are available immediately. The program also gives young homeowners a grant of up to $1,500 for closing costs and offers free homebuyer education. The crowdfunding option is limited to one year before buying a home.

Cash-back rewards. The program, called UpIt, allows the potential homebuyer, their friends, and family members to have a portion of the money they spend on everyday purchases placed in a savings account for a down payment. Up to 20% of everyday eligible purchases at participating retailers such as Walmart, Macy’s, or Expedia are applied to the crowdfunding goal. The homebuyer doesn’t need to be prequalified, and there’s no time limit on when to have the funds raised. The money is available within 24 hours.

The post Kickstart saving: Millennials turning to crowdfunding to buy homes appeared first on Ungated: Community Associations Institute Blog.

Posted on

BiggerPockets Podcast 339: 60,000 Tenants?! How Frank Rolfe Built a Mobile Home Empire

Over 20 years’ experience in mobile home park mastery!

On today’s show, Brandon and David interview Frank Rolfe, an experienced mobile home park investor with TONS of great advice to share—and share he does! You won’t want to miss Frank’s incredible tips for using seller financing to buy parks, staying low risk while scaling, and the beauty of owning “small cities”!

He also gives fantastic advice for making “stakeholders” out of tenants, describes what the perfect mobile home park setup looks like, and discusses how to find pocket listings no one else is seeing. Frank goes on to share the incredible story of how he bought a mobile home park with a wrestling ring in the back and how he sold it for a $1 million profit seven years later!

In addition, he talks about his strategy for finding the perfect resident manager and insuring yourself against embezzlement from your management team.

This is one of the most information-packed shows we’ve ever done in the MHP space, and you’ll be blown away by the amount of content here. Download it today!

Posted on

Pump the brakes: How some communities slow drivers

When CAI’s Common Ground magazine asked readers whether they have problems with drivers speeding in their communities, a staggering 98% of respondents reported that they do, and nearly all (95%) use at least some form of speed control measures—from signs and speed humps to ticketing and cameras. 

The most effective solution to slowing drivers is probably unique to each community.

Bent Tree Community Association, a self-contained, gated community of 1,200 homes about an hour north of Atlanta, regularly uses radar to monitor drivers’ speeds. The 20-mph speed limit on the community’s 55 miles of roads is part of the association’s bylaws, as is the fine for exceeding that speed, according to Tom Fowler, CMCA, AMS, Bent Tree’s general manager.

If a homeowner doesn’t pay a fine levied for speeding in the community within 30 days, the bar code on his or her entry decal will be deactivated. Without automatic operation of the community’s lift-gates, the driver must enter and exit the community through the guest gates, which are manned and operated by security guards.

Dunes West Property Owners Association in Mount Pleasant, S.C., started using radar about five years ago to gather information about residents’, visitors’, and contractors’ driving habits within the community, according to General Manager John Watkins, CMCA, AMS.

Just north of Charleston and bordered by U.S. Route 17 on the east and the Wando River to the west, Dunes West covers 3,000 acres and includes 33 miles of tree-lined roads and 100 named streets. The roads throughout the community are intentionally curved, which—like Bent Tree— challenges even the most capable drivers to slow down.

The association shares radar data with local law enforcement, so police know when and where drivers are most likely to speed. It also encourages local law enforcement to issue tickets on the community’s private roads.

Dunes West’s radar also has been effective in controlling contractors who drive within the community, Watkins says. Several homes are still under construction in Dunes West; builders can purchase coded decals that open Dunes West’s automatic liftgates so contractors’ vehicles can come and go efficiently from the community. If radar indicates contractors are habitually speeding, the codes can be revoked, which could be costly for a builder.

A pilot Pace Car program has been slowing speeders down in the Riverview Community Association in Cochrane, Alberta, since 2017.

The program, which has been used successfully in other Canadian communities for years, relies on individual volunteer residents to commit to driving the posted speed within the community, to stop for pedestrians crossing the road, and to be courteous to cyclists and vehicles other than cars. Drivers place a decal on the rear window of their cars that says, “Community Pace Car—I drive the limit,” and signs are posted at either entrance to the community alerting visitors that “We are a Pace Car community.”​

“The idea is that any driver driving behind a Pace Car will notice the decal and … will drive the speed limit as well,” says Jennifer Foy, board president of the community of 400 single-family homes about 30 miles west of Calgary. She adds that to prevent road rage, Pace Car drivers are encouraged to pull over and let other drivers pass rather than confront them. “If (a Pace Car driver) gets someone on their bumper who’s honking or being aggressive, they just pull over and let them go around,” she says. “We’re not the police.”

No matter what solution your community develops, communication and transparency with residents are critical. Remind them about speed limits and the consequences of exceeding it frequently.

The post Pump the brakes: How some communities slow drivers appeared first on Ungated: Community Associations Institute Blog.

Posted on

North Dakota Appraisal Requirement Waiver Decision

The Board of the Appraisal Subcommittee held a public meeting to determine action on a waiver of appraiser credentialing requirements for federally related transactions under $500,000 for 1-to-4 family residential real estate transactions and under $1,000,000 for agricultural and commercial real estate transactions throughout the State of North Dakota for a period of not less than five years.
Posted on

BiggerPockets Podcast 496: Become a (Small) Multifamily Millionaire in 7 Steps w/ Brian Murray and Brandon Turner

For the most part, Brandon Turner was able to achieve financial independence through small multifamily investing. This is why investing in duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and even 24-unit apartment buildings can be a fantastic learning experience and money maker for new landlords. But how do you get started if you’ve never bought a property before?

Brandon and his co-author of The Multifamily Millionaire, Brian Murray, walk through the seven steps to go from real estate onlooker to small multifamily master. We talk about everything from defining your criteria, financing, management, lead generation, and more. If you’re looking to build a portfolio of small multifamily properties that will allow you to break out of the rat race and do more of what you love (which may be large multifamily), make sure you not only listen to this whole episode but get Brandon and Brian’s new book!

This is a two-part episode series. In part one we talk about small multifamily and in part two we talk about large multifamily, both episodes have crucial information for anyone trying to get into the multifamily space!

Posted on

Facing the press: Strategies to manage media coverage of community associations

Frequent headline-grabbing coverage of community associations can cast a bad light on communities that are well-run and consist of hard-working volunteers and professional managers. With social media, it doesn’t take long for a negative message to get out, or a crisis to happen.

Common situations that can lead to intense and often controversial coverage include special assessments and rules enforcement, especially surrounding things like flags, playhouses, and pets. Criminal activity, such as alleged fraud or embezzlement, also can prompt media calls.

You can ward off many possible public relations problems at the beginning by clearly communicating with residents, but if your community finds itself in the media spotlight, here are some steps you can take to address reporters and camera crews:

Identify a spokesperson. This can be a board member, someone on the management team, or a member of the association who has experience with the press. If they’re inexperienced, consider professional media relations training so they will be calm and confident rather than defensive. If you’re confronted with a major issue, you may want to seek help from your attorney in crafting a response or refer requests directly to him or her.

Prepare a media plan. Have a plan that spells out what to do when a staff member or manager is contacted by a reporter. Consider having stock responses for common queries. Make a fact sheet to hand out with basic information about your community, such as when it was built, how many homes it has, its amenities, social media accounts, and contact information of your media spokesperson.

Be accessible. Respond in a timely fashion to media requests. Avoid answering questions with “no comment.” Develop working relationships with any journalist likely to repeatedly cover your association, such as a local community or business reporter. Help them understand your community and associations in general.

Maintain transparency. The board should have a communications policy that allows residents to submit questions, comments, concerns, and complaints in writing. The board should respond to them in a timely manner. Regular and frequent communication can help decrease gossip and misstatements.

The post Facing the press: Strategies to manage media coverage of community associations appeared first on Ungated: Community Associations Institute Blog.