To me, property management is literally the hardest, most thankless part of real estate investment. Lousy property management can wreck a great deal. Excellent property management can turn around a mediocre one. Property management is easily the most crucial part of any asset investment; that’s why I started my management company first! My extensive experience in this area has helped my team create the best property management machine possible.
In America today, the number of homeowners continues to decline while the number of renters rises. Most of these renters are looking for quality, safe, clean, and more importantly, affordable housing for themselves and their families. This growing workforce is also facing a shortage of units in that accessible rental band of 600 to $1,100 a month.
High occupancy is the name of the game in the multifamily rental industry and it doesn't happen by accident. Your property management team can take ownership of both gaining and retaining tenants by following some sound strategies that we outline for you below. Your best rental property experience begins with having a solid property management team in place – so make putting together your dream team step number one. Then have your team take the following steps to improve occupancy rates at your property.
In a recent article, we wrote about how financing is still available for multifamily investors. An article published this week in National Real Estate Investor (NREI) online demonstrates that not only is financing available, but certain loans are popping up more frequently. Working with mezzanine lenders is an option for those who want to invest in multifamily properties, and according to NREI, there is a lot of competition between these lenders which creates opportunities for the borrower.
According to an article featured last month in the National Real Estate Investor (NREI) online, now may be a good time to seek a loan for multifamily construction projects. While financing for other multifamily investing may be harder to find, loans for apartment development are currently more appealing to financial institutions. In other words, if you're looking to build, now may be the time.
With most of us firmly in the grips of a harsh winter and below-freezing temperatures lasting for weeks on end, it's important that you ensure you protect your property and tenants from one of the biggest (and costliest) potential winter disasters: frozen and burst pipes. Frozen pipes are a real danger and can happen anywhere and in any property once the temperatures drop below freezing, and especially when temperatures go well into arctic territory. Once pipes burst, the resulting water damage can cause hundreds if not thousands of dollars in property damage. This is definitely a case of “an ounce of prevention” being worth “a pound of cure.”
Since 2014, value-add properties have been one of the hottest tickets in town, drawing investors who seek to make a profit on class-B properties. Yet the easy pickings are long gone, and now the name of the game is in finding properties that haven't already been upgraded. All this, according to a recent article in National Real Estate Investor (NREI) online For investors looking to find a value-add property, all isn't lost. There are still areas where it's possible and ways to do it.
These days at BAM, my primary focus is on big-picture ideas, company strategy, acquisitions, and equity finance. We've built Barratt Asset Management into a best-in-class property management company, and recently received Inc 5000 recognition. After all the years of growing and scaling BAM and “paying tuition (my fancy way of saying “making mistakes!)” along the way by learning on deals, I wanted to share what it takes to find the right sponsor if you’re a passive investor.