Real Estate Investors Association of Greater Cincinnati

When I was 2 or 3 years old, my mother took me on trips to the library almost every week. While she checked out the latest mystery novels, I always went to the same shelf in the children’s section and pulled down the same worn, tea-colored book called “I Can’t, Said the Ant.” I must have made my mom check that book out 50 times. I had every word memorized, every illustration emblazoned on my brain, and every character befriended in my daydreams.

In case you missed out on this epic, the basic plot is that a teapot falls off the counter and breaks its spout, and if it isn’t put back up, it will die some horrible teapot death. All of the denizens of the kitchen—from the dinner bell to the pie to the pot—beg the (oddly, single) ant in the kitchen to get the teapot back to the counter and repair the broken spout.

Much rhyming ensues (“I can’t bear it, said the carrot” is one that still sticks with me), and ultimately, the ant, who initially, as you might guess from the title, doesn’t see how he can manage it, rounds up a work crew of insects and rescues the unlucky teapot from the floor.

Read More...

There are 3 figures that go hand-in-hand when trying to determine a commercial/apartment property's value. They are; Net Operating Income (NOI), Cap Rate (CR) and Asking Price or Purchase Price (PP). If you know 2 of the figures you can always figure out the third.

I will be talking about the NOI of a property. More specifically, how NOI is calculated as it relates to an apartment building.

We are going to start with a simplified version of how to arrive at the NOI of a property and then expand each category. Basically, the formula is: Income -Expenses (other than debt service) = Net Operating Income.

INCOME:

First thing, I determine the income generated by the property. I start with the Gross Potential Rental Income (GPI) or Scheduled Gross Rental Income (SGI). Both terms are used interchangeably within the industry. The GPI assumes that all apartments (100%) are rented at full market value even if some are actually vacant or discounted.

For our example, I will use a 30 unit apartment building that has all 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom units with market rents of $600 per month each. Th
Read More...

As you can imagine, I meet a LOT of real estate entrepreneurs every year.

And something that I’ve noticed about many of you, including newbies and old pros, is an energy you give off that I can only describe as clenched-upness.

Even folks who are excited, on the surface, about starting or expanding their real estate businesses are often simultaneously radiating a sort of anxiety about the whole thing.

Yes, I understand that what I (and your sellers and buyers and private lenders, by the way) am really feeling is your underlying fear.

Whether it’s a fear that you’re being sold a bill of goods by all the folks (like myself) who tell you that there’s unimaginable money in real estate, or a fear that it works but you can’t do it, or a fear that you WILL succeed and then be judged because you have money and your friends and family don’t, it’s definitely there—at least in most people that I meet.

But there are others, and some of them ARE brand new, who are JUST excited, because (sometimes in the face of all evide
Read More...

I remember when I attended my first seminar back in the 80’s the speaker said you have to have a system and discipline. I knew what the system was because he was teaching it. But I did not know what the discipline was until I began to apply the system. The discipline is that you have to take the action to make the system work properly. Through months and years of trial and error, I now know what he meant by discipline. I had to discipline myself to always take action, even when I didn’t feel like it. Despite all the easier softer ways of doing things today, I still sometimes don’t feel like it. But I force myself to take action.

Many years ago, I found something on the internet that I printed and framed and it is on my office wall. It’s called, the “7 Excuses”.  I can’t do it, I’m not feeling it right now, I’m too busy, I’m too tired, There’s no guarantee it’s going to work, I’m not good enough, and my luck sucks. I still to this day do not know who the author is, but I read that from time to time to keep me motivated. I always check to see if I’m making excuses. Let’s break it down.

I can’t do it: Read More...

As a hard money lender, I see a lot of closing statements (aka HUDs) from many title companies. I’ve noticed an annoying trend that is also disturbing.

When lending money to a real estate investor, I send the title company my very detailed and specific lender requirements – one of those being a basic Lender’s Title Insurance policy from a well-rated underwriting company. In most cases, I do not require additional Insurance endorsements, and I never require a closing protection letter.

In fact, part of my title order says: “Do not add endorsements unless specifically requested. Do not issue a closing protection letter.” Yet, several title companies still try to include them. Sometimes, many of them.

Like this one, from an actual preliminary HUD:

• Closing/Settlement Fee to [xxxxxxx]  Title & Escrow Co. $295.00
• Courier/Shipping & Handling to [xxxxxxx]  Title & Escrow Co., $25.00
• Read More...

Let’s face it: making deals complicates our lives.  

When we first become involved in real estate, buying a property can be very anxiety-provoking: I mean, really, even though we’ve done all our due diligence and run the numbers 15 different ways and talked to our favorite mentor about it and it STILL looks like a great deal, how do we ever REALLY know? And this leads to self-esteem problems, as we’re constantly second-guessing ourselves and berating ourselves over our lack of confidence. 

And even for seasoned investors, taking on a new deal is stressful—an accepted offer means that we have to find a buyer, or start a rehab, or put an ad in the paper to get a tenant. Plus, there’s the additional bookkeeping when the checks roll in, and, of course, the taxes to pay on the profit at the end of the year… 

Since stress and anxiety lead to psychological and medical conditions, including high blood pressure, overeating, bad hair days, fear of success, and a whole host of others, making deals should obviously be avoided at any cost. So, I think it’s important, for the sake of our own health and well-b
Read More...

There are 3 figures that go hand-in-hand when trying to determine a commercial/apartment property's value. They are; Net Operating Income (NOI), Cap Rate (CR) and Asking Price or Purchase Price (PP). If you know 2 of the figures you can always figure out the third.

Here I'll be talking about the Cap Rate of a property. More specifically, how the Cap Rate works in conjunction with the Net Operating Income (NOI).

Let’s get started. First off, Cap Rate is short for Capitalization Rate. In short, Cap Rate is, “The process of converting anticipated future income into present value” according to the American Heritage Dictionary. It’s also your rate of return if you bought your property using all cash.

Here’s an example: If I purchase an Apartment Complex for $1M and it generates a Net Operating Income at the end of 1 year in the amount of $100K, then my Cap Rate is 10%. The formula for Cap Rate is:

CR = NOI / PP

Cap Rate (CR) = Net Operating Income (NOI) divided by the Purchase Price (PP) of the complex. Therefore, if we plu
Read More...

We all love control.

I have a six-year-old daughter who constantly pushes the boundaries of her world. Whether it’s brushing her teeth or buckling her car seat, she loves to feel in control.

Isn’t this the case with you, too?

Imagine you're right about to take out the garbage unprompted... and then your spouse tells you to take it out before you even get a chance to. Now you're dropping the trash bag on the floor and telling your spouse to do it because now it is no longer your idea... it’s theirs. 

How about when it comes to your money? Do you want to feel in control of your cash?

Every human has some emotional tie to money. It’s frustrating and stressful when it feels like your money goes in one door only to go right out that same door the next day. How about those gas prices, huh? Or, as a real estate investor, what about those interest rates? Completely out of your control.

Let me ask you this: when you jumped into real estate or entrepreneurship, did you say to yourself, “The money part will just work itself out as long as I keep b
Read More...

Whether you are a brand-new investor or have been buying real estate for decades, it’s important to stay flexible while focusing on your overall goals.

Why flexible? Because the market is constantly changing. When the market changes, new strategies/opportunities come to the forefront. Of course, if you have been in this game for a while, you know nothing is new. Old strategies are just being recycled with a new flair. Remember bell bottoms and paisley patterns from the 70s? They are back, baby! 

So what is happening now? Affordability is the rallying cry. Gen Z and Millenials move into their own “pad,” as Airbnb, VRBO, and short-term rentals become increasingly popular, the housing supply is undoubtedly tighter. Prices are rising and sometimes out of reach. 

It’s just supply and demand. As demand increases, supply decreases, and prices for rent and purchasing go up. This is good news for builders and re-developers, especially in urban areas where older stock can be renovated and reconstructed to meet the needs of young people who enjoy the amenities of downtown living.

Read More...

There are so many questions about investing in the current self-storage market. Should I surge forward with all the deals that are being presented to me right now while the interest rates are low? Should I sit on my cash and wait for the looming recession to get worse? Will there be better deals as we get to the deepest parts of the recession? Or, should I invest in a new development project because of the great opportunities there are to get cheap money? 

Growth stocks and stock and bond funds are at the top of the list of possible long-term investments. However, your savings account, checking account or a money market account are at the top of the list for short term investments. 

There are many places to put your money that are great opportunities for solid investments. In terms of the stock market, we had a little dip at the beginning of Covid-19, but the stock market immediately rebounded and so a lot of people headed back to the stock market. And since then, wars, Inflation, an election, along with many other factors have caused people to pull their money out of the stock market and they are just sitting on the sidelines looking for a safe place to put that money. 

We also find ourselves in a
Read More...