The Call That Changed My Life

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area and witnessing local housing prices skyrocketing every minute, I'm committed to looking out-of-state for my first real estate investment. Today, I had a scheduled call with a Turnkey Company specializing in selling investment properties.

Really quick, what's a Turnkey Company? Well, they're loosely defined as a company specializing in making an investor's life "easy." They assist in property acquisition, renovation, and property management, while the investor is often living a long-distance away.

What's attractive about going the "turnkey" route? Passive income, investing in performing assets, and having a third-party manage it. From a workload standpoint (as someone who works 40+ hours a week in a corporate job) relying on this company for renovation, tenant screening, and property management are HUGE wins.

​So, how did the call go? First, I thought I'd actually be on the phone with the founder of the company, but it was an Acquisitions Manager. He gladly answered the 20+ questions I had as if he were reading a script. I get it, he gets the same monotonous questions all the time from new investors, but was very friendly and easy to talk to. Here are a number of basic questions I asked:

1. What's the cost of the properties you offer?
Typical all in cost is between $40K and $50K. This includes light to heavy rehab depending on the property.

2. What fees do you take?
To manage the property, they take 10% of monthly gross rent.

3. What does management handle?
Management oversees marketing the property, tenant screening, setting/collecting rent, leasing, maintenance, repairs, handling move-in/move-out, and evictions.

4. What's the tenant selection process?
Background check, employment verification, and verification of financials.

5. What cities and neighborhoods do you target?
They work in Indianapolis, Indiana.

6. What expenses do I need to budget for?
Property taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, repairs, and capital expenses.

7. Is there a warranty on construction?
There is a one year warranty on construction.

8. Can you provide sales comps in the area?
Yes, comps can be provided. Information can also be found easily online at Zillow.com or Trulia.com.

We ended up talking about a couple properties at the end of the 30 minute call and the Acquisitions Manager said he'd email over additional details. Looking forward to seeing what they offer!

​Takeaways
-Looking into investment properties outside of your local area (even out-of-state) is a viable option.
-If dealing with a Turnkey Company, compile a list of questions for them. Not only do you want to get as much detail about their product as possible, you need to feel them out as a company. The first step is to determine if this is a company you can trust and do business with.

​-Tyler

NEXT POST: First Leads Rolling In