Hello Everyone,

Happy Holidays!

This entry is my update to a property management seminar I attended last week in Boston, MA.  Let me tell you....it further soldified what I am trying to do here in my real estate business.  The seminar was hosted by a down to earth, practical, property manager who has done many deals in his day named Jim Abiza.  He is a big time investor / property manager in Schenectady, N.Y., and is someone whose business I would love to emulate.

Through the classes, I have further learned the costs of operating a multi unit building.  There are so many hidden costs to consider, and if you take the sellers word for it when he hands you a detailed income and expense report, you are in for a world of pain.

Also, a great portion of the seminar was spent on fair housing and how you can advertise your properties.  There was also a lot of time spent on legal ways to deny tenants to protect you from falling prey to the grasp of the fair housing laws.

Screening tenants and lease applications and agreements were also talked about in detail, and I have a better than general understanding of the process and how it works.  In fact, during that portion of the seminar, I noticed that much of what he was advising was what I have already been doing in the property management side of things.

Since the seminar, I have filled another vacancy for a landlord who owns another 47 unit building (30 of which are vacant!).  It is thrilling to realize that there is so much demand for such a service, and my hopes and dreams are building on the fact that I may be able to quit my full time job sooner by hustling to fill vacancies.  Is it exchanging one job for another?  Yes it is.  But it is getting me closer to realize my real estate dreams by getting an education on the front lines, and learning much more about my local market.

With that said, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and more updates will come when additional noteworthy events take place.

God Bless,

Manolis Sfinarolakis