Jeff Wright's (foundationfirst) Blog

4 Bed/1 Bath Home for Rent in Hanover, PA - $1150/mo + Utilities

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:49:12 -0800

Located at 751 Black Rock Rd in Hanover PA, this 4 bed/1 bath ranch-style home sits on 0.30 acres and comes with an attached 1-car garage. Built in 1965 with 1104 total sq. ft. of living space. Southwest School District. Appliances included (stove, refrigerator, washer/dryer, microwave), off-street parking, wood floors throughout. Convenient to schools and amenities. Pets under 50 lbs. considered on case by case basis with pet fee of $25/month, per pet. $1400 Security Deposit. $30 Application fee per adult. No smoking. Call us for more information or to schedule a showing! Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers

$103,000 Semi-Detached in Spring Grove Ready for FHA or USDA

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 11:44:08 -0800

37 N Water St. Spring Grove, PA 17362 (right side)Sometimes it's tough to find a lower-priced home in the Hanover area that will qualify for both FHA and USDA (100% financing). The current owner has put forth the effort to make sure this home will qualify! 3-bedroom/1-bath home with three levels. 1220 total finished square feet. Unfinished enclosed rear porch could be finished to make a first-floor laundry/mud room. Long backyard leads to an off-street parking space at the rear of the property. Storage shed included. Spring Grove Borough. Spring Grove schools. Visit our website to see more pics and call to schedule your appointment today! Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers

$204,500 for a 5-minute commute to MD line

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 11:29:25 -0800

45 Menlena Circle, Hanover PA 17331Built in 2002, this 2-story colonial has 1544 finished square feet above grade, and 400 finished square feet in the basement, which features a sliding patio door walk-out to the backyard. New carpet and fresh paint throughout. Large deck accessed from the main level family room. Fenced-in backyard that backs up to some woods. Gas fireplace. Short commute to Maryland. Southwestern schools. West Manheim Township. Call us today for more details or to schedule a showing! Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers

Lifeguards and Realtors Both Need Regular Training

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 08:51:10 -0700

I had the opportunity to take a brief holiday down to Fort Lauderdale. As I was in the ocean looking back at the beach, I saw the lifeguard beginning to close up her area for the night. In Fort Lauderdale, the lifeguards don't simply have a high chair, but more of a small hut on stilts. It probably took her about 10 minutes to close up everything before she could leave for the night, but as I was watching her, I wondered how much preparation is needed to be a lifeguard at the beach. Obviously being a lifeguard at the beach is more difficult than at the local community pool, but I was surprised to find out how competitive it is and that the pay rate can be between $16-$20 per hour, which isn't too bad for seasonal work. As I watched the lifeguard continue to wrap up for the night, I thought about how similar her job was to a lot of real estate professionals. She must have at least basic first aid and CPR training, and possibly certification as an EMT, all of which requires some degree of continuing education. But if I were flailing helplessly in the ocean being carried away by a strong rip current, would I want to have a lifeguard rescue me who was content on doing just the bare minimum? Is it acceptable for us to begrudgingly sign up for the most basic CE classes simply to meet our state's requirement? And honestly, that had been my attitude for the past several years. The realty company I had worked with would have wonderful 1- or 2-day conferences with great speakers that I could never compel myself to go to. "I have work to do at the office! The calls don't make themselves! If only it were being held at a more convenient time." Now that I'm on my own as a broker/owner, I have a new appreciation for learning and networking. I've joined several new organizations and take advantage of free classes that are held around my area. I've signed up for a 4-day property management conference hosted by NARPM that's coming up shortly. I've already signed up for my state's Realtor's Association conference that will take place in Atlantic City in December. It is not inexpensive to go to these different events. Sometimes I struggle to justify the costs with my wife - the hardest sale ever! But I've to understand that I don't want to be mediocre in my real estate career. I don't want to coast along relying on the knowledge from when I got my license. Instead, I want to be the local expert in my field. I want to be known as the go-to person if someone has questions about real estate. Millennials get a bad rap today for having minimal knowledge, instead relying on Google when they don't know an answer. A true professional has studied hard and knows the answers to questions that are specific to his or her field without needing to look them up. Beach lifeguards have a tendency to have grown up around the beach. They are intimately aware of the ebb and flow of the ocean. It's not just a 9-5 job they show up for and then they check out. No doubt much of their "play time" is training time. I don't necessarily have the money nor the time to be attending all of these different classes, seminars, webinars, and conferences. However, I will make the time and will find the money to make the investment into my professional life to be the Realtor that my clients can fully depend on. Simply satisfying the minimum requirements is no longer an option if I want to have a successful (and happy) career. Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers

Not Everyone is Ready to Jump Into Real Estate Investing

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Fri, 01 Sep 2017 08:33:07 -0700

Many people understand the benefits of real estate investing (which I've highlighted here), but with all the easy avenues for investing in the stock market, investing in real estate is somehow still thought of as a game only for the rich. With stocks, while there are many rules and regulations which govern them, people can simply have money withheld from their paycheck to be deposited into their 401k or 403b. The most work they will do on the management side of their stocks is choosing which funds to initially invest in, and maybe doing a once-a-year review. Prospectus? 10-Q? That's for the fund manager to worry about, they say. And while most people over 25 know that the stock market won't continue it's upward climb forever, many are overly cautious about getting into real estate investing. There seems to be a desire to get involved, but many people don't know where to begin. And some people shouldn't begin investing until they get their financial house in order. John (not his real name) came into my office yesterday. We were meeting to discuss how he could begin investing in real estate. John is the living epitome of Eeyore. That dark rain cloud seems to follow him everywhere and he can't seem to get ahead. He was making well over $100,000/year, but a divorce and general carelessness with money has left him with - well - not very much. Real estate investing has always been a dream for him, but now, at age 57, he wanted to get involved quickly. When is the best time to start investing? Yesterday. When's the next best time? Today. I fully agree with those general questions, but there are a few qualifiers that need to be considered first. John had recently spent $10,000 on a get-rich-quick real estate program. That's $10,000 he didn't have. That's $10,000 he charged to a credit card and is likely paying interest on. Now, four months into his six-month program, he says he still doesn't know where to begin. Upon further probing, John admits that he has a lot of doodads in his life. For those not familiar with the term "doodads", Robert Kiyosaki uses it to describe items that simply take money out of your pocket without returning any money in the future. The boats, fancy cars, pool tables, designer clothing. Not that any of these are inherently wrong. It's just important to know the difference between an asset and a liability. What kind of doodads did John have in his life? He has a trailer worth $5000 that he pays $2000/year to park in a campground that he HAS to have, even though his family has only gone to it twice in the past two years. He financed a Suburban for his girlfriend who has a long, gas-guzzling commute but loves Suburbans. He pays the cell phone bills for his adult children. He pays the car insurance for his adult children. I think you can see where I'm going with this. John doesn't need to start investing in real estate now. He needs to get his life straightened out. He needs to get his priorities straight. But most of all, he needs to rally his family to get on-board with his dreams. He needs to sell them on the idea of investing for the future. Dale Carnegie says, "There is only one way...to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it." Amen! If John can get his family to start seeing their potential financial future through his eyes, and they are willing to sell various doodads and make some sacrifices, I think I will be able to help him. Real estate investing is not the magic pill to wealth-building, like the $10,000 huckster sold him on. It takes a plan. It takes perseverance. And it also takes a supportive family at home. I look forward to my next meeting with John to see what (if any) changes he has made in his life to try to achieve his financial dreams in real estate investing. Image courtesy of bplanet at FreeDigitalPhotos.netImage courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers

I Have Beheld the Power of Social Media!!

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 08:29:27 -0700

We've all seen social media shares of someone finding a wedding ring and through the power of networking finding the rightful owner. We even have sites like this to help lost and found pets reunite with their owners. I had never been a personal witness to the power that social media has - until yesterday. The Hanover Area Jaycees are a local group of younger people ages 21-40 who focus on leadership training and civic responsibility. Every year for the past 76 years they have hosted the annual Hanover Halloween Parade that goes through downtown Hanover on the last Thursday of October. The parade consists of local dignitaries, area marching bands, and local businesses with floats. It's about a mile long overall and begins at 7:30 at night. The big feature of the parade is that the participants throw out candy to the crowd. I've learned that if you sit toward the end of the parade route, the marchers run out of candy, so now we sit closer to the beginning! I'm heavily involved with my church and don't usually participate in organizing local events, but since I am a newer business in town and have an office right on the main street, I felt the desire to see where I could help, both for civic pride and to expand my network. I saw a post that the Jaycees were having a public meeting to plan this year's parade, so my wife and I made plans to attend. At the meeting, I was shocked to find out that this group only had a membership of 10, with only three active members. In 2004, they had nearly 100 members. The local Jaycees, much like other civic organization, have experienced a sharp decline in membership over the past decade. The president basically said that without the bodies to help in the organizational phase of planning for the parade, it might have to be canceled. Canceled?? The traditional Halloween Parade canceled??? The parade that thousands of locals anticipate and line the streets to see canceled?? The meeting was adjourned with another meeting scheduled for mid-August, but if nothing happens between now and then, the Jaycees would have no choice but to cancel. I told the president I would try to lean on local businesses to encourage their support. I wrote a Facebook post in our local downtown merchant's page which consists of under 60 members. It's a closed page, so only people who are invited and accepted have access to it. It was only about four paragraphs, but it was a straight-shooting blurb that emphasized the need for people to step up if they truly cherished this long-standing tradition. One of the members who saw the post shared it on her personal page, and as more and more people shared the post, the local paper picked up on the post and wrote an article about the need for volunteers. People were complementing me for my post and in the end, the Jaycees put out an announcement that they were "overwhelmed by the offers for help they have received in the past 24 hours". I'm thankful that people were willing to step up to support their community in a time of need. As much as I generally loathe social media, I am also thankful that I have been able to witness first-hand the good that it is able to do. "Share" Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Parade image courtesy of Don Stabler and Square Commercial Center Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers

Affordable 4 Bedroom Home For Sale in Abbottstown, PA

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 07:56:57 -0700

This 4-bedroom, 1-bath home located at 249 High St in Abbottstown, PA sits on 0.28 acres and is just 2 blocks off Route 30. Convenient to Hanover, York, Gettysburg, and Harrisburg. 2158 SF of living space!! Large kitchen and two large family rooms in the front and rear of the home. Quiet location adjacent to the municipal ball fields and playground. 100% financing available through USDA and low taxes make this house a homerun! Pre-listing insection has been done and repairs have been made, so buy with confidence!Offered at $149,900. Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers

4 Benefits of Adding Real Estate to Your Investment Portfolio

Jeff Wright, Property Manager in Hanover, PA (Foundation First Property Group) — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 12:55:55 -0700

There are 4 key benefits of adding real estate to your investment portfolio. Often times people become so fixated on contributions to their 401k that they fail to realize there are other options. Sure, they hear the ads about investing in gold and silver, and maybe even receive in the mail two "free" tickets to an upcoming real estate buying workshop in the nearest big city, but too many people believe that real estate investing is for the rich elite - the people behind the LLC, INC, LP, et al. But I can assure you that real estate investing is available to most anyone who is willing to put forth a little effort. And when I say real estate investing, I'm not talking about a REIT. I'm talking about a tangible, reach-out-and-touch-it, actual structure. Cash FlowThis is the equivalent of the returns you get when investing in the stock market. When the tenant pays the rent, and the landlord pays all the expenses, the money left over is the cash flow. Cash flow coming in is good. Cash flow going out is bad. It is important to do a careful financial analysis of a property BEFORE settlement (and preferably before even looking at the property)!! There is no calculus or trigonometry involved analyzing cash flow, but I would strongly recommend speaking with a real estate agent or property manager for the first few deals. A positive cash flow gives steady, reliable passive income, compared to the earned income from a job. TaxesReal estate investing comes with a nice benefit called depreciation. It's basically the government saying, "We stink at managing rental houses. Here's an incentive for you to do it instead of us." While you are able to write-off the cost of that new water heater, taxes, and mortgage interest, those all cost you money. Not so with depreciation. And, depending on how active you choose to be in the management of your investment real estate, you might be able to carry over a decent chunk of your "paper losses" to offset some of your earned income. AmortizationThe fancy way of saying paying down the mortgage. Who's paying the mortgage down? The tenants! If you buy an investment property right and it produces monthly positive cash flow, your tenants will be reducing the principle of your mortgage every month. This is such an important concept! If you buy a new car and drive for Uber to help make the payments, you yourself are still working to pay that loan down. But with rental real estate, someone else is making the payments for you. AppreciationThis one is last for a reason. It should not be the primary reason for buying a property. The old adage is that you make your money when you buy. Buying an investment and requiring appreciation isn't investing - it's speculating. I think of appreciation as the icing on the cake. As long as you have a buy-and-hold mentality, appreciation will rarely let you down. While real estate investing may not be right for everyone, it definitely deserves consideration. The annual returns in the stock market typically average 7-12%. By combining the 4 benefits of owning investment real estate, returns will commonly run 20-40% or even higher annually. It's no wonder that more and more people are adding investment real estate to their portfolios today. Jeff Wright - Broker/Owner Foundation First Property Group, LLC Property Manager / Real Estate Investor in Hanover, PA Proud member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers