First Time Investors, Don't Know How to go About This

[Chad Smith]

Like the title says, my wife and I are first time investors and have never purchased a home let alone invested in multi-family. I've watched dozens of the Bigger Pockets Podcasts and I have gained a ton of knowledge but I still have the feeling of "not sure how to go about this". I found a 70 apt, 140bd, 70bth complex asking 3.1M (yes, I know this is a HUGE step especially since we have never done a single family let alone something to this size) in an area that is exploding in population due to the city's military growth 5 minutes away. The military are experiencing a housing shortage in this area so we know tenants wouldn't be hard to find. Quick background, we are vets and did live in the area (not anymore) where this complex is so we know fairly well what rent goes for, the population growth, how high the demand for housing, etc. We have almost 3% of the asking price to put down. I did the numbers on the BRRRR calculator as best as I could given the information provided by the listing and some other sites and if we purchased this for asking price, rehab some to half the units for 300K-400K, and refinance appraising at 4M, the ROI is 22.5% with 19K positive cash flow. obviously, the numbers are good IF 1. I did the numbers right and 2. if we could even get a loan that high encompassing the rehab costs which I don't think we could. My questions are for more experienced investors then we are, is this possible for us to go after this and/or are we out of our depth and should stick to single family to quadplex for our first investment? Thanks anyone who has taken the time to read this or reply!

[Randall Alan]

You usually have to have 20-25% down on purchases…. 3% isn’t going to cut it with a commercial loan. You then have to have reserves behind that 20-25%.  Also know that commercial loans are typically amortized over a shorter time… typically 20 or 25 years, not 30… so your principle payments are bigger than with a residential 30 year mortgage.

I personally think you are WAY out of your league… the lack of that experience would also weigh negatively with a lender.  You need to start small… something with 1-4 doors.  Get your feet wet… figure out if you even like landlording… it’s not for everyone!  

Plus, you can’t Refinance until you rehab, which by your numbers is going to take $300,000 it sounds like you don’t have. 
lots of other questions… your positive cash flow of $19,000 - is that monthly? Or yearly?  Did you include a maintenance reserve in your calculations?  Did you include a management fee in your numbers - beyond the principle, interest, taxes and insurance?  What about utilities expenses? Who pays the water bill? and overhead expenses, like an office worker?

We would need more info to analyze everything correctly, but I don’t think it would change my suggestion that you need to start smaller.

all the best… randy