From Appraising to Investing

[Account Closed]

I am new to this site but have been listening to virtually all (or most) of the podcasts on my long drives for work and have been scouring the blogs and forums for a while now. I’ve finally made the decision to get into real estate investing. I’m wondering if there have been any appraisers that have seen success in the switch? I will be partnering with my mother (a 10,000+ residential/commercial real estate appraiser - Certified General), my sister (an agent), and my best friend (a contractor). We plan to partner up and invest together. We’ll all likely househack for our first few properties, then use the passive income and equity to reinvest. Our general plan is to use the properties for short term rentals (at least unless it makes more sense to rent on an annual lease or flip/sell). We’ll also rehab the properties, so we’ll be those investors looking for ugly houses. I know that it isn’t technically the most efficient to partner all four of us up, but I believe the returns will be far greater without dealing with the headaches of issues with loyalty. We’ll also be able to keep everything in house. And particularly regarding my contractor buddy, he’ll make a little extra for his time for hands-on work, but he’s in it for the equity. This will all be drawn up in a contract and roles will be assigned. I’ve already done business with every one of them and am currently working as an appraiser in my mother’s firm. So business stresses don’t cause any problems for us. Although I’m open to hear feedback regarding our plan, what I’m most curious about is how advantageous it is to be an appraiser and start investing? Of course, I can imagine our expertise and knowledge of the RE industry will bring us copious ROI’s... But I’m also unaware of specific mentalities or issues that appraisers may bring as a bias when investing? We don’t dictate what people will pay for a property, for example. We give an opinion as to what can reasonably be expected, but something as simple as nice landscaping can bring in a higher asking price. Or a competitive market will often drive up value. So in short, what is your perspective on all this? It’s a lot to read, so I appreciate your insights in advance! The first investment will be in about one year after my current lease is up... Which gives me time to work on my credit and save up a down payment. Thank you!

[Chris Mason]

I'll let others comment on how likely this is to screw up your interpersonal relationships and stay in my lane...

Assuming this is the residential 1-4 unit space, joint mortgages is very likely to hinder each partner's ability to get future mortgages at some point; the lower each partner's day-job income, the sooner they will hit this wall. 

Let's say the PITI $2000 and the rent is $3000 (and lets pretend there are no other expenses) with the net profit split 2 ways, and appearing as such on your tax returns. Each of you thus has $12k in expenses (your half) offset by $18k in rental income (again, your half). Great, we're each making $6k!

Except that in the future when one of you applies for a mortgage on your own, a mortgage underwriter is going to hit that person with that full PITI ($2000/mo), but only give you credit for the amount of income you report ($1500/mo). This would be a scenario wherein even though your tax returns show you in the green, a lender calculating your DTI will see this hypothetical property as burning a hole in your pocket to the tune of $500/month ($1500 minus $2000), which in turn translates into ballpark $100k less mortgage you're able to get (including if/when any of you wish to purchase a separate primary residence).

When you're up in the 100+ unit apartment space, partnerships and LLCs and syndication and all that is normal. If you are starting in the 1-4 residential space, it's not needed, and can significantly hinder you. Right tool/approach for the right job.