9 units in first 5 months, I'll be looking for some advice!

[Brian Doyle]

Hey guys! It's nice to find a place where people get jacked up about cashing in early retirement funds rather than call you crazy! Glad to be here. I've watched a ton of BP podcasts and videos but I'm brand new to the forum.

My long story short is that my wife and I had our second baby on the way and although our rent arrangement is very favorable, we needed to upgrade for more space. After saving for years and being priced out of nearly all of our favorite neighborhoods here in the northeast, we decided to give up the American Dream of being house poor the rest of our lives and get into real estate. We bought 2 duplexes to start back in February and they are currently cash flowing about $750 each with a 15.22% ROI. I recently put a roof on one of them as well.

Because of my brutal impatience we just had an offer accepted for a 5 unit building with 2 store fronts and 3 apartments that all need to be gutted and renovated. Luckily I have some good experience with construction, but my broker is currently working on my financing options. With a loan I took against my retirement savings, I have the cash for 25% down and then some, but I'm hoping I'll have some financing options based on the work that needs to go into the place. (I had to read up on what the hell a bridge loan was)

I guess to start out, anything I should be immediately aware of that's different with a 5-unit commercial as oppose to duplexes?

Any options I should be steering my mortgage broker towards? (Only one apartment is livable at this time)

This is my first major renovation project, any advice staying focused when those mortgage payments are hitting?

I'm pretty sure the numbers all look great for when the project is completed, but then again, I'm just some dude reading the internet and throwing my life savings around like I'm at the roulette table! Cheers guys, looking forward to reading some good stuff from all you "lunatics" that broke out of the rat race!