All Forum Posts by: Andy Webb

@Drake Balma - that is not correct. You can buy an investment property with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac financing without having to occupy it. You may be thinking of FHA - that would be for owner-occupant with a required occupancy period.

The lowest downpayment % I have heard of when going conventional with FNMA on a rental property is 15%. That still puts you at almost $50k down... Just curious - what are the projected rents for this property?

Get out to some of the local meet ups and investment groups.  That is a good place to meet potential clients and more importantly learn the jargon, numbers, pain points for investors, etc. 

I think I would introduce myself and explain what I do and what I expect from my tenants and leave my card with the neighbors.  No need to go overboard.  

Most neighbors that I meet as we are rehabbing our rentals-to-be are very excited to meet the new neighbor (e.g. they think it is yours truly), then they are a bit deflated when I explain it will be a rental.  They usually rebound a bit when I tell them the rehab plans, added value to the neighborhood, and how we operate as rental owners.  I make sure they understand that I expect my future residents there to be good neighbors themselves and if there are any issues - give me a call.  I also like to explain our screening/resident due diligence process so they know we are careful in our selection and try to place good residents in their neighborhood.

Last thing, if you are doing a rehab - show them inside when it is done.  The neighbors love seeing that dilapidated property that they have hated for years turned around and revitalized.

Andy

If you really want to get technical and dial in a precise number by city, you can go to the county tax assessor website and get each of the moving parts that drive the total tax rate (e.g. by taxing unit like ISD, county hospital, county community college, etc).

https://taxonline.tarrantcount...

Personally I am lazy and usually run with a rough estimate like you suggested...

Andy

We have sometimes added a vacancy endorsement if it looks like our rehab is going long.  Usually a 6-month or 12-month premium, with the balance pro-rated and refunded once the house is occupied and we cancel the vacancy endorsement.

What do you achieve by paying extra principal?  That does not yield any sort of return.  I assume you have a decent interest rate since rates are so low.  I personally would put everything to the side for the next investment(s).  Build your portfolio first and create more cashflow.

@Jasmine Smith - I think with 20k to 40k then, you must mean the renovation budget?  Or perhaps the increase in value you expect from renovations?  

To clarify: ARV = After Repair Value. This is your target market value for the property AFTER repairs have been made.  For example we bought a house a few years ago for 80k, put 60k in renovations in, so 140 all in plus closing costs, but house appraised close to 185k when we were done with the work.  The ARV is the 185k; the 60k is the renovation budget we put into the property to create the additional value.  The ARV for some of the Farmers Branch houses these days certainly starts around $200k...

I can see a 30-40k rehab budget that is generally cosmetic, depending on the size of the property.  And depending on the age of the property, you will probably have some other items to address (plumbing and electrical for example) that can push that up.

Andy

Do you mean 200k to 400k? ARV = Market Value after fixed up...

@Jasmine Smith - there are duplexes out there and that is a good place to start, possibly even up to a quad since you can get the same FNMA financing. I was shopping for a Cali buyer recently and there is inventory, some off-market. I don't think you said what part of town you are targeting for your hunt - that can significantly swing the price - what is your target ARV? And curious what age of property and level of rehab you are comfortable handling?

Andy