All Forum Posts by: Aaron Helmholdt

Hi @Brandon Turner I would say that definitely counts as a success story. It looks like you were able to create a win-win for both you and the seller. Would you be willing to share some of the numbers in the deal, such as if you brought cash to the table, number of unites, and how your lease payment was calculated? Thanks!

I have been interested in gaining control of apartment complexes through Master Lease Options. This topic doesn't seem to receive a whole lot of attention from BP. To all those out there who have tried a MLO on a multi family: Please share your experience. If it was successful, what made it successful and what were the details of the deal. Or, if the deal was a bad one, what mistakes did you make and what could you do different?

Also, what are the risks involved with MLOs? From my research, it looks like risk is pretty minimal if structured correctly. Thanks!

Have you considered multi-family homes in your town that would cash flow better?

I just went through the whole process of buying my first property using an FHA loan. The first criteria you will need to meet is that you find a cash flow positive property (many posts on how to analyse this) . Without cash flow you will be constantly struggling to "grow" your business. I did it by getting a duplex that cash flows. I'm adding value by improving the side I live in and raising rents slowly on the other side. By having a positive cash flow property you can save substantial money to put aside for your next purchase down the road.

You certainly are not limited to retail prices. Your mortgage lender could care less how much of a discount you buy for. The better deal you find the better off you will be. The one thing that does have to happen is that the appraisal must be at least what the purchase price is on an FHA loan.

For me, my next step is to buy another 2-4 unit property in a year or two. Saving my cash flow and possibly even refinancing if value goes up enough will create the funding I need.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Interesting topic and I am anxious to hear what some with more experience have to say.

In my opinion, I think the early part of the month would be best. I think you are right, if that pesky tenant is late again and there is the threat of eviction looming that could just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Both above posts nailed my initial thoughts when reading your topic. I would take that as a big red flag unless, like Michael said, there are quick gains to be made.

I know this is an older post but what excellent ideas! I recently bought a duplex and the current tenant is well below market rents but has been a model tenant for years. I think I will imply some of these strategies here to increase rents slightly.

Thank you BP community!

@Harry M. Excellent breakdown! I love the spread between cap rate and cost of money. Thank you!

@Brant Richardson I completely agree. In my circumstance I knew I was paying more than I should for a strict investment but because my family also needed a good home in a good school district, we were pretty selective which made the investment side of things a little less attractive.

@Jeff S. Great point with trying to move the apartment buildings when the cost of money is high - something that must be taken into consideration when thinking about an exit strategy with buildings that don't cash flow strongly.

@Adam Johns Thank you very much for that Cash on Cash explanation. Using my real life example in those equations really cleared up some of the lingering questions I had. While my cap rate isn't especially strong, it is made up for in CCR. Thank you!