All Forum Posts by: Aaron Bard

Hi everyone,

I've been hard at work fixing up the unit that I am house hacking in my 3plex. But I'm hungry for more. As my lender said...I've got "the bug".

My question is: how do I approach someone with the idea of a seller financed deal? I found another 3plex on the market that is right around the corner from the one I'm living in now. I can literally see it from my kitchen window! I would love to invest right on the same block.

I found this property on Zillow, and because of that I don’t know how to approach this. I texted my agent to ask about the property, and she gave me some information about the current rents.

The other problem is that I cannot refinance until December of 2024. And due to my FHA loan, I have to live in the unit I have at the moment. Thankfully, my two other units pay for my mortgage in-full, as well as a couple of the included utilities; so I'm not worried about leaving a vacant unit for a few months.

I also searched the real estate map for the city that I invest/live in, and it said that the owners live on-site. But I'm not sure if that is accurate due to all 3 units having listed rents on the MLS.

In conclusion:

How do I go about finding the owner of this property, contacting them, and discussing with them the idea of seller financing?

How do I go about scheduling showings, inspections, title transfers, and closing with a seller that is financing a deal?

Any advice at all is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

Tons of updates but I'll cut to the point; my fiancée and I just got engaged, and one of our favorite places in the world is Old Quebec City. 

We decided that our 5-year investing goal/dream is to purchase an apartment/condo in Old Quebec for personal and family use.

We would use it as an STR when we are not there, and Quebec city is booming with beautiful Airbnb's. It's busy with tourists there year-round.

I found that on the market right now, our desired location and style is hovering right around $250k USD.

My real questions pertain to the Canadian market though. 

What is the market and investing atmosphere like in Canada? And specifically Quebec?

How do down payments, mortgages, and STRs work in Canada?

If anybody has experience in the Canada/Quebec city market, please let me know! I'm just trying to learn to be able to accomplish this goal to the fullest!

Thanks!

 Thank you! This is amazing advice. Do you have any recommendations for specific and affordable softwares for a new landlord?

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $255,000
Cash invested: $10,412

3plex with two, 2/3bed 1bath units in the Maine house, and an attached two-story 2bed 1bath unit behind.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It has the cashflow potential, improvement potential, and house-hack potential that I was looking for.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found on Zillow. Buyer agents personally knew the seller agents and I met the seller personally. Definitely helped with negotiation.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Unit rehab and new tenants in one unit.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! Morrison and Company (Nexthome Experience, Bangor Maine)

Hey everyone!

I've just finished rehab on one of my rental units in my first property.

My first showing is this Friday evening, and I need some advice on screening potential tenants.

I have gotten some pointers along the way, but any additional advice is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

-Aaron Bard

Happy Late Thanksgiving everybody!

I've got some exciting updates on finding my first deal and the progress so far.

I'll post with some more precise information after closing (this week!) but for now, here's a rundown of my last 30 days with this deal.

So, I went and toured this property with zero intention of even putting an offer in. The deal wasn't in my desired area (It is actually in a better, higher populated area) but I wanted to take a look because after all, it was in my price range.

I toured the property with my realtor, and immediately knew that this was perfect for my first deal. An older 3-Unit multifamily in incredible condition, with below-market rents, available value-add opportunities, and an incredibly motivated seller.

I put in an offer with, what I thought, was a ridiculous amount of contingencies. I was absolutely stoked when, after touring the property again, the seller accepted my offer.

In addition to this, the appraisal on the property came back just about a week ago, and the value was decently higher than the purchase price, giving me a fair amount of instant equity.

With the closing day coming up shortly this week, I am incredibly excited. There is a lot of work to do ahead, but nothing that I am unwilling to take on.

Here's a little insight on the condition of the property:

The two rented units are in great condition and require very little work. One of them however, will be vacant at closing, and I will be freshening up the paint and making a few cosmetic updates.

The unit that I will be living in and house-hacking, requires quite a bit more work. This unit in particular was vacant at the time of showing and had been for some time. I'll be doing some cosmetic work, of course. But also some more invasive things like new flooring and ripping out carpets and drop ceiling.

Besides these things, among my list of projects are: 

Improving insulation, building a small personal workshop, and framing out and creating a fourth (efficiency) unit in the building.

I am extremely excited for this new adventure and am beyond ready for the challenges to come. I will try to keep the forums updated as best I can on any news and progress. I appreciate anybody reading this far.

Thank you for any kind words, advice, and support!

Under contract!