All Forum Posts by: Aaron Hollingshead

@Michael Pitsos I have a rental with similar numbers.  Mortgage, insurance and taxes amount to 2000 dollars and we rent it for 1850 minus the 150 a month for property management.  So, we're 'losing' 4-5 k each year when you consider the 3600 shortfall plus repairs, etc.  To us, we're happy with this because it's in a place where we think the house will increase in value and it's a place we plan to live in down the road.  Therefore, we're not concerned about that loss.  But of course, that depends on your situation.  If we got hit with a 6000 bill for a new hvac system, I'd groan and moan but I'd pay it and move on without much thought.  If that would be a debilitating thing for you, then think twice about holding onto the house.  

Recently, I sold a rental that was cash flowing in order to do another project and in the process, my realtor said that his motto was 'never sell anything'.  I'm starting to think he's right.  Good luck! 

Thanks all for the terrific advice!  I decided to leave my offer where it was.  I think it's competitive as it is an all cash offer with a 3 week close, with no inspections or contingencies.  Thanks again.

Rory - thanks for the advice. to clarify this is a market where I regularly flip and brrrr Homes so I do know the numbers. If I were to offer 150 percent of asking price I would still make the 2 percent rule. That’s why I’m perhaps over thinking it...I don’t want to end up not acquiring this house because I wanted to save a few  thousand dollars at time of purchase. I want to make sure I’m not being penny wise and pound foolish. 

I bid on a property that had 6 offers on it last week.  The bank will choose the winning bid tomorrow and I am considering bumping up my offer a bit.  The question I am wresting with is this...At asking price, it's an absolutely incredible deal.  I bid more than 20% over asking price which is still an incredible deal.  If the asking price had been the amount of my current bid, I  still would have felt great bidding 10-15% more.  

When you're in this position, do you try to make your offer just enough above asking to get a a steal on the property, or do you offer significantly more even though you might not need to in order to ensure you get the deal?  In other words, go for the home run and potentially get outbid, or go for the base hit?  Thoughts? 

I came across a deal that looks too good to pass up and made an all cash offer as it can't be financed.  Problem is that most of my cash is tied up in a flip property which is set to close in 2-3 weeks at which point I'll have enough cash for the purchase and renovations of the new house.  

If my offer is accepted, I expect they will want proof of funds within a couple of days.  I don't want the offer to be contingent on the closing of my other place as I think that this property will have multiple offers and I don't want mine to look weak.  I was wondering if showing sufficient cash reserves in index funds can work for proof (even though I don't intend on using this money)?  I would be able to present about 40% of the cash needed in my account and the other 60% in index funds.  Any advice for another creative work-around?  

I can empathize with how you are feeling! I am from Portland Oregon and was anxious for a number of years about getting priced out of my own city. Indeed if my career had started 5 years earlier it would have feen far easier to get into the market as my income and savings really only hit a good place around 2014... This summer we purchased a rental home which will eventually become our primary residence for more than I would have dreamed of a few years ago and in the end we had to ask ourselves two questions. If it dropped significantly in value could we continue paying and would we be happy with our payments. Both answers were yes so we happily got the house.

I purchased, renovated and I’m 3 weeks away from closing the sale of a flip on a property I never saw in person. For this place I had a video walk through with my realtor and he confirmed what I thought the numbers would be. Sometimes I make an offer simply from the mls listing. My second fail safe is that during inspection I’ll send my contractor or handyman to the property to look around. I also ask my inspector to include more photos than normal as I am out of town. When I rehab I have stipulations in my contract about the frequency and type of communication that I need and typically WhatsApp is what I use. We are constantly sending photos and videos back and forth. It gets easier each time!

My experience is that in my area houses sit there for weeks months or years without getting purchased due to high minimum reserve numbers. I’ve had better luck with hubzu where there are steeper discounts and I have found them to be easy to work with.

Having lived overseas for a number of years I have grown accustomed to the mini-split heating and cooling used in many parts of the Middle East and Asia.  They are reliable, individually controlled, and very cost effective.  I'm wondering if this is something that people are seeing used to heat and cool entire houses or are they still just being thrown in basements or garages in the US?  I'm wondering why more people don't consider this as a good option?  

Before i bought a my first rental, I spent each morning looking at every single house posted on the MLS the previous 24 hours. After a few months of doing that, you'll become pretty good at evaluating value and seeing hidden gems. And as @Teresa F. said, finding a mentor was the other huge part of the process for me!  Good luck.