All Forum Posts by: Adrienne Green

@Carter Mahnke first off, I'm going to assume that you've done the analysis and determined that renting it out is the best financial move.  While it can be great to rent out a former primary, I've done it myself, there's also the potential that selling it and redeploying the capital into a property purchased with the intention of being a rental property would yield greater returns.  

If you do decide to rent this house out, be aware of if you've earned the primary residence capital gains tax exemption.  If so, you must sell it within 3 years to maintain that exemption.  So once you've rented for 2 years, you'll want to evaluate how much you're saving with that tax exemption, and determine if it's a better move to sell it or keep it.

With all of that out of the way, are you self managing or using a property manager?  If you are self managing, I would start with evaluating different online platforms that assist self managers: Hemlane, Realtor.com, etc.  If you are using a PM, start interviewing PMs.  The management choice you make will help guide you in what else you need to do to prepare.

@Trevor Marvin I agree with everything Jason said. Obviously he's the expert, my .02 as a TN resident and investor is when I've looked at using out of state LLCs for TN investing, since we're doing business in TN we'd need to have the LLC here or register here, so it's simplest to just do the LLC here.

@Gottfried Sianipar Welcome to the world of real estate investing in Chattanooga!  I love that you're going to house hack, that's how I got started.  From speaking to lenders, it is very difficult to get a mortgage loan on a primary without a credit score.  There are ways to build credit fast, I'd suggest speaking with a lender about the best way to do that.  Some know, and some don't, so if you speak with a lender who doesn't know, find another.

The good thing is that with a W2, you can typically buy pretty fast after getting the job, so I think building credit would be the limiting factor rather than the income.

@Ryan Rock I love this idea!  If I was going to do a summer/winter house, with the goal of mildest weather year round, I think there are a few good options:

-Phoenix and Flagstaff: not too far apart, yet vastly different climates. Arizona is very STR friendly, and both have good demand. Flagstaff you could do mid-term student or nurse housing. The only con is both markets have really exploded in the last few years; $350k would be enough for one location.

-Florida and the mountains in GA/TN/NC/SC: Florida winters will get you away from the snow and into the sun!  The Blue Ridge mountains are cool in summer, the cooler you want=the further up you go.  All these locations, on a state level, are landlord friendly.  If you stay out of the most popular tourist areas, I think you'd find choices here more affordable than in AZ.  Cons: FL taxes and insurance are high, locations are further apart.

@Jared Demkowicz I'd say reach out to local banks and credit unions.  Here in TN we have FirstBank, TVFCU, and Collegedale Credit Union off the top of my head. @Austin Jameson is a local commercial lender who may know of underwriter opportunities.

I will note that with mortgage volume's decrease over the last 9 months, many lenders have laid off underwriters.  It may be a competitive field right now.

@Sandy Keller 10% is pretty standard in Chattanooga.  Most PMs also charge 1/2 months rent for placing a tenant.  They may also charge an override when coordinating repairs from other contractors.

@Chris Noles, @Mike Williams is a great investor friendly agent in Dalton, may be worth speaking with him!

@Malinda Cardel welcome to real estate!  People do this to make money to live the life they want and have financial freedom.  If you want to know the specifics of how it works, BP has a great library of books its published!

@Oliver Bernardo great idea to reach out here. What investing strategy are you planning to use? What part of Tennessee? The more specific you can be with your goals and plan, the better decisions you can make to get there (and the more others can advise and assist).

@Timothy Cammack welcome to the world of REI!

My wisdom would be find your why, be super specific, and then develop a plan to reach that goal.  Think about your strengths, risk tolerance, management philosophy, cashflow goals, etc.  That should all inform your plan.  If your plan looks like someone's else's plan, it's not personalized enough.

Once you have that plan, execute!