All Forum Posts by: Andy Albrecht

Good point Mark. Thanks!

Hello,

I am going to look at a house tomorrow that is listed For Sale By Owner and just by talking to the person today, ironically found out that it is one of my good friends from high school's dad who is selling this house. Before I found this out though I gathered from our phone conversation that this was a gentleman and his wife that are retired and no longer are living in this house and I believe they are free and clear from the mortgage, although I will find this out tomorrow. I am in the process of saving capital for a down payment for my first investment property in a very good real estate market right now where I am from. This isn't the city I was focusing on where the house is located but it is in my hometown where my family and I own our home which would make it very convenient. It also is a great school system and people move into the area just because of that, with home values constantly on the rise. I worked the numbers today and if I can talk him down to $85,000 from $95,000, I believe I can get this 2 Bedroom, with the possibility of a 3rd bedroom downstairs, 2 Ba. Ranch home rented for $1100 and make the numbers work where I would cash flow $275/mo. after expenses and debts owed. This house needs very little with the roof being good, new water heater, high eff. furnace, a/c, appliances are all less than 7 years old and according to the owner, just needs paint and flooring in the bedrooms because the carpet is worn out.

My question is how would someone structure the seller financing or land contract for this home. I would like to see if I can get it for 5k down but I am stuck about approaching him on a 5-7 year balloon/ 30 yr. amortization and refinancing the property in 5 years traditionally or seeing if he will do no balloon with a 30 yr. amortization. He is my father's age around 65-66 so I am thinking it will probably make more sense to do the balloon but that is what I want everyone's opinion on? I plan on having my real estate attorney drafting all the paperwork if he is ok with whatever option, getting an inspection and appraisal done, pest inspection and having a local title company handle the closing and other related items. I also plan on having an escrow company handle the payments so I am not paying him directly. Any advice would be much appreciated. When I ran the numbers, I based them off of $5000 down and 20% down with a 30 yr. amortization schedule and 5% interest. Thanks everyone!

Andy

I am throwing this out there because I would like everyone's input. I have been intrigued by real estate since my early 20's and wish I knew then what I know now at 38 after studying this profession now for over a year now. I started out reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad" as did a lot of people on this forum and it really did change my outlook on life. I have a great full time job in Commercial Insurance/ Risk Mgt./ Financial Services with a pension plan, matching 401k program, golden handcuff program and I also contribute yearly to a IRA, but I want to add real estate investing to my portfolio. My wife and I are very excited about this opportunity and we have decided that we want to focus on 2-4 unit multi-family investments with the occasional SFH for buy and hold purposes. I do have a full time job so I really don't want to take on any huge rehab projects, but I am ok with having to deal with new carpet, paint, countertops, appliances, roof, etc. My wife is a full time stay-at-home mother and is anxious to get out and start communicating with adults again now that our kids are almost both in school!! I have a lot of great connections with local Contractors and handymen because of my profession and I also have a great C.P.A. who also has been a long-time investor. I have a Real Estate Attorney who I work with on a regular basis for my business clients as well, so I feel that I already have my team set up and in place to make this a success. Last night I attended my first West Michigan REI meeting and had a lot of fun and started networking with some great people. I have interviewed roughly five local Property Management companies and have decided to use United Properties of West Michigan because of their experience in the industry, reviews and Tim VandenToorn was very helpful when we sat down and talked for over 1/2 hour. Now it really is a waiting game primarily because of how the market in Grand Rapids specifically is right now with Forbes Magazine highlighting the city in a recent issue. Everyone and their mother right now is wanting a piece of the pie and that is why I am networking with local real estate agents, wholesalers, lenders and investors so that I can come across an off-market deal that is a great fit for us. I also have been very successful with my job in direct marketing and plan to implement that strategy as well to find distressed absentee and tax deals. I also am attending my first RPOA Convention in a couple of weeks here in Grand Rapids. We are only looking to start with 1-2 properties a year and grow from there. I really want to focus on unique properties that stand out from the other rentals that have things such as a garage, multiple bedrooms, private back yard, patio area, etc. So while we sit and wait for the right deal, I am just saving capital so when it does come along I can put a healthy down payment on the property, rehab and get it rented fairly quickly and move on to the next property. My question to the Pro Forum is am I missing anything or should I be thinking about something I haven't been? I really enjoy this website and have learned so much from reading other posts as well as listening to the podcasts and audiobooks that are available. I drive a lot for my full time job and I have learned so much over the last year just listening while in the car alone. Thanks everyone and thank you to BP, keep up the great work!

Andy

The way I understand it. Even starting out you should have three different LLC's according to the podcast. One LLC for your buy and holds, one for any flips you are doing and one that operates as your holdings where all your business is done through. You do this for tax reasons because each one of these has different tax ratings and if you don't separate them the IRS is going to most likely tax you at the highest rating. I am working with an attorney here in Grand Rapids that specializes in Real Estate and I hope he tells me I can do a Series LLC to make things easier!

Grand Rapids, MI was just named the #1 place to invest in real estate by Forbes Magazine

http://woodtv.com/2016/01/29/forbes-gr-best-city-to-invest-in-housing/

I have lived in the Grand Rapids, MI area for my whole life and I know the areas in which are going to be upcoming in the next 5-10 years. I also have a great network of commercial and residential real estate brokers and have been doing my research by driving for dollars and asking people I run into where deals are. The problem is that my capital is tied up in my current house that my family and I live in and our in ground pool that I put in for my family this past fall. I have a very good full time job in Commercial Insurance/ Risk Management and Financial Services and I have good credit!! I also have an extensive network of Contractors in the West Michigan area and I know who to use and who not to use that will benefit us. I have also done extensive research on the Property Management companies to use in the area and who not to use and I know how to manage people. Just this past week I came across three separate deals that I would have jumped on in a heartbeat had I had the capital for a down payment but they had offers on them within 12 hours of being on the market, that is how good the real estate is here right now. What I am looking for is a partnership where you have the capital and experience of putting deals together, negotiations and contracts and I bring the hustle to the partnership of finding deals, aligning contractors, property management and make sure the areas that we are buying multi-family and apartments in are good investments. The three that I had to pass on just this week had cash on cash returns of 25-45% each and were currently occupied with below market rents. I also have a working relationship with a local real estate attorney and CPA and have had opportunities to partner with area business relationships but I want someone with experience in investing where we each have something we can bring to the table. If this interests anyone and you are serious about getting something started let me know. Thank you and I look forward to working with another like-minded BP member.

Grand Rapids, MI was just named the #1 place to invest in real estate by Forbes Magazine

http://woodtv.com/2016/01/29/forbes-gr-best-city-to-invest-in-housing/

 I have lived in the Grand Rapids, MI area for my whole life and I know the areas in which are going to be upcoming in the next 5-10 years. I also have a great network of commercial and residential real estate brokers and have been doing my research by driving for dollars and asking people I run into where deals are. The problem is that my capital is tied up in my current house that my family and I live in and our in ground pool that I put in for my family this past fall. I have a very good full time job in Commercial Insurance/ Risk Management and Financial Services and I have good credit!! I also have an extensive network of Contractors in the West Michigan area and I know who to use and who not to use that will benefit us. I have also done extensive research on the Property Management companies to use in the area and who not to use and I know how to manage people. Just this past week I came across three separate deals that I would have jumped on in a heartbeat had I had the capital for a down payment but they had offers on them within 12 hours of being on the market, that is how good the real estate is here right now. What I am looking for is a partnership where you have the capital and experience of putting deals together, negotiations and contracts and I bring the hustle to the partnership of finding deals, aligning contractors, property management and make sure the areas that we are buying multi-family and apartments in are good investments. The three that I had to pass on just this week had cash on cash returns of 25-45% each and were currently occupied with below market rents. I also have a working relationship with a local real estate attorney and CPA and have had opportunities to partner with area business relationships but I want someone with experience in investing where we each have something we can bring to the table. If this interests anyone and you are serious about getting something started let me know. Thank you and I look forward to working with another like-minded BP member.

Thank you Brandon

Hello,

I am wondering if there are any meetups scheduled in the Grand Rapids, MI area and if so, dates and times? Thank you!

Andy Albrecht

Hello BP,

My name is Andy Albrecht and I'm 38 years old from Rockford, MI which is just North of Grand Rapids, MI and I am married with two boys, ages 4 and 2. I work full time in the Commercial Insurance/Risk Management/Financial Services industry and have been very successful in these industries. I am new to Real Estate Investing but not investing in General. I have been extensively researching Mobile Home Park and Multi Family investing and my goals are to buy and hold for passive income and wealth. I realize though there could be opportunities for 1031 exchanges down the road and I am open to this opportunity if it presents itself. In the next 6 months to a year I would like to purchase my first mobile home park as well as my first one to two multi family units. My goals are to supplement my full time job with $250,000/year in passive income and then revisit my goals once I accomplish this. I have a potential private investor for the Mobile Home Park but obviously I have to find the right opportunity and if I can go the seller financing route for my first go-around, that would be great until I can establish myself as a Real Estate Investor and earn the trust of banks. I also am in the process of developing a list for my direct mail campaign and cold call campaign, as I have had a lot of luck with these two marketing tools with my current job and really believe I can find some gems by utilizing these tools. I look forward to connecting with like-minded investors that can guide me down this exciting journey!!