All Forum Posts by: Brian Braeutigam

Can you please help me decide if I can help these people and possibly myself at the same time? The back story: An elderly member of my fiancé's family has a nice piece of property here in Anchorage that she is going to be selling. The house is too big for her now and the house and property require too much maintenance for her to keep up on. I *think* that everyone would like to keep the property in the family, but no one has been able to figure out how to afford that. The details: 5/2 house built in the early 60's, on 1 acre in the University-Medical area, zoned R2A. There has never been a mortgage on the property. Soon to be listed for 420k, the property tax assessment has it valued at 400. Questions for topic 1: The 420k list price is suggested by the realtor, and I am curious if that is a reasonable price. That seems low to me, based on the fact that this is a flat, dry, usable and partially developed 1 acre in the U-Med district with an older but well cared for 5/2. It's not really my business and I'm not making accusations, but I'd hate to see someone advise her to list low and take advantage of this lady to make a quick buck. Is there any way besides shopping around for realtors, comps (few truly comparable properties seem available), or paying for an appraisal to accurately determine a proper sale price? Can she protect herself in the PnS contract, in case the appraisal comes in much higher than her asking price after she has signed? Is she going to have to pay a commission to this realtor, now that they've been talking, even if we work a deal out within the family? Questions for topic 2: Can you think of any way that I or someone else in this family can make this property pay for itself and simultaneously pay this lady out so she can relocate and enjoy herself? I'm calculating the PITI, utilities and maintenance for this property at $3,400/mo. with the best loan program that I have found, which offers me a 5/1 ARM with a 3.0% intro APR and 5% down. That also leaves me exposed to potential expenses of $4,700/mo (gulp!) if the rate adjusted to it's max in 7 years. I've considered using the home as student housing. After looking at student apartment rental listings, I believe we could get $550 a room, but that only comes to $2,750/mo. I could treat the property as a duplex and move into the top floor and rent out the bottom floor (2/1 with maybe also the use of the garage) for $1,400-$1,600. That would leave us a payment of $2,000-$2,300 after all expenses and not an ideal living arrangement for my fiancé and I, but control of the property for the future. I could propose a seller-finance of the property, but I am unsure how to make that work fairly for her, since she needs to find a new place and have money to live. Maybe I could get a low-down loan for 200k and have her seller-finance the rest? With the aforementioned loan program and giving a 5% interest rate to the seller I'm calculating that to be a net payment of $2,100/mo., with a down of 10k. This loan program is also an owner-occupant program, so I would basically be locked into the 'duplex' option, at least intially. I don't see any way to be fair to this lady and make the property cashflow. I'm loathe to pick up the property if I can't make it cashflow, but I am tempted, based on it's central location and lot size. It would make a nice primary residence, but it's not shining as an investment. :( More questions (?!): Am I missing an option to make money with this property? Calculating incorrectly? Anchorage investors, do you think it's worth speculating on this property if I can't make it cashflow, based on the property description? I have no sentimental attachment to this property (although I do like it) but my fiancé's father and siblings grew up there. Should I just stay out of this deal so no one in the family gets hurt feelings when I start managing the property however I'll need to? I know that's a ton of information and a lot of questions, but I welcome all your comments!

Thanks, everyone!

Shaw Rivera Since we've not had a chance to meet at a REIA yet, I could take a call and role-playing as one of your interested sellers. PM me if you want to practice!

Shaw Rivera That's great! Good luck and keep us posted! I'm doing the research to start a campaign from our house, also. How did you develop your template?

Mike Sattem That's great news! Thanks for sharing your inspiring success and the details of the letter you used. I'm going to give this a try!

Joe Fairless Thanks! It was actually a bed bug problem, which has been getting much worse here in Anchorage, I hear. My tenant hid the fact for a couple of weeks, and finally told me when she was almost out of furniture to throw away. I called a local pest company and bought the treatment package that was two levels above the one they suggested. I was horrified that they might spread to other units, but the 'nuclear' option that I chose seems to have done the trick, as it's been a couple months with no sign of them. (Knocking on wood!) I think that there was probably just one solitary bug introduced to the house, as only one dead one was found, in the general area the tenant was sleeping at the time. I sleep in the building also though, so the scorched earth treatment was the only one that was going to let me sleep well. ;) Thanks for the question and I hope you never have to deal with them!

Shaw Rivera Thanks, I'm going to try and make the REX, and I'll look for the Eagle River one also.

@James Wise

- Thank you for the warm greetings and beginner tips! I will continue to follow up on those great resources.

@Scott Sewell & @Shaw Rivera

- How nice this is to have an easy resource for meeting local investors! What local real estate meet ups or clubs have you found? The only one I have been able to find is the Real Estate eXchange, which I look forward to attending soon.

Hi everyone,

I am a newly started real estate investor. I first became interested in this business last year when a fellow real estate investing co-worker took it upon himself to educate me in all the benefits of owning investment properties. At the time I had a SFH, which had been my primary residence for 10 years, and I shared the deed with an ex who had not been in the picture for 9 of those years. I had been procrastinating the unloading of that property for a long time, but with my mentors gentle nudging and help I finally sold the house. I paid off the ex and used the balance of the proceeds to owner-occupy a four-plex in December 2013.

With the help of my beautiful and talented fiancé, Aimee, I have been learning the ropes of being a landlord. My biggest challenges have been getting the tenants used to my management style (much more rigid than the last owner), a nasty pest invasion and an immediate vacancy in the unit of a 6yr tenant who apparently had something against even basic cleaning. Even these experiences haven’t been horrible and they have allowed me to ‘jump right in’ and engage in a crash course of learning and learning about my building.

After only a few months of owning this building, Aimee and I have felt the benefits and decided to dedicate ourselves to the world of real estate investing. My goals are several. I will be involved in the process of turning some of my cities struggling neighborhoods back into quality areas wherein people can feel safe and happy to live. I will learn the world of real estate investing and pass along all the knowledge I can gather, as it has been passed to me, in order to provide others with the opportunities I have been afforded. Through passive income Aimee and I will be able to spend much more quality time with friends and family and the children we hope to have, and provide lasting wealth benefits for them as well.

I really appreciate the opportunity to join this community. I first encountered BP when I was searching for answers on how to screen my first tenants and the ideas and tips I read in your forum posts are a large part of why those tenants are the best in my building, hands down. I’ve been watching from the edges for some time now, and I think I’ve listened to about half of the podcasts already. I figured I was long past due for my introduction, so there it is...

I’ll try not to be such a wallflower now. ;)

Best wishes to you,

Brian Braeutigam