All Forum Posts by: Alan Walker

I'll be there.  See you this Thursday!

Where I've run into issues is electrical and plumbing.  I live in a house that was built in 1906 and wasn't originally built for plumbing.  It was retrofit after the fact.  That's what I see a lot.  I've had a house repiped for 2-3k and a house rewired for 3-5k.  As long as the numbers support that kind of investment, its really just about finding the right contractors to do the work.  

@Nathan Reo , hang in there.  It takes some time for the parts to all come together.  There are investor groups in Ogden, I was just at a meeting with them on Tuesday.  Check out the Northern Utah Real Estate Investors Association at https://www.nureia.org/.  There's also a monthly lunch in Roy that I found super helpful.  

In terms of whether or not to use wholesalers, it really comes down to what your end goal is in real estate.  If its buy and holds or flips, I have found wholesalers to be really useful. I bought 6 houses this year all from wholesalers.  But you have to do the numbers yourself.  They are selling a deal, so they are presenting best case scenario (and sometimes they are so high, its ridiculous).  If you want to buy and hold or flip, I suggest coming to some meetings and meeting wholesalers.  Real Estate is a relationship business.  I've had the privilege of becoming friends with some great folks by going to as many events as possible.  Some of those friends are wholesalers and they keep an eye out for me.  

You've clearly got the drive to make this work.  There's also a facebook group founded by Zack Boothe at https://www.facebook.com/groups/229318174304821/.   You can hit him up directly on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/zackboothe.

Hope that helps!

I just refi-ed two rentals recently and am definitely seeing the effects of interest rates bumping up and my monthly cash flow. One was 5.75% and the other was 6%.  Both with Intercap.

What are some interest rates that you've been getting on investment loans recently? 

I use Venmo for my tenants and for my contractors.  Easy and most people are already using it, so they don't have to learn a new system.  ACH sounds interesting though.  @Jordy Clark, do you do that?

One thing to know about is that the Utah Division of Real Estate is making some major changes to how they view wholesaling and whether or not a license is required.  The jury is still out but I do know some folks that have gotten hefty fines for not following what they say the process should be.  

Well, we've made it, another fall in Utah. And its lasted longer than 2 weeks, which is a win.
A lot of people have asked me why gutters are so important, especially in fall. Next to replacing a roof, gutters are about the least sexy thing about your house. "I love this house, just look at those gutters!" said no one ever. Through selling and flipping a ton of homes and holding my own rentals, I've found that the best reason to have gutters is to keep water away from the foundation and keep ice from forming in walkways. Supes, sexy, right?
Many of the homes I sell or flip are more than 50 years old. Foundations become more susceptible to settling and water damage the older they get. Whether you plan on being in your home until retirement or want to make sure you can get top dollar for your home when you're ready to upgrade, keep your gutters clean to make sure you don't have a nasty surprise down the road.

If you'd like a good referral to a gutter professional, just let me know. I've got a lot of trusted providers I work with.

Great Infographic:

1. The cost of waiting to buy is defined as the additional funds it would take to buy a home if prices & interest rates were to increase over a period of time.
2. Freddie Mac predicts interest rates to rise to 5.2% by the third quarter of 2019.
3. CoreLogic predicts home prices to appreciate by 5.1% over the next 12 months.

If you are ready and willing to buy your dream home, find out if you are able to!

I learned something really interesting yesterday. If you are paying for private mortgage insurance, the market may have helped you get out of it.

I did some digging and the median home price in Salt Lake County has appreciated 31% since the beginning of 2016 (from 275k to 360k). 31%! If you've owned your home longer than two years and are paying mortgage insurance, it may be a good time to either refi out of mortgage insurance or, depending on the type of loan you have, call your loan servicer and ask that it be removed.

Good to know Bob.  I've only ever used a professional company to do it, never tried myself.