All Forum Posts by: Albert Zheng

Hi Bennett Schwartz. I have a similar issue with a duplex that I just acquired. Were you able to successfully obtain your variance? I've been advised to hire a zoning attorney to help facilitate it. How long did the process take you?

I apologize for not replying after all these years. Admittedly, I have not done further research into sheriff sales since I've decided to shift my strategy to investing out of state shortly after this thread. If I decide to pursue sheriff sales as a deal flow strategy, I will certainly re-visit this helpful thread. For what it's worth, I took a break from RE investing for a couple years to solely focus on my career, but I'm getting back into it and am closing on my 2nd property shortly. Thank you for replying @Steve Babiak and I hope to dig further into this topic if and when I pursue it in the future. Best wishes.

Welcome @Monica Diaz. I actually purchased a rental property in East Falls earlier this year as an out of state investor which is not far from Roxborough. I'm happy to answer any questions if you would like to hear about my experience. I actually personally worked with @Joseph Scorese to obtain my loan and he was a fantastic resource with a great turnaround time. Best of luck to you!

Hi fellow BPers,

I've recently formed a new multi-member LLC to hold residential properties and I'm running into a catch-22 financing problem which I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this issue previously. I've found a few portfolio lenders willing to do direct lending to the LLC under a commercial loan, but I'm under the impression that they require the property to be secured under contract in addition to the personal guarantee since this is a new business. From my understanding of all listed properties on the MLS, the listing agent will normally require a pre-approval in order to take an offer seriously. How does one secure a property under contract without a traditional pre-approval if you going to be financing under a portfolio lender? Any advice is much appreciated.

@Robert Grant, May I ask which portfolio lender do you use? I'm looking at properties in Philadelphia right now where I want to do financing directly under a LLC for residential properties. As expected, most banks are telling me either a flat out no or they will only lend to a LLC for a commercial property. Thanks!

Congrats @Naomi J! Thanks for sharing your success. Are you self-managing these 5 properties while working at the hospital? May I ask what your strategy worked for you in finding these deals in the Philadelphia market? I'm amazed at the rent to price ratios that you've achieved. (over 3%!?!) In regards in student housing, IMO I would prefer to rent to medical residents given their likelihood of more financial stability as tenant. Otherwise, I would ensure there's at least a cosigner of the lease if its a student. Keep up the great work.

Hi @ChrisSalvato, 

I just wanted to say thank you for putting this together. I think what you are doing is very informative in nailing down a region which should satisfy your investment criteria. My criteria will be different than yours due to the fact that I'm not constraining myself to live near the property. However, I definitely plan on apply similar metrics for the categories you listed. I was also looking at weighting each data set relative to each other to come up a total value score. Did you put more value in a metric vs another? For example, would you assign the median value of home the same value as unemployment?

Hi All,

I was looking to get some feedback on whether I should consider selling or holding onto my property in Seattle. Just to give some back story on the property, I purchased my first owner occupied 1br/1b condo in north Seattle for a short sale at 103k at the beginning of 2013. Before the sale of the home, I was informed that a large assessment was upcoming to remediate the building which was going to require at least 35k from each owner. Unfortunately, the project ended up being larger than anticipated after the sale of the home and resulted in around 60k per unit. I put in the initial payment of 35k which I budgeted for and had the rest of the payments on a monthly basis. I lived in the unit for a little over a year then ended up moving due to job relocation and have been renting out the unit for over 2 years now. I've been able to cover my mortgage+HOA, but my margins are pretty thin to none due to the unexpected project cost. My tenant is planning to move out in 6 months and I'm considering whether to sell now since the market has heated up. A few comps in the same building have had recent sales between 215-230k. Currently, I'm renting at 1.1k, but I could see the rental market near 1.3k if I continue to rent it out. It would certainly give me more cash flow margin, but I am paranoid about more assessments in the future and the market turning the other direction. This would be my first sale of a unit so I thought what better way but to reach out to more experienced investors who already have weighed this decision in the past.

Hi @Thomas Lam. Nice to see another new member in the Bay Area. I'm a fairly new to RE investing as well and I recently moved to the Bay Area. I would recommend researching your local market and understanding what type of property best works for you. Everyone's situation is different even as rookies like ourselves. You need to first ask yourself the question what type of property am I interested in investing in and why you believe it fits your investing goals. I'm learning more every day how investing requires careful planning and will always depend on the individual's goals. I'm a firm believer everyone has their own unique skill sets that they can use to their advantage.

I find that getting a good education is the first foundation in getting started. There's tons of content you can find on BP and books that you can read to learn. I've recently started going to REI meet ups and interacting with more experienced investors as a useful way to expand my knowledge. Good luck with your investment journey.