All Forum Posts by: Alex Stewart

You have come to the right place! I would recommend you read, read, read in this forum as it is a wealth of knowledge. Additionally, don't be afraid to dive in after a couple months and buy your first rental. There is simply no substitute for the knowledge you will gain from the first unit you obtain. 

I wouldn't necessarily agree. First of all, I am not sure of your situation, but you certainly wouldn't want leave a unit vacant in order to shoot for a better rental window. Additionally, I have found that folks in January and February are much more serious and therefore while you may have slightly lower quantity, you will have better quality in terms of tenants looking to move forward in the process, so it's a wash.

I think with any contractor list regardless of source, due diligence is key. Make sure you ask for references, and monitor the quality of their work with smaller jobs before trusting them with anything large if possible.

This continues to perpetuate the opportunity rich climate we currently operate in. I have no doubt that years from now, we will look back and wish we had secured more debt at these incredible rates.

I am looking for some input on a refinance deal that I have on the table for 4 rental properties I currently own free-and-clear. Do these terms look competitive with what you are getting? Thanks in advance!

Loan Type: Cash-Out Refinance

Number of Properties in Loan: 4

Interest Rate: 4.75% Fixed

Points Pre-Paid: 0.5%

Term: 10 years

Amortization: 20 years

LTV: 70%

Closing Costs: $1,000 each plus $350 for appraisal.

Originally posted by @Darsh Patel:

Hi Everyone, 

I wanted to get the community's thoughts on a debate I am having. I can buy a rental property at either a 30 year or 15 year fixed mortgage. The 15 year obviously means that I pay the property off faster but it also means that I have a larger monthly payment and thus have less cash flow month to month. Is it better to do the shorter mortgage and sacrifice the present cashflow or take the longer mortgage and generate more cash flow? 

 I think a big piece of the equation is to know your own spending habits. For an incredibly disciplined investor the 30 year would be the way to go as it allows you to maintain leverage longer and also a lower payment to allow for reinvestment. I think most people fall into the trap though of not reinvesting the added cashflow benefit of a 30 year mortgage. So it ultimately comes down to knowing your fiscal discipline level. 

For example, I don't leave cupcakes in my house because I know I can't go without eating them. I know I don't have that food discipline haha. Good luck!

Originally posted by @John Horner:

Is there a reason you don't want to refi it with a regional bank?  

 John- I don't have a problem with using a regional bank at all. Part of my hope from this posting was to attract a contact for any banker that could do this kind of deal. If you know someone, your help would be appreciated!

Anticipated Value: ~$150k

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2

Square Footage: 1708

Rent: $1,199

We have a well-seasoned (held for 3.5 years) single-family home in a desirable part of Columbus, Ohio that we own free and clear. We are looking to introduce some leverage into our portfolio and are seeking a financing partner that can provide favorable note terms on this asset. We have tax returns showing a nice profit and this property has performed extremely well for us. We simply want to access some equity since we own it currently without a mortgage. Let me know if you have any questions!

All, I wanted to get some feedback on starting a real estate "buy and hold" investment fund. I have been in this business successfully for a while (25 single-family units with massive cash flow over 6 years) and think this could present an opportunity to take things to the next level. I have been approached by a few different friends with interest in passively investing in real estate through me and I had previously declined because to this point I have only managed my holdings and was not set up to handle outside investment. I self-manage all of my units currently with the help of trusted contractors. What is a smart way I can raise a round of capital to purchase a block of investment properties I can manage for outside investors? Thanks in advance!

I would put down the Allure laminate flooring from home depot. It is inexpensive, looks good, and is pretty close to indestructible which is critical in rentals.