All Forum Posts by: Amy Kendall

@Eric Rodriguez Are you using the same lender for both the HELOC and the new investment property? In my experience, the waiting period can vary from bank to bank but they like to know the source of the money. Last year, I refinanced an investment property and pulled out some equity to use as the down payment on another investment. My lender did not require any amount of waiting before closing on the new property, because they were aware of the source of the money.

@Paul G. - I also like to invest in my local market, even when I know returns are potentially better elsewhere. I say go for it as long as it will align with your long term goals. If you are looking to move faster and acquire more units, you may want to consider only putting 20% down. This will boost your CoC return and leave you with a $5,000 headstart for your next property. Just a thought. Best of luck to you!

Since you only have the rental listing agreement on one of the two units, I would suggest you start by listing the other unit and managing it yourself if you are willing to do so.  If you are up for doing the screening and management by yourself, you will be able to learn much more about your rental market.  In addition, by talking with potential tenants directly, it will help you quickly determine what exactly is preventing the unit from being rented.  If you can get the one unit rented quickly, it will help with your upcoming mortgage payment.  If you receive a lot of interest, you could also possibly fill your other vacancy as well by waiting until after Sept. 30 when your agreement expires. 

I manage all of my rental properties and a few for other investors as well.  I usually start advertising for tenants well before we close on our loan.  On our last rental property, I was able to bring a signed lease to the bank two weeks before our closing date.  There are many reasons to manage your own rental properties, but being able to fill vacancies when and how I choose is definitely one of the greatest benefits to me.

@Alexander Stephenson you have some interesting points, and I have read articles similar to this before.  I am certainly not qualified to provide the most educated answer to this, but I have given it some thought.  My opinion is that I certainly don't have any control over inflation or extreme hyper-inflation.  All I can do is invest my money wisely within our current system and hope for the best.  I feel that RE gives a great opportunity to hedge my investment from reasonable inflation, especially because I leverage money and pay back my loans with tomorrow's dollars.  What would interest me more would be what happened to RE investors and property owners in Germany after the currency reset?  Did their wealth survive such an event?

Welcome Scott!  I am a local investor as well.  Most of my units are in Utah county, and I am still actively working on building my portfolio as well.  I know a lot of other investors that are still finding good cash flowing properties in Salt Lake county.  I always enjoy talking about investing and can tell you about what I have seen working in our current market.  Good luck and let me know if you would like to meet up sometime!

I have never myself had a good experience with a home warranty.  I have negotiated many into many deals, because for some unknown reason, it makes some people feel safe ( most likely because the client has no experience with them yet)   I have had multiple clients who have had issues a few months in and we even provide inspection reports saying things were working, we can't get them to cover replacing.  On top of that, you have to pay a "service fee" to get someone ( someone the warranty company has designated) to come diagnose the problem. I haven't had a good experience with any of them, I always give my clients the examples I have had experience with and let them choose for themselves. I don't negotiate them into my own personal contracts anymore....

Just out of curiosity, how did you come up with your offer price? Is the building damaged by fire or flood?  Are there major issues with the property that you have knowledge of? Have you already discussed that offer price with the listing agent?  There may be something I am missing here too so take this with a grain of salt. 

I agree with what has been said, they want to know how serious of a buyer you are, and how far ahead you have thought. You may be able to secure a property with serious intent, but that is a seriously low offer.  I am not saying it isn't possible for you to secure it, just want to play devils advocate for a moment.

Put yourself in the sellers shoes for a moment though, if you were the seller (I know this is a REO, but I have done many REO deals and believe me, the notion that they just want to "get it off their books" has not been my recent experience, especially recently), if someone came to you with an offer for $180K when you were asking $300K, would you not think: "wow I could prob drop my price on the mls to $250K and see what happens." Not saying it wouldn't happen, just if they have an agent already they are probably going to advise the seller to do something like this vs take an offer that low. I hate to be such a downer, but that agent has a fiduciary responsibility to that seller, even if it is REO.

I would love some advice from people who have had experience with Airbnb, and VRBO in Provo, UT.  I have spoken to a couple of folks who have done it, and it seems like an interesting way to increase cash flow in a market that is increasingly getting tighter.  I have still been able to maintain my margins even in this tight market, but I would love to own a few vacation rentals in areas where I travel frequently.  I am under contract on a home in Provo and the numbers work well for a long term, but I wanted to explore doing a nightly rental.  I would love to hear any experiences any of you have had on this!!

I have some others, are you only looking for a multi-family?

Yes, FIG is doing those in AF by Oakwood, and yes they are sold out.