All Forum Posts by: Andrew Dean

@Steven Davis I have been investing since 2015!  It was a great time to get into it.  What about you?  Provo is a great area! (If you can stomach the local government).  

@Cody Richard I used an FHA loan on a 4plex back in 2016 and it was a great tool. One of the requirements for an FHA loan is that the non-owner occupied rents of a fourplex or a duplex need to equal PITI. That doesn't apply to duplexes, as they count 75% of the rents towards your income. It's pretty difficult in the SLC market to get a 4plex with those kinds of rents that would qualify. Maybe in Ogden, Magna or Payson areas? But that's about it.

@David Fairall Great job!  That first step is the most important.  There's a lot of people on here that will read and analyze all day, but never do anything.  Keep it up!

@Amy Kendall That's a great strategy!  Constantly reviewing where you are at and re-evaluating where you want to be is super important and motivating.  Good luck getting to your next goal!

@Peter Rodriguez

I would like to second @Jaiden Olsen that you need to network.  Attend the meetings and meet like minded people.  Nothing is more valuable that a good real estate agent that has experience with investing and can analyze the numbers, knows the market and has a good team they can plug you in with.  Be careful though, there are a lot of agents that don't understand investing at all.  House hacking is definitely one of the best ways to start!  That's how I did it! Good luck!

Hi Jon,

Would love to connect.  I'll reach out soon.

Andrew

@Grant Keaton

Welcome!  One thing I've learned from being on here is that there are a LOT of passionate people that love to share knowledge and experience.  My wife and I are very active investors and can't talk enough about real estate investing with others.  My advice to you is to reach out to each person that is willing to help you achieve your goals.  Take advantage of the real estate investment associations that are here and meeting monthly.  You can learn a lot from those meetings and even more from networking with like minded people.  I've used some great lenders and find that there are only a handful of mortgage officers that truly understand the real estate investor's mind.  Let me know if you need any references! 

@Joe Partington Interested to see what happens with this one.  Sounds like a great opportunity

@Bill S. That actually is pretty similar to Utah.  Each county is different though, Salt Lake County is much more stringent than other counties.  When you test for meth, there are certified and uncertified tests.  The certified meth test costs over $1000.  The uncertified costs about $100, sometimes lower, sometimes higher.  I always do the uncertified tests as an investor because they're cheap but still will get the job done.  If it yields high results, then you need to start the mitigation process, which is great for a buyer.  They also trash all appliances and carpet, but not the furnace.  I didn't do my homework and didn't realize that the appliances were going to be trashed until after I closed, otherwise I would've negotiated better.  

There are companies that are half the cost that "mitigate" meth but it's not certified.  It's not reported to the health department so there's not a lot of oversight.  Some shady investors tend to do that to cut down on costs, and most get away with it.  

You did the right thing and I believe that will pay higher dividends in the long run.

@Joseph Hennis I sent you a PM last night that pretty much echos what @Ryan E. just said.  Just looking at those numbers for your Utah properties makes me wonder where they are, as the multi-family properties I'm looking at are all over $300k now.  I'm very curious to know where those properties are located as well.  

To answer your question, if I were you, I would look for duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes that cash flow better. Since you are a virtual investor, I wouldn't buy a property that needs to be fixed up, but one that is more or less turnkey. Mountain America Credit Union has a loan product that loans up to 90% LTV for any property up to $480k. So you if you find a nice updated fourplex that, say, rents out for $900/$1000 each and sells for $475k, then that would be a better investment, in my opinion. And all you would need is around $50k down. Of course, there are hundreds of other factors involved, but that is just an example of the numbers that I would be looking for if I were you. I wouldn't recommend jumping into anything bigger than a 10plex just yet. Those can be a lot more work and you may want to get some experience with a few 4plexes first. But you may be the super motivated investor that just wants to go for it, so more power to you if that's the case! I would also find a realtor that is connected in the Utah investor market that could walk you through a lot of it. Having someone on your side that has a current pulse of the market is priceless.

As far as flipping is concerned, since you are remote, it'd be more ideal for you to be a money partner and not involved.  There are quite a bit of flippers that look for money partners, but I would do my due diligence and find out how many flips they've been a part of. I wouldn't partner with anyone that is green and hasn't cut their teeth on real estate investing yet.   

I'm not a seasoned investor as I have only been doing this for about 4 years (yet to invest during a recession), but nevertheless, as you stated above, this is what I would do in your shoes. 

Harman Real Estate Academy.  Based out of Orem, UT.  They have a good online program.  

http://harmanrealestateacademy.com/