All Forum Posts by: Andrew Pierson

Quote from @Vince Scipione:

I am just a short drive in scranton/pocono mountains wish I could assist you. However I do not have access to their MLS, as well as I am unable to service that area effectively for my clients.

I could get you in touch with an investor savvy agent out that way to assist you if you would like, just let me know. 

Dont mean to change topics, but I have been considering investing in east stroudsburg in student housing. How have you made out with that?

If you could get me in contact with anyone out there that would be great! I have a duplex and single-family at East Stroudsburg that I purchased right before interest rates spiked so I am comfortably at a 3.125% interest rate on the two properties. Overall, I felt that the Borough is relatively fair on Landlords. I had a situation where both tenants were late on payments, and I had to go to court to evict and found the Borough to be fair on their decision. Rents are really good there; I am getting 2,000/mo for a 3-br 1 ba. The one downside I've heard from my family who went to school there are that the homes don't appreciate in value much there so the only value in my eyes is to find a great deal to flip or to rent it out long-term. For me it was tough to find a deal worth investing in, but I got lucky finding someone willing to offload his portfolio who was tired of doing it. But again, I bought the homes for the same price he purchased them for in 2009, which may be a lucky deal I struck but like I said, they don't go up in value there. But I'd be happy to discuss more with you if you'd like!

Hi BP,

My wife is doing a 1-year residency at the St. Joseph's Hospital in Reading, PA and we were looking for a good place to live for that one year. I have a few properties in East Stroudsburg that I bought, and I want to do something similar here where I buy, rehab, live, then move out once she is done. I am from NJ, and she is from Philadelphia, so we don't have a clue of the market over there. Is there an agent/investor that I could get in contact with that could guide me? We think Pottstown looks interesting compared to what else is out there, but I would like to know more about what is within 30 minutes of Reading.

Hello,

I’m a young investor currently renting out two properties in Eastern Pennsylvania. I’m about to relocate to Ocean County, NJ, specifically around the Howell/Brick area, due to my fiancé’s one-year medical residency.

I’m interested in investing in a single-family home or duplex that I could live in for about one to three years, ideally within a 15-mile radius of Jersey Shore and Newark Beth Israel hospitals. I’m not very familiar with the local market and would love any insights on promising neighborhoods for living and investing.

I successfully acquired both of my current properties off-market without the help of realtors, but I'm feeling a bit stuck on how to navigate the Ocean County market. I'm looking for distressed properties in need of rehab, with a budget of around $250,000 for a loan, along with my own cash to invest in renovations over the next year. Ideally, I'm seeking homes with 2-3 bedrooms and at least 1.5 bathrooms.

From my research, I find Howell appealing as a potential location, but I’m open to other suggestions. If anyone has expertise in this area or can provide guidance, I’d greatly appreciate it. I plan to start a deep dive into off-market deals in the next couple of months, aiming to occupy the property by July of next year. I’m not in a rush, but I’m eager to learn more about the local market.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hi BP,

I recently just partnered with a seasoned investor on a package deal that will include a single family and a duplex. My partner is helping me for the sole purpose of getting my foot through the door as he is also a contractor who can help me save some costs with fixing both places up. The relationship is good and all I need to do at the end is buy out his portion of the partnership at the end if I want to obtain 100% ownership. My question is these properties are off-market and my thought process was to buy with cash than refinance but my partner is looking for me to get a mortgage on it. What would be the best approach through a mortgage for two properties located in the same town for someone like me who doesn't currently own any yet at the moment. 

Hello BP,

I have recently graduated college and I'm working as a government employee. I was in the process of putting letters together to send to a bunch of non-owner occupied homes in the area I want to get started in. My question is when I do get a call back from someone who wants to discuss it to me, is it possible to do a primary loan when most cases I see the deals being done with cash or hard money. In my case I would like to take advantage of first time homebuyer grants and hoping there are mortgage programs out there for government employees. If yes, what is a negotiating strategy you would recommend or a talking point I should use in my letters that would differentiate me from another person to the biggest extent possible?

Thank you.

Hi BP,

I created an account on foreclosure.com and was wondering if it is feasible to attempt to purchase houses that way. Does anyone have experience with it and what do you look for when looking to bid on a house at auction. Is there a way to get these houses before they hit auction? What is everyone's recommendations for it. 

So I am still new to real estate and I am trying to learn as much as I can before I get into it. I ran into a family friend that owns 50 properties and he usually buys old properties and rehabs them to turn them into rentals. He has offered to assist me with getting my first property. I am looking at it as an opportunity to pick his brain but I am not quite sure what to ask. I am wondering if you were first starting out and you had someone who can be a book of knowledge and experience for you how would you approach it? I am also interested in a specific market he has a ton of insight into as well. 

Hi, there is an area I want to invest in that has low ARV values but high rental income. This would be my first property and I am looking into creative ways to make it work. The monthly cash flow is well over 2,000/month with mortgage, rehab, and miscellaneous expenses factored in. But I can't cover rehab costs due to me not being able to pay off rehab loans with a refinance. Would a partnership be the most viable option here? And if so, what is the recommended approach when looking for a partner to cover rehab costs while I would cover the rest including the mortgage, property management, and rehab work? Would a long-distance partner make the most sense in this situation? And how would you go about approaching a long-distance investor for a partnership?

Hi, I am new to real estate and I am looking to buy my first property that I discovered in my local area. It is a duplex that needs about 100k of rehab work and I can buy it for 120-130k. My question is that I want to take advantage of all the low down payments and down payment assistance that I can. I was told that an FHA Rehab loan is complicated and tricky. I am also able to get a loan for 5% down with no PMI for the purchase of the property. This is interesting to me but I am currently thinking over the best option to get the finances needed to rehab the property. One thought I had was to get a hard money loan from a local investor and pay them back 10% interest over a year and refinance to pay them back. However, I am a little confused on that process as like I said before I've never done this so I am learning as I go.

Does anyone have any tips on how to finance a deal like this?