All Forum Posts by: Andrew Thomas

@Adam D Rinehart - Really good information for me to add to the mental database.  :)

I like the "split payments" idea. If they want the split payment option, do you require the tenant to set this up as some kind of auto draft / online payments?

Also liked the thoughts regarding a two year lease / painting a room. I can see how that would make them more likely to stay long-term, reducing vacancy/turn-over expenses.

Growing up, my dad had an indoor cat. Once my little brother was born, they had to keep the cat outside because it started "marking it's territory".    >8'(   Nasty stuff!  Good idea about the fish tanks also... if it broke / leaked, I guess that could ruin wood / laminate floors, or even cause mold in the walls.

Thank you for taking the time to reply! :) 

@Adam D Rinehart - nice listing! The previous owner spent some time / money in there... nice tile floor and granite counter tops aren't free. :) 

Looking at your rental listing, I had a couple of questions, if you don't mind me asking. :)  I'm trying to get a better grasp of "best practices" for owning / managing rentals. :) 

Lease Terms: Long Term, One Year, Section 8, Six Months - does that mean "long term" for one year, and "Section 8" for six months, or does that mean, "Hey, as long as you pay on time, we're easy to get along with... two year lease, annual, Section 8, or short-term of six months... whatever you prefer, Mr/Mrs Tenant..." ? 

Pet Deposit: I like the non-refundable deposit, plus the monthly "pet rent" income.

A friend has kids, and they currently have three dogs, a rabbit, fish, a turtle in the house (not to mention the three ducks and six chickens for fresh eggs... of course, those stay in the back yard). So, do you have a limit on the number of pets?   :) lol

"Cats on a case by case basis". What is your "guideline" to determine if a specific cat is allowed?

@Michael Lopez congrats on your new venture! I'm following this thread, because I am in a similar situation, and i think the suggestions you received may be helpful for me as well.

@Michael Giuffre - Yup... ya pronounced it like you's a local feller! :-) lol 

It's funny to hear "out-of-towner's" pronounce things. I remember when I first moved to NW GA for a previous employer. I was looking at a map, trying to get familiar with the region. I had moved from SE Texas.

I grew up near "Hugh-ston", Texas, and Georgia also has a Houston, but pronounced "house-tin".

In Louisiana, there's a city named Lafayette ("Laff-ee-yet" or if you're Cajun, "Loff-i-yae-ette"), but over here, it is "Luh-fay-ette", Georgia.  :-) lol

I'm in Bartow also. :) 

If y'all would be interested, I'd be happy to connect with you guys to build a network. I have an agent and PM, but still looking for other members of the Core Four (lender, contractor), as well as backups (agent / PM), in case the primary isn't available, etc. 

So, do you pronounce it "May-retta", or "Mary-etta"? :) lol 

I'm just up the road from Marietta, in Bartow County. :) 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $96,000
Cash invested: $2,880

Personal residence, for now. In 2022, planning to convert to LTR when we become empty-nesters, b/c wifey wants to wait until then to move for a new owner-occupy investment. Until then, looking for BRRRR deals in our area, and long-distance BRRRR deals. We are VERY new to the idea of REI, and are saving up funds, and learning as much as possible.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My cardboard box hovels kept leaking, the van down by the river got washed away in a flood, and I got evicted from under the railroad bridge. After I checked out of the Roach Motel, I decided to buy a house. :)

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We rented it about 5 years. Over time, we figured out she and her husband were the owner / landlord / PM.

Decided to purchase from the landlord. The PM was also the REA, and the spouse of the owner. I knew zero about real estate (and had zero interest in REI, due to some bad experiences in the past.)

I feel they gave us a fair deal. They didn't charge us standard commission, as she was the "buyer's agent", and her husband was the seller. Also sold below market.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan, 3% down, owner-occupy, 30 year fixed mortgage. 

How did you add value to the deal?

They bought it as a foreclosure or short sale, not sure. We rented about 5 years, and paid down their mortgage, then decided to buy. Tried to treat the house "like our's", even while renting... fixed minor issues ourselves, didn't ask for repair credits, paid on time, etc. Tried to make it easy to be our PM / landlord.

What was the outcome?

We have PR at below market price, and future rental house. The previous owner / REA pulled MLS comps last month, and estimates it is worth about $155k. We bought for $96k about 2.5 years ago, owe $88k. Based on that, we have $65k-ish equity. Plan to have her be our PM / REA for local deals.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Find good REI mentors. Build an experienced, trustworthy REI team. Don't over-improve your personal residence if you plan to use as future rental... Almost built shop and lean-to add-ons. Build credit - I followed Dave Ramsey for years, which is great if you have zero financial training, but made it hard to get a mortgage for my personal residence, and would be nearly impossible for REI / BRRRR investing.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

NW GA REA and PM - Molly Schultz

Training -
Kevin Paffrath / MeetKevin - Podcast #357 - his upbeat, earnest personality got me interested in RE, and his REI course helped me gain a foundation for basic REI concepts, which in turn, lead me here to BiggerPockets

BP, of course - "all y'all", as we say down South  :)

@Brandon Turner - Podcast #(fill in the blank... he's done a bunch) - the man, the myth, the legendary beard
@David Greene - Podcast #327 - the BRRRR-ista Extraordinaire

Chattanooga is not quite "backyard", but closer than some of the other "long distance" markets for BRRRR. I'm in Bartow County (GA), but I have DJ'd in Chattanooga several times, so I ain't skeered of the drive. :) lol

I am new to BP, and to BRRRR... no deals yet, but my wife and I are looking around various REI markets, including Chattanooga. I just sent connection requests to a couple of people in this thread, if that's ok.

Originally posted by @Adam D Rinehart:

... However, I'm under contract now on a 4/2 1,800 sf SFR that's a converted duplex. It's in amazing condition that I could rent out from day one but am repainting, putting new appliances in and changing the floor plan so that the floor plan is more single family friendly than it currently is. The market rent in the area is $1.20/sf which would put it around $2,150 a month and has an ARV of $220k. This is a gentrifying area inside the loop that's 7 minutes from downtown and has a strong pool of HHA voucher holders looking for 4+ bedrooms homes to rent, so the high cost is largely offset by the housing assistance voucher. Seriously, the pictures below are the kitchen and living room areas. This thing is a unicorn in terms of condition/location/price.

I'm new to BP, but I hope it is ok to just comment on a thread to give you a "thumbs up". I really like this kitchen, especially the LED under-cabinet lighting and the counter tops. Is that granite, or a "faux stone" finish? 

I grew up in SE Texas, and lived in Jefferson and N Harris counties for the first 30 years of life. Thankfully, we left Kingwood before the massive floods. Our previous neighborhood / community was under water in 2019. :-( 

Currently living in ATL, but I'm looking at either Houston or DFW metro areas for future BRRRR deals, as much of ATL seems to be too high priced to successfully do BRRRR.

Anyway, again, I think your kitchen looks sweet!

@Steven Cobb - RE: your original question about David Greene doing 1-2 BRRRR's per month, and "how did he refinance that soon?"

As I understood it from comments he made in a different podcast (or maybe in the BRRRR book), he is at the point where he is starting (and finishing) multiple BRRRR projects at one time. So, the "seasoning" lockup(s) would also end on multiple projects at the same time, on a rolling calendar, so to speak. 

For example, 
Jan - A1, A2 - purchased these two houses the first month
Feb - B1, B2 - purchased / A1, A2 rehab
Mar - C1, C2 - purchased / B1, B2 rehab / A1, A2 ready to rent
Apr - D1, D2 - purchased / C1, C1 rehab / B1, B2 in rehab / A1, A2 rented
May - E1, E2 - purchased / D1, D2 rehab / C1, C2 in rehab / B1, B2 rented / A1, A2 refi done, "seasoning lockup / countdown" begins
Jun - F1, F2 - purchased / E1, E2 rehab / D1, D2 in rehab / C1, C2 rented / B1, B2 refi done / A1, A2 cash flow, wait for countdown to expire
Jul ===> ad infinitum ... repeat, using the "unlocked" money from prior generations to fund future deals.

Then again, I could be totally misunderstanding what he said. :) lol