All Forum Posts by: Anna Buffkin

DITI ratios are for individuals.  If we both are on a loan, it affects both our DITI rather than just one.  We are both on the title as I do all the management and easier to be on title for that otherwise I need his permission to do just about anything from insurance to taxes and so on.  He carries most of our debt as I am mostly a stay at home mom, managing out rentals and a little accounting on the side.  

I joke that my husband is the silent credit partner.  He signs the loans and has veto power but real estate is not his passion.  I do all the day to day stuff. 

We have been married over a decade and have survived infant twins.  We commingle everything and are not worried about who owns what or who owes for what.  

@Brandon Graham Briargate's HOA fee is ridiculous. I have seen units in there for sale as low as $15k, and I still won't buy.

As a rule of thumb in Columbia, I look for condos with HOA fees under $200/ month. If they are near $200/ month, I expect them to at least cover water, sewer, trash, and basic insurance. Condos are great for cash flow, but not so great for appreciation or cash out refinancing (BRRR) method purchasing. I make more off of condos, but use the equity in my rental homes to grow.

Consider commercial financing with a local lender.  Some don't require seasoning. 

I get it. We all want to be completely prepared before going in.  The problem is real estate isn't really the step by step everyone wants it to be.  Like having kids, you can read every book and ask every parent you know, but mostly you figure it out on your own.  

That said,  the fact that you are thinking about GC and holding time puts you ahead of many of the newbies who come on here asking generic questions on how to get started with the change under their couch and no research.

Also, I looked at your profile page.  My husband is also a teacher.   He was at Lower Richland for years.  

 Very much agree with Jason. No money/low money investing is a lot different from having no money.  I would be looking for high paying work, side jobs,  sell my things, something.  Also make a budget and save.  

Read Dave Ramsey to get on track and learn to think thrifty and then The Richest Man in Babylon to understand how to build wealth.  You can get a lot of Dave Ramsey's advice online for free on his website similar to Biggerpockets, and The Richest Man in Babylon is so old its public domain and can be downloaded free.

Start investing. Worry about the name later. I didn't get an LLC until I already owned 8 properties. You will probably be borrowing in your own name anyway initially. You can talk to your attorney about your specific liability protection needs. Mine didn't see me needing the protection of an LLC until I grew larger but advised liability insurance.

To further answer your question, my company is Maid Stone Properties LLC. Maid Stone is the street of my first rental.

Brandon,

I think you are getting ahead of yourself.  Picking a contractor before you even have a have a property is like hiring the wedding  caterer before you even propose. 

Keep in mind, you don't buy and close instantaniously. You can pick any contractor to give you an inital bid to make sure the numbers work with a buffer built in. Between the initial acceptance and close firm things up.

Yes.  It's the 2 on Apple Valley.   

Most anything west of the river is ok to me.  I refuse to cross the bridge in the 29203 zip though.

@Shawn William 

I love no money down.  Virtually all my deals are with OPM; however, no money down and no money are two different animals.  I tend to use bank financing at 20-30% down and lines of credit for down payments.  I then refinance and get my money back as needed to pay off my lines of credit.  However, credit is extended based on a combination of credit history and income in most cases.  I have money in the bank and retirement accounts should things not go as planned, but in general, I put business expenses on credit and let the business pay them down and use my money on personal expenses.  

There is a huge misconception on BP that you can buy real estate with no money.  Those that are successful with this are few and far between.  To do this with no money you have to out hustle and out work virtually everyone else and then hope everything lands your way.  Buying is the easy part.  You know all the variables: purchase price, down payment, interest rate...  Once you own it, there is no warning for when the HVAC goes out during a heat wave or a tenant leaves in the middle the night.  I had to replace a roof and an HVAC in the same week in June. 

The other concern about being new with little cash is that you have relatively few properties to share the burden of expenses.  For example, I am running about a 9% maintenance expense ratio over all my properties, which is about average; however, one of my properties is running a 35% maintenance expense ratio (down from 52% in June and before CAPX as this is the unit that got the new HVAC as well).  I am not going to break even this year on this one; however, as a whole I expect to keep 15-18% of my rents after expenses.  

If you don't have enough saved for an FHA loan to house hack, I would keep savings. Otherwise, I would consider a multifamily house hack and use the rent savings toward future purchases.

 You and everyone else.  Joking.  Rosewood, the most desirable area near the campus, is red hot!  

I am closer to Greenville than Columbia, but my husband is from Columbia and I lived there for years.  So, we go with what we know.  I see you are from Piedmont.  Are you investing anywhere in the Upstate?