All Forum Posts by: Anthony Venezia

Hi Ben, that's awesome that you're looking to do a house hack! That's definitely a great way to get into real estate investing. With that strategy in mind, your best bet is likely to get a conventional, owner-occupied loan so you can put as little as 3.5-5% down. Given the current market conditions, you could have an easier time getting an accepted offer if you target properties that have been on the market for 2+ weeks instead of going after properties that are fresh on the market. That could result in you needing to put some work into the property, but you could have more success by going away from the crowd.

I live and invest in the Greater Philly area and I'm also a licensed realtor. If you have any further questions or would like some help with your search, feel free to send me a DM so we can connect!

@Bjorn Ahlblad

Thanks for the insight!

I'm curious to get people's thoughts on buying urban area row homes as rental properties. I have one so far and am looking to continue the BRRRR strategy to build a portfolio of rentals. Eventually I would like to start to acquire detached SFH or small multi-family, but for now, my available funds stretch the furthest on row homes due to their lower price points.

Are row homes safe enough investments? Should I be concerned about other properties being on both sides of my property? Just curious to get other people's thoughts. Thanks for you time!

@Doug Crenshaw

Hey Doug, thanks for the insight! I have comps pulled for me by an agent so thanks for bringing the median number method to my attention.

I invest in a pretty dense area so comps within even a .5 mile radius are more ideal as values can differ depending on the street. Thanks again, have a great day!

Hello! I write this as a newbie who has just 1 rental so far. As I've been analyzing more deals lately to look for my 2nd deal, I've consistently had the toughest time estimating ARV.

I do have comps pulled for me to give me the best idea possible, but sometimes the comps fall within a 20-50k range depending on varying factors. I understand a range that wide can make the deal riskier with just not knowing where the ARV could really fall.

With that said, I’ve recently been using all the relevant comps (about 4-8 comps) to get an average price per square foot. I will then multiply that average by the price/sq ft in the subject property. I’m curious to get others thoughts on this method and any potential downfalls I could be missing. Also any other strategies to use that could be more accurate. Thanks for your time!

@Joe Aiola  thanks for the kind words! Yes, a lot of lessons were learned for sure. I already feel more confident about what to look for and how I'll be approaching my second deal. Exciting stuff and it's a cool feeling to see some reward for the hard work. Cheers!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $70,000
Cash invested: $102,000

This property is my first BRRRR. It's a 3-bed row home that I have rented out for $1,200/month. I am currently in the middle of the refinance to pull most of my cash back out.

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

I am looking to invest efficiently for cash flow right now. This deal is a base hit, but a great first deal where I learned a lot and I'll cash flow well with a good ROI, about 20%.

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

Found it on the MLS. I went to the open house where the seller was sitting there with the agent, kind of strange.. But anyway, the seller did a lot of talking and revealed her motivation to sell quickly. She was asking for 83k and it had been sitting for a few weeks. I offered 67k cash, she countered at 70k and we had a deal.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash purchase

How did you add value to the deal?

-Gutted and remodeled the kitchen
-Full new interior paint
-New light fixtures and ceiling fans
-Refinished hardwood floors
-New carpet upstairs

What was the outcome?

I am currently in the middle of the refinance. I am targeting an interest-only line of credit against my equity (100%) in the property. It just appraised for 105k. If I am able to do the LOC, my cash flow will be around $850/month. If I cannot secure a LOC and I do a cash-out refi, my cash flow (after principle & interest) will be around $450/month. These two separate outcomes will determine my ROI to be 20% or 38%.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Have a better, more efficient plan going into the rehab. That was my biggest downfall that I did not plan the rehab so it dragged out longer than it should have and I ended up wasting some money.

I also learned the important in backing into my numbers so I can hopefully pull out as much of my money as possible in the refinance.

Use the inspection report to further negotiate!!!

Hope everyone is staying healthy and sane during these crazy times!

So I have a situation relating to the U&O property transfer, or lack thereof, for my first rental property. I cash purchased the property back in December. The property was a little bit of a fixer upper but nothing crazy. Mainly cosmetic things. I'm largely done with the renovations but about a week ago I received a notice from the municipality that there was never a U&O completed prior to settlement.

In Norristown, PA, a U&O and Rental Application is required prior to living in or renting out the property. There was no mention of the buyer being responsible for U&O in the property description and absolutely no discussion of it with the seller and her agent throughout negotiations. With that said, my agent and I had assumed (you know what they say when you assume) that it was completed. I did not have a mortgage lender to catch this and as an inexperienced investor, this is definitely a lesson moving forward.

With a non-essential shutdown in PA currently, I am not able to have my property inspected for U&O until we resume normalcy. Therefore I cannot legally rent out my property. Thankfully, there is no mortgage against the property so holding costs are low, but I'd really like to market the property and get a lease signed ASAP to start cash flowing and also refinance since this is a BRRRR.

The seller's agent has already reimbursed me for the application fee and if there are any big issues to fix, I would have the seller and her agent pay for repairs (but this has not been agreed upon yet). I've been told to consult with an attorney on potential repair costs and/or lost rent in this period of limbo. Thoughts on this?

After all that, are there any suggestions for a potential way around this considering U&O inspections are currently on hold? 

Also, would I be wise to list the property anyway to be proactive and start to get it in front of prospective tenants? Or too soon with the uncertainty of when the property will actually be ready to rent out?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and thanks in advance for any feedback provided!!

To me a good location is one where the 1% rule applies. On top of that, I'm looking for low crime, fair rent vs. own ratio and an up and coming area preferably. Being as inexperienced as I am, I'm all ears for other factors that I should be looking into! I'd be more than happy to see what your questionnaire consists of. Feel free to send me a PM if you'd like and I can share my email address with you for sending the questionnaire. Thanks for your time!

Hi Antonio! Currently, I'm in process of closing on my primary residence. Really that's the main thing that is preventing me from taking action on an investment. After settlement, it will just come down to finding a deal that makes sense. My main criteria is good location and then being all in at around 70% of the ARV for a quality BRRRR.