All Forum Posts by: Andrew Powers

I'd say it's still a factor due holiday season. But probably helps with the warmer weather!

Hi Ronnie, having little or no money to invest forces creativity. Like you said, you've seen ways that other investors have funded deals and you already have some ideas like working more hours. Write down all the options you come across as you think things through, read, listen to podcasts, search the forums. There's dozens of ways. As humans we easily forget things so having them written down is a tool to help us remember instead of relying on our humanly forgetful brains. 

When an opportunity arises, look at what you wrote down, and dig into each method for how to make the deal work. Or work the other way to target methods of financing, and find deals that align with it.

Seems like you have a good problem! Either way you should be getting your attornies involved so I suggest to start there.

Yes look into BRRRR for the property you have (the B is already done). Be sure on the numbers, if you don't know, ask your realtor for ARV and contractors for rehab cost. HELOC can work as well. I suggest a forum search and talk to multiple lenders to compare the options.

Consider timeline as well. BRRRR will take longer (need 6 month of ownership for most lenders... seasoning), but you may be able to capture more equity depending on rehab cost.

Either way it seems like you are in a good position to apply equity in your property to another property!

Congrats on the house! That's really good prices for a room, my area is around 500 per room. I recommend looking at the market for room available. FB and Craigslist are good places to check. Compare the amenities, location, quality of room/house to yours and adjust from there. Also I suggest doing some test ads to see the demand and change price accordingly. For example, if you end up getting 30+ candidates reaching out, increase the price. Keep in mind this time of year is not great for onboarding tenants so test ad data may be skewed.

Depending on seller situation, see if they agree to dividing the properties into 2 plots. There may be complications with lot layout or some other factor which is why it's 1 deed. If they don't agree, talk to the town about feasibility of splitting the plots.

I can think of reasons but curious why you want to split the plots for this deal?

I recommend talking to banks to confirm your strategy. 

Can you find another roommate? Someone you know, Craigslist, FB?

When I moved to Michigan a few years back, I had to find roommates and a property to rent, knowing nobody. I went through that pain but it I was able to apply learnings to my rent by room house hack a couple years later. 

Some tips:

-I use Craigslist to find roommates with a "room available" or "looking for roommates" ad. In the ad I give a brief background about me / the other roommates to give candidates an idea about who they would be living with, but do not bias when selecting final candidate. (FB marketplace works as well).

-screening process is same between normal rental and room rental.

-the lease is gospel. It can be same as a normal rental lease, with tweaks for roommates. And you can use a roommate agreement form as well. Things like keeping common areas clean and clutter free, wash dn dry dishes within xx hours of use, guests can stay a max of xx hours, etc.

I've never had an issue finding roommates in metro Detroit. Seems like most people looking for rooms are under 35. Every ad I post gets at least a dozen initial responses . My suggestion would be to post a test ad on Craigslist to gauge demand. Keep in mind this time of year is really slow for onboarding renters but it can still give you an idea.

 I agree. Calculate your debt and make a plan for how to eliminate/reduce. Calculate your current monthly expenses, see what can be eliminated or reduced, calculate your new monthly number, and plan how to achieve. 

What is more important for your first / next property?

If you purchase more than 1 property, you can have both. Invest in both areas you consider have good cashflow and good appreciation potential. No one can accurately predict the future without risk that's why diversification is key