All Forum Posts by: Ashley St. Gelais

Hey @Bryan Blancke!

Welcome to the wild world of REI. So the easiest way to get an idea for rental rates is to see what an agent has imputed into the MLS system if the property is already a rental.

As you probably have already realized, some units are under rented.  To get a better idea of what rents go for in your investing area area, I'd suggest using the search feature on craigslist. 

Start out by researching 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartments. Just like with anything there will be a range of prices, some really crappy and some really nice...  Find your average rental rate by adding up all the results that come on the first page and divide by the total number of units on that same page.  It'll give you a base line of where to go from there.

When we are looking at new property (which seems like always) we tend to estimate on the low side just to be safe. Then once we own the property if we can rent it for more - even better.

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if there are any other questions I can help you out with.  And as always, I'd love to connect on here. : )

Ashley

Hey @Jonathan Davis!

Congrats on researching  a new possibility!

When it comes time for you to buy your next property, you'll have to report to the bank any real estate owned and any liens against the property.

One benefit of owner financing for you, is that perhaps your family will owner finance it to you with little to no money down. Which means more money in your pocket for the next property.

Keep in mind that some traditional financing loans require that you have 2 years rental history as a landlord.

So be sure to research your options with a local lender before you decide to go with owner financing or not. You'll want to know any specifics with your lender that may impact your decision to go one way or another.

Please let me know if you have any other questions! And as always, I'd love to connect on here. : )

Ashley

Thanks @Ceasar Blackman!

My first deal was actually the only one we lost money on...  I bought a condo for $165,000 on the river in Winooski.  Didn't cash flow positive when we ended up renting it out and sold it for less than I bought it for 7 years earlier...

I'd say the best deal was using FHA financing to purchase a duplex with 3.5% down. ROI on that duplex is amazing for so little money down!

Ashley

@Sheila Wooten

Let me PM you! : )

@Sheila Wooten

Thanks!

Any chance you want to learn more about it?

2 investment opportunities in up and coming college town a short distance from Burlington, Vermont.

We are searching for long term partners to purchase these properties.  

We offer on the ground management, acquisition and deal sourcing.

You provide the cash and get direct deposits of the cash every month to your bank account.

We split the properties/proceeds 50/50 and own the property in an LLC.

ROI range between 6.31% and 9.2% after the split.

We currently have identified 2 properties and have the analysis ready to go.

Cash investment needed is $58,000 and $76,750 respectively.

Please give me your email address and questions so I can send you more info!

Hey @Account Closed!

Thanks for the reply.  I'm not actually a real estate agent. I am excited to share our investing story with other people who might want to copy our strategies.

Interested in joining the webinar?

Thanks,
Ashley

Hey BP community,

I am looking to connect with a few good, honest financial advisors who can help clients take a look at all the benefits of real estate investing and how it could impact their life.  I am specifically looking for fee only financial advisors who don't have the pressure of needing to sell a certain product to put enough food on the table...

Any suggestions, advice or connections any one can help out with?

Thanks,
Ashley

So I became obsessed with rental producing properties...

When we were looking for a long term home for our family in 2010, I stubbornly insisted that we focus on duplexes or single family homes with accessory apartments.

Single families with accessories was specifically what I wanted to target because of the lending programs that allow only 5% down as opposed to 20-25% down.

We found this home in Essex Junction.  It was in foreclosure and needed a little bit of work.  So my handy husband and I bought it up.  Made small improvements like paint, added a huge deck for the apartment over the garage and fixed the small issues that the city had with the property, like removing a strip of pavement that was 1' too wide.  (Picky I know, but we did what we had to in order to be compliant.)

We initially got a loan for 30 years, then refinanced it to a 20 year loan when the rates were really low in 2012.  Currently our PITI (principal, interest, taxes and insurance payment) totals just under $1,800/month.  Our apartment over the garage rents for $1,200.

So we 'are on the hook' for $600/month plus our own utilities...

And even better, we believe that if we ever wanted to rent out our side of the house, the property could cash flow positive about $1,000/month.

Lastly, because we got this at a great price and our improvements also increased the value, we were able to get a HELOC (home equity line of credit) against the home for $44K which was enough to fund our next multi family investment in Burlington.

Not so shabby.  How could a situation like this change your life?

So... If you want to know how we live in this house (that we own) and only pay $600/month... You've gotta be on my webinar tomorrow night at 7 pm EST. Here is the link (https://realestatefreedombiz.clickfunnels.com/webinar-registrationx7z22f3j) to register, and of course there will be a replay available for 2 days.  Just be sure to sign up so that you automatically get the replay link.

Plus, I'll be sharing all the down and dirty details of how we built a real estate portfolio worth $1.35M with just $35K of our own funds...

If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

: )

Ashley