All Forum Posts by: Alexander Straffin

 Thank you so much for the breakdown on this. I appreciate you clarifying the differences for me. I will be digging into each of these items. 

I guess as far as risk mitigation goes, I'm trying to learn as much as possible while reducing the likelihood of hitting an insurmountable roadblock. Your comments about inspections and risk from an experienced view point make sense.

Thank you for the insight.

Hi All,

I am having a hard time executing my primary rental strategy with these mortgage rates, and I am exploring other opportunities.

I have recently been looking into buying land and dropping a pre-fab on a slab to get the feel for construction projects with the lowest risk possible.

I am curious if you have any recommended resources for getting started in development/construction projects specifically for real estate investment. I'm looking for any guidance I can get as I have been struggling a bit learning the ropes (not as easy as buying a condo and hiring a property manager) :).

Apologies if there are a ton of posts just like this one, but I couldn't seem to find a good starting point via search.

Thanks in advance!

- Alex

@Anna Laud

This was incredibly helpful, and exactly what I needed.

After your post I looked into Land Contracts and found that with some simple modifications this met my needs perfectly.

I was able to find a number of free Templates online and customize them for the deal type.

I am very interested in monetizing the property without destroying it's natural beauty (completely untouched/undeveloped) so ideas like a campground, or cabins have been tossed around. Maybe we'll just toss a cabin on it for ourselves and use it to get away from the world like my parents did. 🙂

Thank you so much for the insight. Land Contract was the key for me.

Hello all,

My brother and I inherited some land in Vermont from our late grandmother. We have come to a verbal agreement as to how I am going to buy him out of his share.

The deal is that I will pay a sum of money on a note that he holds tied to another asset over the course of two years, and when complete we will execute a quitclaim deed assigning full ownership to me.

I am looking for advice about formalizing this agreement in the best way possible so we are both bound to the terms of the agreement.

Is there a standard for this type of transaction? I can find the legal boilerplates and can get some assistance in properly executing the agreement, but I am not sure where to start. We would like to avoid involving lawyers if possible.

Any guidance with regard to the type of agreement we should use would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi All,

I am working to purchase my first investment property (single family home) located in Vermont from a family member.

The home is appraised at roughly $50k more than purchase price. I have been working with Rocket Mortgage (Quicken Loans) and they are accepting this "Gift Of Equity" as a 20% down payment to make this a $0 cash purchase and no PMI *fist pump*. We have already discussed the IRS forms etc and figured out the basics.

I have several questions as I have never even considered buying from family.

1. Do we have to have a real estate agent?

My brother has an agent that has listed the property and has been unsuccessful selling the property to date which is why he has to unload it to me. Is he obligated to pay this agent even though he has been unsuccessful selling and I buy the property? Is there a way out of this? Seems like giving 6% to the dude for failing would be lame.

2. Closing

Is there any additional complexity that I need to consider, or can we just find any closing agent/lawyer to help us through the process. Anyone have any experience with this type of thing? Any special considerations that need to be made? I have estimated closing costs to be roughly $2,000 out of pocket if we pick a local guy. Am I way off? I will call around after the holiday.

3. Rocket Mortgage

Does anyone have goo/bad experiences with  these guys? They are making the process very easy but I want to make sure that I'm not going down the wrong path. Are there any hidden fees or items you can point out from experience? Is it normal to "over estimate" closing costs for running preliminary numbers?

4. Gift of Equity Mortgage

Is it true that the total amount of the mortgage is the appraised value, then the Gift of Equity is taken off as a down payment? In order for this to count as a down payment that sort of makes sense. I just don't want to setup a P&S stating that Ill pay $50k more than the actual purchase price if that is not how it is supposed to be done.

5. Family Purchase Tips or Tricks?

Any tips or tricks I should be aware of for purchasing from family? I will be heading up there after the purchase and sale is executed to get a proper inspection etc. I plan on making the purchase and sale agreement contingent on no major repairs required over $10k or something. Is that about right?

I'm super excited to get this done and joining your experienced ranks!

Thanks all!

- Alex

Hi All,

I have a single mortgage on a townhouse which is my primary residence.

My wife and I are ready to purchase a Single Family investment property in Massachusetts but our bank is telling us we need to have 25-30% down! We would like to purchase the home as a rental property, so moving in to get FHA/Primary Residence isn't going to work.

Are there any other tricks to skirting the +25% down payment without taking on partners?

Are there any banks that you know of that will give a good mortgage on a SFR rental if you can prove that it will cash flow?

Thanks!

- Alex

Hey @Kevin Degnan!

I am also new to the site and wanted to welcome you.

There is an incredible amount of information here and so far everyone I've interacted with has been amazing. 

I have considered doing exactly what you are referring to (since I am still finding my starting strategy) in different areas around here. I think that the margins are slimmer and the time tables are longer. Very interested if that turns out to not be the case. :)

Welcome, and I look forward to seeing you around the forums!

- Alex

Thanks @Account Closed! :)

I've been having a hard time tagging on my mobile devices.

I'm sure its probably user error.

I am interested in Multis. I think that it is the most logical place for me to start given my current situation and goals. Im in the "figure out how to do it" stage. Learning about Hard Money and Private money and how I can use that to purchase a property but potentially refinance out of it for a Buy & Hold property like a Multi-Family.

Not sure if anyone is going to be willing to give me enough money to pick up a 4-unit without experience or 20-30% down, but I'm going to have to figure it out.

Any gems you want to share?? haha

Looks like I will be able to make it to the Chelmsford event. Are you guys going?