All Forum Posts by: Avery Rustad

@Mitch Messer Thank you for the informative reply. Do you think a first time buyer could get by with just the basic trial version?

As a newbie investor, actively seeking his first home, I believe that having accurate information going into my first purchase to be vital. My question is, for those who have the Rentometer Pro membership, do you think it would be worth the money for a new guy to buy? How different is the Pro membership from the "trial" estimates that anyone can see? 

@Jennifer Rullmann I currently am just doing as much reading and listening as I can at the moment as I am still in school. Therefore, I have not made my first investment yet. Nevertheless, I would like to believe based on the number of books I’ve read and podcasts I’ve listened to, that this would be a solid idea and something definitely worth pursuing.

If you go to the Network tab at the top of the page, you'll see a section for Hard Money Lenders where bigger pockets has partnered with three hard money lenders who you could discuss a deal with. Otherwise, you could always look to friends and family. 

One idea would be to include a flyer or pamphlet with the key details of the unit, eg; requirements for applying (such as credit score), photos of the unit, list of rules (no smoking, pets), and a place to write down questions. In those photos you can highlight the pros. If you have hardwood or vinyl flooring, make a note that the tenant will have an easier time cleaning up a spilled drink. You can even have an application folded up inside the pamphlet in case they would like to take one home or even sign it there. You could have a folder for them to put their application right next to these pamphlets. (in terms of creating a sense of urgency and competition for completing the application, you could even fill out some fake applications and create your own stack, although I am not sure of the legalities of doing so). 

Hope you find some use in these ideas :)

Hello Alex, while I cannot directly provide you with a contractor, there is a tab on the BP website for just this. If you look under the Network tab, you'll see a Contractors section. Once you click on that, you can select the services you need in your area and it will bring up a list of reputable contractors to complete your requests.

Hope this helps :)

It doesn't necessarily defeat the purpose. If you are fine contributing to part of the mortgage, you are most likely saving some money on your own rent, as well as gaining equity in the property each year as well as having natural appreciation and tax deductions like depreciation work to build long term wealth, so it's not a terribly bad thing to pay some of your mortgage if you have another job to bring in cash to pay for your lifestyle. 

I guess it depends on the timing of things. If your lender is funding you because you have a good DTI right now, but then you take up another deal, the lender is put in a higher risk position because your DTI ratio increases. This could affect the deal. I would just ask your FHA lender if taking up another deal with a hard money lender would put your current investment at risk or even read through the terms of the loan and see if there is anything that says you can or cannot purchase another property from another lender.

To try to answer question number 1, one factor the bank will look at is your debt-to-income ratio. Depending on whether or not you're allowed to include your rental income here, you may or may not have issues. If you do, you could always search for a portfolio lender or go the private money route. 

2. Putting them inside an LLC is not a terrible idea if you're fine with the added paperwork. If not, you're not going to have a ton of equity in the properties for the first few years so lawyers will be reluctant to try to seize these properties anyway.

3. I am not certain on how to force market rent, but forcing appreciation can be done fairly easily. I would recommend reading the book on BRRRR investing by David Greene, but in essence you'll want to buy a property with mainly cosmetic issues that seem very costly to fix (to the average joe), but in reality aren't and have a great affect on the property's value once tended to. Some examples would be outdated interior finishes that just need a repainting, old carpet that can be replaced with vinyl flooring, mold- depending on the area, while it can be an indicator of a major roofing problem, can usually be solved fairly easily-, urine smell, exterior painting, overgrown lawns, etc...

4. Depends on your goals, for me, I would be fine having as little equity in the properties as possible and allocating my funds to more deals, but it seems as though you are totally fine with the three properties. 

5. The asset's of the LLC's operations would be liable, however, no personal assets. That being said, the property would likely be seized if you continued to miss payments, but that is why we analyze deals before we buy them! (Also, I'm not a lawyer)

6. I cannot directly recommend a property manager, however, here is a list of questions provided in the book The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner:

- What are your management fees?

- How do you communicate with owners? How frequently? What about?

- How many properties do you manage?

- How long have you been a property manager?

- Am I locked into a management contract with you? If so, how does that work?

- How many evictions do you have each month?

- What kind of reserves do you/does your company require?

- How long does a typical tenant stay in a property?

- How long do properties usually stay vacant before being rented?

- How do you screen tenants?

- Do you accept people who have had an eviction on their record?

- How do you handle maintenance requests?

Hope you find some use in my responses :)

I would recommend building relationships with investors in that area or that invest in that particular area. You'll want to have a handful of people to bring the property to if you do end up getting it under contract. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/839/topics/443342-what-is-the-best-way-to-build-a-cash-buyers-list
This is a link to a forum post with the some ways other people have found to be useful in building a buyer's list. 

Hope you find some use in this :)