All Forum Posts by: Ben Fernandez

That's awesome! Congratulations!

Be certain you've fully evaluated your cash flow by doing a cash flow analysis.

I leave it to you to confirm you've taken in consideration the following potential costs: CapEx, maintenance, property management, water, sewer, trash, vacancy, turnover, taxes, insurance, etc.

Small towns can be lucrative depending on the unemployment level, population trends and safety. I live in Lancaster, PA and it's a lot here that's very positive.

Our market is historically pretty stable and hasn't been subject to sharp increases followed by sharp decreases in property values. Our unemployment is very low and there has been a trend of increasing population and employment.

Do your research and determine where it is you want to invest. Then make sure there are ample property management companies in case you'll have any attrition. If I can be of any assistance, feel free to connect.

The house hacking is fine. However, even within house hacking be certain to evaluate your exit strategy to see how the asset performs if you were to move. If you'll be there for the life of the loan, no worries...It'll just reduce your overhead and will be always favorable.

In regards to the syndications and STR's, the syndication would be the 2nd place option. However, you need to evaluate the GP's ability to perform through their history. Once confirmed, they will be passive and can meet your expectations as described.

The STRs, fall in last place according you what you've expressed. Simply because, if you'll don't want to be a landlord on a single unit, then you likely want to nothing to do with managing a STR. These are very demanding from a management perspective.

An option, you haven't mentioned, would be to consider investing remotely, where assets are more affordable. The next objective after locating a target market, would be to determine if your primary goal is appreciation, cash flow or a little bit of both. Depending on the asset class, performance under each category aligns accordingly. 

More of the terms are necessary, in order to provide feedback on your partnership.

As far as the interest rate, 10% is not bad. However, there are likely multiple more terms involved in your partnership with this hard money lender.

Congratulations on your new purchase! 

My advice would be to evaluate your exit strategy to see how the asset will perform if you were to move. This is called a cash flow analysis.

Whenever a property is under $100k and the 3% won't yield at least $2,500, in most cases, agents will request a flat fee. Therefore, your agent isn't doing anything uncommon.

You can always shop around to see if you can find someone who will work by a commission percentage.

Make the offer that suits your assessments. If they aren't playing ball, walk away.

You will need to make sure the home is code compliant. If not, you assume the risk and all potential consequences attached. Evidently, they did not pull permits.

You're targeting the right aspect to increase your affordability, based upon considering properties that have current rental income. House hacking is a great method.

What I would recommend is that you also target homes that may require some renovations and pursue a 203k or HomeStyle loan product. These loans will allow you to couple the purchase and the renovation in one swope.

You should also be aware of any down payment assistance program you may be able to use as well.

Considering homes that need renovations, will open up a whole new avenue for you. You may want to partner with a few investment firms near you or wholesalers as well being that a lot of these opportunities may be off market deals.

Keep at it! You'll find something! I love that you're already being creative. Keep up the good work.

- Viable example.

- Not currently.

3bed/1ba, 1000 SF minimum. Focusing on all-in 200k. Closing in a few weeks or less