All Forum Posts by: Ben Winchester

I always wondered why Jay hasn't been on the podcast. I searched BP for a reason and found several different discussion threads explaining why, but they were all several years old. I'm glad this finally worked out and can't wait to listen! 

Deanna McCormick hahah. I didn't even think about my last name and then replying in this discussion haha. That's funny. Unfortunately I am not related to the Winchester rifle family, I wish! Then I could buy all the real estate I want ha

Jay is right. If you live in one side, the federal fair housing laws do not apply to you. Discriminate all you want for whatever reason you want.. not sure about since they already have a lease though. This is a very interesting forum that I'm gunna keep up on. Thanks for the post!

First of all, well done on acquiring a condo in the pearl that makes you money! That seems like an impossible feet in this day and age. Next, I would imagine the hotel in the pearl being upscale and fancy so I wouldn't think it would negatively effect the condo. That's pure speculation because I don't have experience with that situation, but a nice hotel will bring nice people around and shouldn't lower any values. Lastly, I would definitely first try talking to your HOA about some kind of hotel use for the condo occupants. You are paying them, probably a hefty amount per month, to take care of (or at least attempt) any issues that come up. I would guess the HOA was notified at some point of the hotel being built and may already have relationships with someone from the hotel to help jump start that negotiation. That could be completely wrong as well, but it's worth asking the HOA to see what they can do before taking it on yourself. Hopefully you have a good HOA that does more than just raise fees to put plants in the hallways… Best of luck

I don't know a whole lot about FHA loans besides the fact they have a lot of rules you have to follow. I almost purchased my primary residence with an FHA loan but ended up buying something else. During that process there was always some kind of hang up or new rule I was learning about. My advise would be to find a good mortgage broker and they should be able to answer all your FHA questions. Most times a "good" mortgage broker will answer your questions for free since they want your business. Best of luck!

@Jeff Wallenius your percentages make sense being that you refi out, causing your cash input to be less when it's all said and done. I like the 15% bottom line though. Thanks so much for the response and input! And I've also noticed how taxes are much higher here than other places. My uncle invests in parts of CO and whenever he sends properties over here with his quick analysis, he forgets to factor in high Oregon property tax, kind of funny ha.

@Curtis Yoder  Thanks for the input. I am curious about your $200 per door bottom line. I'm assuming that is after expenses and is true cash flow, is that correct? 

@John Kunick  it seems like 15% is a common metric for the Cash on Cash return, it also seems like its very doable to hit higher percentages. I appreciate your response. I also like to quickly analyze deals with the 1% or 2% rule. I have yet to find a deal that even comes close to the 2% rule because most properties in my market are somewhere between $100k-$300k and rents are pretty steady in the $800-$1500 per month range. My market rents don't really increase with the price of the house. I am hoping to get a higher return with multi-family property and have really focused in on that. 

I think for my walk of life, I am looking for cash flow and the BRRRR method. I do like your method as well though. Pay down the mortgages so when they are paid off, your cash flow is through the roof! I appreciate you response.

@Steve Moody  I second that! most properties I analyze actually end up producing negative yearly cash flow. The ones that are positive cash flow are something like 2%-5%. But I'm always looking and now that I have some free cash to actually invest, I will be manipulating the numbers to be throwing out some cringe worthy offers. Someone on the BP podcast once said if you arent cringing when making the offer, you are offering too much.

Thanks everyone for the responses, I hope I get some more input :)

Jeff Wallenius thanks for the response. 15% cash on cash seems very doable. I would agree that locally, the numbers don't make sense. I have been looking in the outlying areas and am able to get the numbers much closer. When you say you can get much higher than 15%, are you talking 30, 35, 40? And I know that the concept of cash on cash in annual revenue/ cash you put in. In the revenue portion of the calculation I would assume you are including expenses? Also, do you have a set dollar amount as well as the 15%, or do you just go with the 15% bottom line?

Hey BP peeps, I have an extremely broad question because I'm looking for some broad-ish answers. I want to know some realistic returns some of you aim for and get. Im talking after expense goals, before expense goals, basically how ever you set your criteria for analyzing returns. I specifically am looking to hear from Buy and hold investors in the Oregon area (yes I know that's a state haha). Portland, Gresham, Fairview, troutdale, Beaverton, Clackamas, etc. but I'm curious about all places. If you are not from Oregon, I would still love to know what your goals are and what you end up actually achieving. (Yes I know every market allows for different available goals) 1) what's your bottom $$ amount you will accept per month, before scratching the thought and moving on? 2) are you able to achieve that amount on a consistent bases? Do you end up making less or more usually? 3) what state/ city do you invest in? 4) Single family, multi-family (if so, how many units), commercial? Mixed use? Anything else? 5) what criteria do you use for analyzing returns? Monthly or yearly bases? Per door or per building? Feel free to add anything else! I am truly just looking to learn about what other people do when they analyze deals. I'm sure there are similarities, but I'm hoping to find some difference in opinion and why someone may do it different. Thanks for any input!

I live in troutdale and have been learning the Multnomah county (portland, Gresham, Fairview, troutdale, wood village) market for the last 6 months or so. Just looking at the MLS, a little bit of driving for dollars, and reading a lot on BP. I've noticed that as soon as you get into the portland zip code, you are going to be paying quite a bit more. The "cheaper" stuff of portland is usually a pretty high crime area and is still more expensive than places outside of Portland. I'm sure there are deals in the portland area, I think they are just going to be harder to find. The rents are higher in portland so the potential is there. I don't know much about the landlord laws in Portland but I think they are very tenant friendly. I also have heard talks of the city trying to put caps on rents in portland in order to stop the prices from going up anymore, but I haven't looked into that very much. You could also explore west of Portland in the Beaverton ish area.

Wow! Excellent job changing your spending habits and saving so much, well done to you and your wife. I'm not an expert by any means so take what I say accordingly. You may want to consider the option of using your cash as a down payment so your options open up a little bit. Using some debt, leverage, loan, whatever you want to call it, will allow you to get into more markets. Your cash flow might be less at the end of the day, but you will open up your criteria a little and may end up with a better property, or two. 1 property that cash flows $600/month or 2 properties that cash flow $300/month.. you could potentially get the same result in the end, while getting in a better market for yourself, and obtaining 2 properties, building equity simultaneously. I can't point you in a direction that would support this idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are markets out there that would allow you to obtain multiple investment properties for $60k cash. Again, well done on your savings and best of luck.