All Forum Posts by: David McBrayer

Thank you for the reply.  I am with you on the owner financing.  If I can get a good rate and not have to jump through hoops.  Not even get my credit checked?  I will go for it.  I got 5.5% for 10 years on $30k.   I did not think that was a bad deal at all.

As far as building business credit? I am just me and not a business, I do put my properties in a Trust, but it is just so my family does not have to wait for probate on the properties.  It is not a business per say.  I am on medical disability and I cannot really own a business.  I can own investment properties though.

Liquid Capital, hmmm, I am missing something there?  Sometimes my brain is a little slow.  You got to whop me upside the head to kick start it.

I have a house I am purchasing for $55k, it needs $25k to $35k to really bring it around.  Right now the Zestimate is at $80k before any improvements.  I know that is not the best to go by but it is what I was using.  There is a unit out back that can be rented out.  I think renoed it can sell for $120k or better.  It is actually zoned R3, so I could build something else back there.  The property has great potential. 

As a newer Real Estate Investor, I am finding it a little difficult to find some good lending sources at a good rate or fee.  Without getting my credit banged over and over.  I am sure part of it is me not being as aggressive out looking for them.  I guess I have watched to many commercials.

I have a few rental properties now and I am looking for more.  I am about to close on a deal on 7/15/16.  A nice little 3-2 fixer upper.  Again, paying cash for it because of finding funding for it.  I need to put $25k to $35k in rehabbing it and a rental out back.  There are some good or great deals in the area I like to invest in.  One problem I have is, I have paid cash for my properties and not been financing any of them.  Well one with owner financing.

After the market crashed a few years back, I became a cash man.  I got my butt bit by the crash and went into a corner to lick my wounds.  And a car wreck right about the same time did not help matters at all.  Not my fault either.  But that is then and this is now.

Since I was a basic ghost for 8 years or so, with no job or income coming in, all my credit had dropped off.  What was there? I had not used in years and had been closed, so I had no recent history.  No FICO Score.  But I worked to get it all started again and get a FICO Score and all that.  Paying 100% on time and establishing new credit and all.  Using it and paying it off.  Getting credit increases from the companies for paying on time.  Doing the things to build credit again and a good score again.  It is going well too.  One card started me at $300 and now gave me a credit increase to $4500.  Not a bad increase for only having the card 1 year.  From $300 to $500 to $4500 in a year.  It takes 6 months before the first increase. 

I have been talking to a few companies about possible funding? since I have good credit now.  What most don't see though, are the properties I have that are paid for.  I did not finance them so they do not show up on the credit report.  Forget the $170k or so in equity, which is about to increase with the new house.  I now have one mortgage for $30k on a condo.  I was offered seller financing at a good rate with a little down payment on a 10 yr note.  As luck would have it though, that will not show up on a credit report. 

Again, part of it is me, I am not that desperate I guess.  I found a lender with high interest rates.  But as they said, it was for short term and then flip it into a long term loan with lower rates.  It might make more since now, as it is not a long term loan at high interest rates.  But I did not see that at the time.  Just the interest rate and fees.

So I still have some learning to do about financing.  I am sure there is a lender out there for me to work with?  I just need to research how to find them?  Someone I can do multiple deals with.  I need to learn more about Private Money lending and so on. 

Any suggestions?  They would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry, that is 1100 sq ft. condo's.

If you are ever looking in the Winter Haven, FL, area let me know.  I am investing in that area and might like to team up with someone with capital.  I own a few long term rentals.

The prices are not that expensive for what you get. I find 2-2's concrete block 100 sq ft condo's with washer and dryer hookups inside in the $40k range. $230 a month HOA and the place is well maintained and ran well. There is also a little pool out by the private lake and close to Polk State College. They bring in $800 a month. The upstairs ones maybe $750. I get $800 for my units but they are bottom floor units. They don't require much rehabbing. I have people for that and I use a property management company. As I am disabled now. I can get around but not like I use to.

I hope you find some good deals.  Hit me up if you are ever looking in my area?

Thanks,

David McBrayer

McBrayer Investment Trust

The Winter Haven, FL area is a nice place and the prices are not as bad as one may think.  There are still some great deals around.  It is about 45 minutes to an hour from Orlando but not near as congested.

I own rental properties in Winter Haven and I was born there.  The city has 50 lakes in it and you will see some of the best sunrises and sunsets you can see in Florida.  It is also about the same distance to Tampa.  So it is Centrally located and is now the home of Lego Land FL.  I have been really investing in Winter Haven the last year because the deals are much better than I can get here in Ft. Lauderdale or Pompano Beach, FL.  The rents are about the same but the cost of the properties is much less.  So more cash flow.

The best of luck to you in your new ventures.

Property Management Companies, you can't live with them and you can't live without them.  Hello everyone, David here.  As a disabled person I must use a property management company.  I can no longer lift heavy things or swing a hammer or look up to the sky for to long.  The titanium in the neck don't like it.  Or the lower back.  So I must use a PM these days.   And I am experiencing a problem with our property management company we have.  We until the end of the month and then we switch to a new one.  It was the first PM Company we hired and they stunk. LOL  The new one is actually already handling any problems that may come up and using their vendors.

We have 6 investment properties / rentals in Winter Haven, FL.  We hired a local PM Company to manage them for us.  The sad part is, the owner of the company was good friends with my dad growing up.  But he got injured and this company has just went down hill and they do not do what they said they would do.  I probably have a good case for a law suit.

We started with one property and added a few more in which the PM got the commission on for being our agent.  Then he owned a paint company and would paint them.  He had his fingers all in our wallets.  But that was not the bad part.  We soon had 4 rental units that he placed tenants in.  All placed by him and no other realtor.  So he got have the first month on them all.

Well out of 4 units he rented for us? two of them we had to boot the people out. One the HOA forced us to evict them and the other one we are still in the process of evicting them for failure to pay their rent. Hopefully at the end of next week we get them out. A judge is signing off on it now. And both these tenants were personal friends of his. One tenant ended up letting his brother live there who had a 30 page rap sheet and was slinging out of the property. The one we are evicting now, he did not do a back ground check on them as we were told we be done on all renters. He did not even get their SS# for us. This PM has cost us thousands of dollars. He is also advising his friend on how to stay in there as long as he can for free. But we are about to fix that.

So good property management companies are a tough find.  Ones that actually do what they say they will do.  It takes a team and not just one person.  The company we just dumped was recommended to us by a friend of my dads.  I will not make that mistake a recommend them to anyone.  I will warn you to stay away from them.  I have been nice and not mentioned the company by name.  But they are terrible.  We had to ask 6 times for a copy of the last lease they did for us.  And they were also good at telling us a place would rent for X amount of money and then work us to lower the prices for his friends.  Or put new stuff in for them.  I am not sure what all he has done is ethical and the Florida Real Estate Board might want to look into his dealings.  The booking keeping was not right either.

As you can tell, we did not get a good PM Company to start with in Winter Haven, FL, but I think we have a better one now.  A more honest one that has a TEAM and been around a while.  They have actually already had to do some repairs for a few units and had their vendors handle them.  Everything has went smooth as silk too.

Do you have any advise you may want to share on this ordeal?  I would appreciate it.

Thank you for your time,

David McBrayer

You can view our properties here. www.dltc.us

Hello everyone! David Here.  After becoming disabled, investing is about all I can do these days.  And I can't do that well. LOL  But we have invested in a few properties in the Ft Lauderdale, FL area and in my old home town of Winter Haven, FL.   We closed on a 1894 sq ft, 3 bedroom, two bath lake front home with dock, boathouse and lift located on Lake Howard in WH. (Closed 4/24, rented out at $1500 a month on 5/5)  Then snagged a 1344 sq ft. two story. 3 bedroom, 2 and a half bath, 2 car garage town house on Lake Hartridge in WH. We closed on it 5/15/15 and have 3 people wanting it.  Carpet went in today.   $1050.00 a month was the last price I heard on it.  It might bring in $1100 which would shock me.  Then just today, an offer was accepted on a 1148 sq ft 2 bedroom 2 bath condo on Lake Buckeye in WH.  We close on 6/1 if everything is ready.  It has all kinds of new stuff in it and only needs some paint on the inside and then it is ready to go.  A family illness forced the sale.  It should rent for $850 to $900 and go pretty fast.  All 5 of them paid off with no mortgages.  Sounds pretty good right?

Well, it does until you run into your dream home!  I was born in Winter Haven, FL and I have always had my eye on a few older homes I would love to live in.  OK, historic homes.  Lake Howard in Winter Haven, FL, is where some of the first homes of the city were built on a lake.  The city incorporated in 1911 with about 440 citizens living there.  Well my dream home was built in 1920, and in my opinion, is a grand old home.  I want it bad.  But, we just bought 3 properties cash to put the cash to work.  Enough to buy my dream home outright. LOL  We have a home in Pompano Beach, FL that would sell for about $160k.  I got a cousin looking for a place to live for him and his two sons.  They don't stay with him all the time.  They would in this home. LOL.   He pays $1000 a month right now and has for 6 years or so.  He thought he was buying a house but he did not have it locked in like he thought.  So he has been paying rent for all these years.

I would like to put a deal together for about $200k to $250k.  The house will appraise for well over $300k.  I think more like $400k.   I have not bought anything on credit in forever and it has hurt my credit score a bit.  Bad enough I don't have a FICO score right now. LOL  I opened a credit card to help get one.  Cash is king but it don't help the credit.  I had a 740 earlier this month but this new credit card dropped it 66 points.  That really bummed me out.  But it is climbing back up.  I am trying to figure out which way to go if I really want this home?  Which way do I go for?  Do I sell a few investment properties and buy it outright?  I like the properties we have.  Sell one and put a mortgage on the rest of it? Or just put 20% down and let my cousin make most the payment and I kick in the rest?  This way I can keep the Pompano Beach house which will go up in value.   I kind of need to stick around the Ft Lauderdale area a while longer.  But I hate to lose my dream house in Winter Haven, FL.

Is there a lender or investor that would be willing to take a chance when I don't have a FICO score and the other credit scores close to 700?  It will be back over 700 before too long.  My cousin owns a aquatic weed control business with a business partner.  But he went through a divorce about 7 years ago or so and we know how that usually goes.  It was not pretty. LOL  I want to help him build his credit back up as well.  Any suggestions on helping me or us get a loan for my dream home and helping my cousin rebuild his credit?  OH, I don't owe any other bills.  Well a cell phone bill and a utility bill.  I think I got a decent income coming in.  LOL  I have a little SSDI coming in as well.  Tell me what you think or what you would do?  

Thank you for your time and help!

David

$40,500 cash and now it is mine.  So no payments and $850 to $900 rent.   Paint is all it needs.  New A/C, new Water Heater, New Washer, New Stove, new bathroom fixtures and concrete block construction.  with two patio's.  One screened and one not.  I am sorry, but for $40k, I could not say no to it.

The one across the courtyard is selling for $55k.  The unit I bought is from a family having to part with it due to a death in the family or moving them into an assisted living facility.  So they needed to get rid of it pretty fast.  Cash was the answer.   The units come with a split floor plan.  Well maintained with security cameras posted around the grounds.  

I was not looking to hit a home run but make a solid investment that if I really had to I could flip and get my money back pretty quick.  Or turn over to a nephew who just turned 21 and just got a nice job.  It would be a nice starter unit.  Repairs should be a minimum for a few years, not a whole lot should go wrong with concrete block construction.  Unless it is real bad.  It is older so the settling should of happened already and it is pretty nice on the inside.

Insurance will be $449 a year.  Taxes will probably be around $400 to $600 with no HSE.  I know the housing and condo market has changed but it was once valued twice as much as what I paid for it.  Again, I was looking for something solid that would not cost me a lot of money.  A house you have to take care of everything and must set money back for it.   Where here,  most of it is figured into the monthly maintenance. 

I guess time will tell right?  Thank you everyone for all your input.  It has been great and helpful.  Lake Buckeye Condo Unit B1

Take Care,

David.

Thanks for the info @Raymond B.

  I see it worked.  You are the man!!!

Thank you @Che Chiu Wong and @Jeremy Gunn for the info. I did notice the HOA ate up the profits mighty quick. Thank you everyone for the advise. I see a got a whole lot more homework to do. Keep up the great work everyone. Self education is the best form of education.

David