All Forum Posts by: Beth Mulholland

In theory, any lender should be able to average the last two years of your wages (W2 & 1099) - that said, you likely still need to show proof of some kind of employment at the moment but a 1099 should work. The history is the more important piece, at least in my experience. I would try a mortgage lender/broker over a bank. They can typically offer more options and flexibility as they can shop the loan around. Good luck!

@Carl LaPiedra you definitely nailed it and I lived in the analysis paralysis world for quite awhile!

I don’t know if others have more specific tool suggestions but yes I did a lot of googling and reading city statistics/forums. I started with cities I knew something about and then as you start to look for more info on those cities on forums like this you will stumble onto suggestions for other similar areas as well.

You may find yourself leaning towards one area for some reason or another or you may feel like you have too many options and no real way to narrow them down - if that becomes the case just pick one or two and start pursuing opportunities there! If they are duds, oh well you will have learned more about the process and you can move your search elsewhere!

I think the biggest hurdle I had to overcome was being ok with “failure” - not financially

(be conservative starting out unless you are really comfortable with risk) but in terms of “wasting” my time/energy/etc on a market or deal that didn’t pan out. That will inevitably happen and just take what you learn and move on!

You are asking all the right questions so I think you will do well :)

Also highly recommend going the Roku/Netflix/Hulu/Amazon route! You can even have guests use their own logins (most people have at least one of these), just remind them to log back out in the check out instructions!

We allow guests to use their own logins for Hulu/Amazon/etc but have a communal Netflix account, so that way they still have one option should they happen to not have any digital tv subscriptions. 

Hi Carl, 

I know the stage you are in well! It can be difficult to feel ready to move from the education phase to the take action phase. There has already been lots of great advice mentioned - I would suggest your next step be begin to research what market(s) will best serve your goals and then start putting together a team in the market(s) you decide to move forward in!

It sounds like you are interested in long term rentals, so areas with continued job and population growth (or at least not declining) and a high rental demand would likely be areas you'd want to look for. The south and mid west are great places to start - I'd suggest looking for mid sized cities in NC, SC, TX, TN if you need a starting point.

There are so many options out there, so don't worry so much about finding the exact right market (there isn't one) but look for areas that make the most sense for you! Think about the following: 

- What type of tenants are you hoping to attract (students, lifers, people in transition, etc)?

- How accessible do you want your property to be for you (distance from home, ease of travel to that area)?

- What is your budget and how easy will it be to find deals that meet your criteria?

After you have been able to narrow down your search based on all of the above criteria/information, I would start reaching out to some real estate agents in those areas - look for recommendations on here and have phone calls with many from each area. See who really seems to know their stuff and who wants to work with investors and do the kind of leg work you will need. Experience isn't everything - if you can find an agent who understands investing and is knowledgeable of the area choose that over someone with 20+ years experience who is just going to send you MLS listings.

Make some calls to PM's too - finding a good PM is even more important, as they will be the ones who keep you cash flowing once the deal closes. You want to make sure you can find one you can rely on when determining where to look!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Definitely make the records requests to the towns/cities you are interested in (you can find the info for public records requests very easily on most town/city websites), but would also highly suggest thinking about other types of motivated buyer lists you can obtain - tax lists tend to be the go to for investors (and by all means still utilize them), which means the people on them are often getting targeted by multiple investors which can be overwhelming for them and less beneficial for you. Think about what types of homes you are looking for and who is likely to own them, then use a source such as listsource to purchase specific lists of property owners (ex: properties with no remaining mortgage owed or properties that are not owner occupied). 

Good luck!!

I would highly recommend checking out the Black Diamond REI events in Worcester - they do one every other month (alternating with a meet up in Burlington, MA). Lots of great resources and opportunities to connect with fellow investors as well as other real estate professionals.

Great cash flow is a lot tougher in the MA market - the best advice I can give you is to network with people who have access to/ knowledge of off market opportunities! The MLS is limited in deals with good margins, as housing prices are increasing faster than rents in most areas (Boston proper being the exception). Once we can all interact socially again I would highly recommend getting out there and meeting other real estate investors/professionals in the markets of interest to you! In the mean time, definitely don't hesitate to connect one on one with people in this and other investing forums!

Lots of good information above - one additional consideration is how you purchased the property? 

If you currently have a personal mortgage on the property then you risk the mortgage being called when you transfer ownership to your LLC. Additionally, certain types of mortgages cannot be held by an LLC. If you do decide to use an LLC in the future, I would suggest that you purchase future property through it and continue to utilize an umbrella policy for your current properties. An attorney would be able to more thoroughly advise you on the options for limiting risk if you do choose to transfer your property to an LLC.

Good luck!!

I very much agree with what Rory said above! I don't think we will see a decrease in the desirability/cost of the Boston market anytime soon. There are many companies still moving into the greater Boston area, and many of the dominate industries in Boston continue to require face time - think construction, biotech, education, medical personnel, etc.

I do think there will continue to be an increase of people moving from Boston proper into the surrounding greater Boston area. The Metrowest/ Central MA area is expanding rapidly, and the South Shore as well - both areas provide opportunities to get in at lower prices where demand is increasing. 

The main thing to keep an eye on is how home prices are rising in comparison to rent prices. It is getting more and more difficult to find properties where the purchase price works with the desired cash flow because rents are not increasing as quickly as housing prices. This could be an benefit of this current "slow down" in the market - help to level out prices a little bit - however I think summer/fall is likely to still be very hot and we won't see a correction until the next real estate market cycle. 

On a separate note, definitely don't rule out long distance investing if you want to get more bang for your buck! The Boston area market is tough to scale quickly in if you don't have a lot of capital/resources, That said, there are deals to be found everywhere!

Good luck with your next endeavor!!

Agree with the recommendations for Black Diamond - the most educational/least sales-y that I have been to! I have also heard great things about Willie Mandrell's Wealth Builders and plan to attend once in person events resume! I don't know anything personally about BostonAREIA but I have been to the Dedham Boston REIA events - worth checking out when there is a topic of interest to you. Personally I am a big fan of the smaller local meetups - those tend to be more about personal relationships/ supporting each other. Depends on what you are looking for really!