All Forum Posts by: Bryan H.

Hi Mike - yes I lived in MI until 2012. I travel back for an inspection and at closing.  It gets expensive too, especially if you don't end up buying. For a bit I used another realtor to preview homes. He said a house was great, got it under contract and traveled to MI. The house was a dump, basement leaking, plumbing held together with duct tape, crazy electrical. He didn't know what he was doing and it cost me. I didn't buy that property, but it still cost me a couple thousand dollars in inspections, travel etc. 

I would never buy sight unseen. THAT could cost much more

I lived in MI until the end of 2012 so I know the area well. I have a realtor that will preview homes for me and property management to handle everything once I purchase. 

I can't say that it's efficient or effective. Being far away makes it difficult to act quickly. I have missed out on some deals, but like a bus there is always another around the corner. It takes patience and persistence. 

Thanks Bruno

No tax implications until you leave the company and don't pay off the loan. If I took a withdrawal that would be different. 

Super excited as I am closing on my cash out refi tomorrow.

In 2012 I bought a foreclosure in MI for $20k. I put $10k into it and it's renting for $975/mo. 

I attempted to do my cash out refi last year around this time and planned to use the money to finance 2 more rentals in MI.  So I worked with the loan originators to start the refi and loans for 2 properties, one $45k, the other  $47k.  The original house appraised at $80k, so I was getting $60k which would take care of down payments, closing costs etc. These properties rent for $875 each. My initial $30k invested would now get $2725/mo in rent.

Unfortunately I didn't find out until it was too late that the lender doesn't do a cash out refi when you have 5+ investment mortgages.  The cash out was my 5th so they wouldn't do it. I didn't have the cash in the bank for 2 purchases, so I either had to back out of the deals (and lose my money) or come up with the cash. I decided to take a loan against my 401k as my down payments. 

I am happy to say I finally found a lender that would do the cash out on my 5th rental and I can put the money back into my 401k, plus reserves into my bank account. 

Lessons for others

• BRRR works
• Be creative
• Keep reinvesting in your business
• Be persistent
• Buy low, refinance high
• Money can be made in Metro Detroit

My insurance wont allow a pitbull in my rentals. Check your policy for a dangerous breed clause.

 Figure this out before you think about making an offer. 

My understanding is you can 1031 until you die. Your beneficiaries would receive the benefit of the 'Step Up in Basis" 

No one pays the taxes on gains 

If you were talking KitchenAid vs Viking, I can see it making an impact. Cafe vs Profile, I assume retail buyers won't know the difference.