All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

See you all there!

Hey @Seth C.

Just SFRs, I don't have multis. So, 3k for each SFR readily available.

@Seth C.

I agree with @Sean Ploskina in that major repairs usually cannot wait. Anything from a hole in the roof to fallen tree (safety hazard) to burst pipes to dead HVAC, so your reserves need to be relatively accessible.

That said, we keep $3k in a checking account for each property. In addition, we keep 13 months of reserves in a money market - easy to liquidate in case the emergency requires more than $3k. 13 months of reserves can be overkill (our financial planner tried really hard to convince us 3-6 months is enough), but I like to be conservative and lenders kind of like it . Also, we don't use that money ever for investing, anything we use for investing is saved above and beyond the reserves. 

I feel good schools are a must if you are looking for family oriented properties. That could be small families with just one kid through bigger families with a few kids. All parents ( I assume) want to get their kid(s) in the best school districts and will consider that first and foremost when looking to either rent or buy.

However, if you are looking at more of a cool downtown and hip vibe with young professionals and singles, then schools will not matter.

Example - in NYC, a lot of families want to live in certain parts of Long Island due to the quality of schools. Not only are they willing to pay higher prices for the property, but also the crazy high taxes (a LOT of the tax burden is for the schools). On the other hand, the singles and young folk will pay an arm and a leg to rent or buy in the city or certain parts of Brooklyn because it's fun and cool - they don't care about the school districts. When they have kids, then they'll most likely try to move to LI.

@Andrew Syrios

Property taxes and mortgage insurance are part of the 847 monthly maintenance.

@Nelya Mushiyeva

If you need capital to invest elsewhere, I would sell the coop. How long are you allowed to rent out your coop? Most coops do not allow rentals at all. Does your coop have a flip tax? Where is it located in Queens? You should talk to a broker and see how much you can get for you unit.

Just make sure that when you do invest out of state, you have a good team out there that you can trust.

Good luck!

I have never borrowed from a HML, although I will later on this year.

I, too, would love to borrow as much as possible, BUT I try to put myself in the HML's shoes...

If I am a HML and someone with very limited or no flipping experience asks for 100% funding, I would not do it even if it were a smoking hot deal. My reason being...I, as a lender, do not know you (the general population you) and what your strengths/weaknesses are. Even you bring in a top-notch professional looking request with solid numbers and glossy pictures, along with a business plan, I don't know how you will execute to those numbers and the plan. I know that you will say you have great people & project management skills as well as follow-through and will manage to budget, but I do not know that for sure until I SEE it and experience it with you. Because of that, I would not be willing to lend 100% and have all the risk on me, as the lender.

Once I get to know you with a few more deals done, then rates and numbers can work more in your favor.

Just putting myself in the HML's shoes like above...I expect to approach them with 25-30% of my own money available to put into the deal. No matter what I say, they won't know me from the hole in the wall. So in order to use their money, I feel I would have to step up with some of mine, as well.

For A areas, I would go hardwood.

They last for a long time and can be re-finished multiple times. With engineered, they can only be re-finished a few times before you will have to replace them because they are just layers and not solid wood.

Hardwoods are a longer term investment - better for allergy sufferers and definitely elevates the property, adds value.

In our own apartment (built in the 1930s) we still have the original oak hardwoods. We re-finished them and they are still solid and beautiful.

You can be more cost effective with hardwood if you get the narrower red oak, then finish them yourself or have a sub do it.

For bedrooms - I see a lot of carpet (invest in the pad). But when the time comes to replace the carpet in our properties, I will opt for hardwood instead.

@Dawn Brenengen

@Michael Jobe

I so wish I could be there! We just came back from Cary/Apex a couple of weeks ago - hopefully, our schedules will coincide next time.

Have a lot of fun, guys & let us know how it turns out!

@Andrew Jambor

Which town? Is the property right on the water or on one of the many canals? What do the comps look like?

What is your plan - tear down, rebuild & resell?

@Ryan Gaus

Welcome - you'll find a lot of fantastic information and people here on BP.

We love the Raleigh area (have family in Apex) and really believe in the economics of that market. We just came back from a long Easter weekend there (worked on a Cary SFR we just closed on a few weeks ago) and are also looking for continued growth there, as well.

Since NC is one of the more highly regulated states in terms of REI, you might want to touch base with an attorney that has experience working with investors, if you have not already. Our attorney has educated us on Lease Options, Sandwich LOs (need wet closing) and Sub 2 (becoming rarer and cannot be done during default period, of course).

Best of luck and hopefully, we'll cross in our investment paths one day!