All Forum Posts by: Bradley Kesselman

I did a transaction with Bavex recently, and it was a HORRIBLE experience. I am not trying to discount Edwin's experience with them, but mine was simply the opposite. To start, I own 5 single family rentals so this is not my first rodeo. I know what is required by the lender and when in order to close the deal. 

Bavex was highly unprofessional. They were unresponsive and lacked simple communication skills. Whenever I did get through to someone they had no idea what was going on with my file and would come back to me with incorrect information. They would note ticky-tack things and then say they need more time to close. You pay a mortgage broker points to ensure that you close. So essentially they wanted a fee without doing any work. They strung it along and at the last hour said they could not close. I had to pull in my usual lender at the last hour to save the deal. 

In my opinion save yourself the money and the stress and go with a reputable outfit. I knew Bavex's reputation was less than stellar by reading posts, lack of a linkedin presence etc. but I went with them trying to save myself some $ and it backfired. Moral of the story is trust your gut and go with a reliable and stable lender who has a good reputation for doing deals. 

Read J Scott's book on estimating rehabs as a start. 

Ryan- I am a Palm Beach County resident for the past three years and own 3 units in West Palm Beach. I would not pour any more money into that property. Riveria Beach is historical a lower socioeconomic area of Palm Beach County. You might be able to get $1400 in rent but the tenant will have no credit little verifiable income and you will have to budget a ton of money on each turn over. There's a reason why Lennar, Pulte, GL homes etc do no build in these areas. You cannot get the sales price or rent prices to justify new construction. 

Allison- I am looking for new GC's as well. All of my current ones are holding off until covid-19 passes over. 

Congrats. Is the lot in Palm Beach County?

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $111,000
Cash invested: $8,000

ARV; $150,000
Monthly profit: $400
IRR after an 8 yr holding period: 36%

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I want steady cash flow and a property that would retain it's value even in down times (this property is located in a high end full amenity condo building overlooking the water).

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I saw this property on the MLS. I knew that I wanted to buy in downtown West Palm Beach. The owner had bought at the height of the boom and had operated it at a loss since then. He was looking to get rid of it.

How did you finance this deal?

Bank Financing.

How did you add value to the deal?

I rehabbed the unit (new flooring, new appliances, new cabinets, new countertops, new HVAC,)

What was the outcome?

It had multiple offers to rent at full ask within one week of being on the market.

The property has positive cash flow of $400/month and the ARV increased by $40k.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The greatest obstacle was dealing with the Condo Association. In South Florida (Broward County, Palm Beach County etc.) the condo associations and homeowners associations are very powerful. You are basically at their mercy. They can stop your contractors or even bar them from being on site. We call them "condo comandos" and they are a huge impediment to rehabs.

One large lesson I learned is to stay away from condos or homes which have strong/hard to deal with condo boards.

I have been looking at rental commissions in the state of Florida. I see a trend of 5% or close to. Does that mean the realtor gets a commission of 5% the monthly rental rate?

@Gene Maltsev - I live in West Palm and have rehabbed two units this year. Are you looking for a GC or looking to split it up by trade?

Does anyone know of a lender licensed in FL doing No-Closing-Cost Refinance and offering competitive rates?

Did you know you were going to be assessed impact feed before you started? Or did they simply come out to more than you expected?