All Forum Posts by: Ben Naughton

Thank you both for the input.  So if I'm understanding correctly both the pro-rated rent and the security deposits are given as credit towards the cash needed for closing costs.

Im getting ready to make my first offer on a quadraplex here in FL.  From what I understand from reading is that it's desirable to close on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th of the month in order ti collect prorated rent from the seller.  I spoke to my realtor and she wanted me to put the closing on the 1st and said if I closed on the second it wouldnt be cash or transferred to us but could only count towards the closing costs or price.

Any input with clarity on this issue is greatly appreciated.

Getting ready to make an offer on our first multi-family property.  Does anyone know if in the state of Florida the current owner has to give/or can give copies of the current leases during the due diligence time frame.  The realtor we are working with said that they can't because of privacy, but other books and posts I've read seems to say otherwise.  Thanks.

My wife and I are looking into our first investment property that we plan on owner occupying.  Right now we are looking at a quadraplex in Florida and in order to get my numbers in line I decided to get some quotes on insurance.  This is new territory for me but I was surprised at how much the quotes came back at.  It's built in 1984, has a newer roof, and is 3412 sqft. with a purchase price at 294K.  The numbers I received back were 

$3218  (It shows $2700 for $366K coverage for the dwelling, $127 for 8K of personal property, and $225 for 300K of personal liability, and some other line items included)

$2999 (pretty much the same as above)

Was curious if any of you could share your experience with similar properties in Florida and if anyone had any references for insurance.  

Thanks!

It's my understanding that banks prefer offers for cash that can close quickly.  In my area it seems that a lot of REOs that are multifamily are going quickly.  From what I'm understanding as well Hard Money Lenders want to see the property and deal to determine lending.  So, would one ideally try to put a property under contract and then line up lending or try to get the hard money lined up as quickly as possible to then make an offer.

Sorry for the somewhat inexperienced question.  Any input and advise is appreciated!

Hello BiggerPockets People,

I have been studying the information on this site and reading the forums for a few months now. I've also been reading quite a few books, attended a REI seminar, and been talking to others trying to gain as much insight as possible. As my initial step into real estate investing I'm looking at two possible deal situations. The first is to owner occupy with my wife and kids, or "house hack", using an FHA loan for a duplex, or maybe a quadraplex if I can work the right deal. I was thinking of having this in our name at first since we would live in it for a year or so. Then when we move put it into an LLC.

The other opportunity, which I would love input for as well, is a lower income duplex that is currently bank owned and listed at 43K.  Here are the numbers I've been running and would love input that may help me be more accurate:

Listed at - 43K

Gross Rent - $550/mo - $1100 Annual

Property Taxes - $50/mo - $600 annual (2014 was 522)

Insurance - $100/mo - $1200

Maintenance/Repair (15%) $165/mo - $1980

Property Management - $110/mo - $1320

Vacancy (10%) - $110 - $1320

Until I can walk through with a contractor and inspector I believe the unit could be livable with minor cosmetic repair, Flooring & Paint, etc.  However my estimate for right now is that it would take about 15K to fix it up nice.  My goal would be to force the appreciation and be able to rent units out at $650.  Nicely fixed up duplexes in the same area that sold were around 65K.

I have some experience in renovations.  I actually pastor a church plant.  We were able to lease a 4500 sqft building for a low rate because we had a GC in our congregation and renovated the building which was in serious disarray.  We worked a 24 month time frame into the contract and had the whole building beautifully renovated in less than 18 months.  

Right now with this duplex I've been considering using Hard Money.  The only thing is that from most of what I've seen the minimum is 50K.  The other option I was thinking was to put 20% down and finance it through a bank.  I also have friends that are interested in partnering as private lenders, though it would more likely be an amount to help with the down payment or renovation costs. 

Lastly, I haven't set up an LLC yet. I'm in Florida so I was looking at going with a multi-member LLC. I've been reading on the forums and see different view points. I'm also wondering if I should make an offer or anything else before setting the LLC up.

Well, appreciate anyone's input.  I'm definitely still learning and have a ways to go so any advise will be appreciated.