All Forum Posts by: Brad Van Rassel

@Zach Kuhns

In addition to seconding what others have said about checking comps in your area, I would ask what your plan for the home is.

If you are flipping and selling, I might lean more towards the master suite plus laundry idea because this would likely appeal to more home buyers.

But if you plan on keeping it as a rental I would lean towards the extra bedroom for the increase the rent you could demand.

Hey BP,

does anyone have any experiences with any property mangers that service Shelbyville TN that they can recommend? Or for that matter, any you'd absolutely avoid?

Thanks for any insight! 

@Sammie Xiao

Hi Sammie!

I figured I may be able to provide some advice from the other side of the table.

The biggest things I’d say other than networking and asking around as already mentioned, is to have a decent idea of your scope or goals ready to be explained clearly when you talk to a potential architect. It sounds like you already have this down but you’d be surprised how many calls we get from potential clients with little to no idea of what their striving for. While it is our job as designers to help the client reach their goals, in your situation I believe it would be beneficial to have some clear cut desires that you can articulate.

My second piece of advice would be to find an architect that specializes in or has a team that specializes in the type of project you’re seeking, I.e. residential addition.

For example beyond just a residential vs commercial architect, you could have a residential architect that focuses on historic projects or new builds etc.

Hope that helps a bit!

Good luck!

SFH is just an abbreviation for Single Family Home!

Hello BP,

I've recently had a potential deal fall in my lap in Knoxville, specifically the Northwest Area, near the 75 / 640 interchange.

I unfortunately know little about the Knoxville market so I'm looking for any potential insight one may have! Would that an advantageous area for a SFH rental?

Thanks! 

Hey BP,

I'm getting started in the REI game and am wondering how everyone financed their first deal?

I know the “ideal” financing method likely depends on the specific deal, but I would like to get a better understanding of how most get started.

My partner has some deals under his belt and has relationships with some private lenders he’s used in the past and of course we have the typical options so we have some options in front of us. 

I wanted to hear from you guys if there are any “pro/cons” you see in financing your first deal in certain ways or good things to know when starting off since my next deal will be my first deal!

I know many may suggest house hacking, but I am in a unique situation where I live in a home owned by a family member where I basically pay “rent” that buys me equity in the home and I would like to continue this!

Thanks in advance for any advice and input!

I've been looking to break into real estate investing in my own market in Nashville, and have noticed as many have mentioned that the price to rent ratio in the core of the city really just isn't there for positive cash flow. Has anyone had any success in the surrounding neighborhoods or suburbs finding positive cashflow properties?

Thanks for any insight you may have! 

Hi Klint, I'm new to the investment game but can tell you from my career in residential architecture and working with contractors for our projects that for rough numbers we typically tell clients that they can build for about $150/sf using moderate finishes. From the sounds of your project it looks like you'll be pretty close to that number with a complete gut job. 

We typically use that number for our basis of project cost estimation in the early beginnings of projects.

I know that only addresses one of your categories but I hope that helps!