All Forum Posts by: Brandon Redfern

By the way thanks for the other responses as well.  It's nice to see that the rules don't always apply.  I see the value of going after lower income properties because of the price but as of RIGHT NOW I'm focusing on middle income properties with less maintenance.  So it's nice to hear I'm not totally off my rocker.  But I want to keep learning and because of my job flexibility, income, reserves and passion for real estate I want to keep getting better at this and have gone from wanting 10 units to 50+ ... with a property manager of course :)

@Brent Coombs I wish I knew how it was calculated better.  But its really not just a 2% difference.  For example the first home I bought here I was living in it first then bought another property and moved in.  The first year property tax was $1734.  The next year ... $4719!!! So yeah more than doubles.  On the statement it calculates using taxable market value, then assessed value, then millage?  I know I should understand this better but almost everyone I've talked to in Greenville county say that it almost triples for investors and that's what happened to me and I'm sure will happen on this next one.

@Erik Hitzelberger I have been the luckiest rental owner in the US and my appreciation for that luck has only been enhanced by reading on here.  My first property is a home that has had the same renters for 5 years. He's a contractor, I have never raised rent and they don't ask me to pay for anything and take immaculate care of the property.  My second, they have been there over 3 years and very similar, I don't raise rents and they take care of it as their own.  My third is 4 min away and they have turned the yard into the best yard in the neighborhood and are hands off. My 4th is a unit on my property and they are Mormon missionaries and are never there and are expected to keep it immaculate.  Honestly in 5 years I have spent no more than a few hours a year handling anything.

The one thing that I learned from an investor early on and has paid dividends is being patient in finding good people and treat them amazingly.  Like I said I've never raised rent BUT all of them pay late and I collect $100 extra when they do and it's almost every month.  But I do not hassle them (once again I am VERY lucky to have a job where I am not desperate for the rent payment).  So as a result they think I'm the greatest landlord ever because they can take care of other things first.  I will send a text or two a month and usually act more annoyed than I really am but only because I don't want them getting TOO comfortable.  But so far it has worked.

Now I realize that it's mostly luck and that one day I will have to find a PM company but with the time investment of almost nothing and the saved money it has worked out so far.  I'll ride it till it get's too much. 

All that said I appreciate the advice and think about that all the time.  I know the gravy train is running out.

The county gives a 2% adjustment if it's your primary residence. So it goes from 4 to 6%. I'm not quite sure why it almost tripled but I have another one here and that's what it does. good ole govt 😠

I discovered BP several weeks ago.  I had mainly been listening to the podcast and hadn't heard some of the rules that I've been reading about on the forums the last few days.  I have 4 rental properties that probably never met the 2 rules above (as long as I understand them correctly).  But I feel like they've been great long term deals (which is my goal).  I make close to $300k and do not need cash flow, just hoping to slowly build long term wealth. 

Well I just put a bid on a rental property here in Greenville and won it. $165k for a 1721 sqft SFR. It is in great shape (built 2002) and I believe I will get at least $1450 a month but hope to get $1600-$1700. The house is in a great school district and I believe the maintenance costs will be low. It's 5 min from my house so I won't use a PM company (I don't use them on any properties, I've been extremely lucky I guess). Because it's an investment property the taxes almost triple and I believe my payment with the escrow will be about $1050. I guess I've always just loved the idea of someone paying off my property long term and haven't worried too much about much else, as long as I'm in the black (but of course prefer the green and always have been) then I've been happy. Also there aren't too many single family homes like this that go for less than $200k and I believe this market is a phenomenal one, both rental and growth.

Reading on here kind of makes me question my approach so I'm just looking for feedback and pushback. 

@Jeffrey Marciano

Do you know if he is putting the loan in his name only is it easy to change it to an LLC that is under both of our names?

I am purchasing a new property with a partner and friend. He is purchasing the property under his name for a few reasons. I want to know how easy is it to then put the property in the LLC that we will create. Also we plan on doing several deals together, what is the best way to set our business up? My accountant said an LLC filing as a partnership.

I've only ever done deals by myself so any advice is welcome!

I'm about to refi a rental to a 15 year. It only adds $60/month and I'm still cash flowing. I paid down the rate to get a 3.625. I checked with 2 online loan services. The property is not in the state that I live in. Is that a good rate? This will knock off 8 years and save me $100k if I pay for the full 15 years. 

Discovered Bigger Pockets podcast about 2 weeks ago and am hooked. I have 2 rentals in VA and 3 here in SC. I prefer rentals and am enjoying learning more about the BRRR strategy. I'm open to flips but I make a good income and am mostly interested in long term growth. I recently partnered with someone in one of my deals but he is moving soon so would like to find people with more time than I have. I love learning and hope to make this a lucrative hobby.