All Forum Posts by: Brendan Dekora

Hi Tarita, 

I actually had to take a step back, I was laid off my main job and have been freelancing again. Fortunately I've been very busy so I'm just getting everything in order financially before I take the next step.

My guy is Otis Milton, hit me up for details because I can't post the email here. 

His company is very familiar with 401k loans.

Thanks @Nick Hedberg I didn't know that about the owner occupied thing and hard money. Might have to look at other strategies for now. 

I'm sure that many are looking for the same, but thought I'd toss it out there. I'm looking to buy a house hack in LA and I'd love to get on a list with a wholesaler for more deal options. Tough market right now. 

Thanks!

For rentals I have been using the calculator here on BP Insights. 

For comps I just started using icomps.com though I'm not positive how accurate it is, it does analyze a lot more properties than the zillow one, but the best best I'm sure is talk to your trusted agent.

Anyone else using icomps.com?

Highly recommend a book for you:

Getting the Love You Want
by Harville Hendrix

Hello!

I'm creating a partnership where I am going to use my good credit and job history to buy a duplex. My friend is going to contribute funds for rehab and cap ex and rent the other half. We will be splitting all profits 50/50 when we eventually sell or rent it out.

We need to create a contract explaining all the financials and what-if's, I'm assuming I need to find a lawyer to help us write it up. 

Just wondering if anyone has any other info and any referrals for real estate contract lawyers in Los Angeles.

Thanks!

@Ali Boone I haven't even looked at BRRRR options, but there's plenty for house hacking. Obviously 3 and 4 unit is best, but even with duplexes the numbers work. Of course they are not profitable, but if I can pay the same amount for a duplex as I would an apartment then I consider it a win due to loan pay down and appreciation. Obviously it works better if you rent out the larger unit and live in the smaller one. I have found some that would allow me to live in a bigger place than possible in an apartment for the same amount of money, also a win. If I hunker down, find deals and do some rehab then it would be even better. No of course I'm not going to find those options on the westside and my commute will be farther, but I'd much rather do that and build my net worth than not.

On the flip side, if I invest out of state I would make around $100 a month in cash flow, but it would be eaten by the rent I'd have to pay for a bigger apartment. Of course the goal is to build my portfolio and cashflow, but for my first property it's about the same with either option. 

The ultimate goal is to do both, and I may be able to do that with my partner. Looking into perhaps flipping a few to build cash reserves and then be able to do deals on my own without my partner. I'm just concerned about the state of the market right now for doing flips. 

My guy is, his team manager is a 203k specialist. The only problem is that he's starting to get busy and getting harder to get a hold of him. Happy to share if you send me a PM. 

Thanks @Steven Foster Wilson I haven't heard of that, I made a note to ask my lender.

@Remington Lyman Thanks as well, I looked at a few random properties on the mls and saw how profitable Columbus can be, even without looking deep for deals. I will keep that in mind for sure.

@Jon Schwartz Thank you for your long and thoughtful post, there's certainly a lot of options to consider [and yes it's cool to talk to an emmy-nominated investor haha, there's probably a good chance we have worked on the same projects] I understand that often we trade appreciation for cash flow, but at this point in my life cash flow is a bit of a priority... In an ideal world I could do both, and it may be possible with my partner, my goal today and this week is to run all the numbers throughly and come up with a better game plan. The help and opinions I've gotten in this thread have been great, and now I'm pretty sure I know where to at least begin: by looking deeper at the options and run all the numbers for both. My plan now is to save a bit more either way, besides I'm still a little hesitant due to the market and current climate, if anything it will mean I adjust my strategy a bit, not going to wait to jump in.

Thanks so much @Ali Boone both of those articles are very helpful. The problem is that the numbers would be roughly the same, of course depending on the deals we could find. The main difference is the seasoning period between the FHA on the house hack and something much shorter for an investment property, so I could in theory brrrr the investment property and move on to more properties in the same time that I would be waiting to refi the FHA loan. I'm also a little hesitant to brrrr in this market as I don't want to have all my money stuck in the property. Any thoughts on that?