All Forum Posts by: Brian Stike

@Kristina Kuba thanks so much for the tip.  I'll check that area out.  
I'm jealous that you grew up in Treasure Island - I absolutely love it there!!

@Zach Edelman definitely NOT interested in going into illegal markets, which was what I was trying to clarify.  The codes in the local town halls aren't perfectly clear.  I'm now in touch with someone who knows the areas well and the intricacies. 

@Edgar Sanabia - definitely interested in SFH's as well. My eyes are open to the whole market down in the Tampa Bay area. I just want the location to be such that people enjoy traveling there to use it as a vacation rental.

@Raymond J. Rodrigues I actually reached out to him yesterday!  Found some of his replies on other threads about Florida and we started a conversation.  

@Patricia Andriolo-Bull you could be right.  I am now in touch with a specialist in the area who can hopefully give me some guidance!!@Raymond J. Rodrigues

Help!!

I'm a New Jersey real estate investor with a few long term rentals.  
My wife and I have traveled to St Pete/Treasure Island and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. 
We'd like to start STR investing down in St Pete/Treasure Island.

I want to buy a small 1 bedroom condo and AirBnB it out when we're not using it.  We'd like to use it maybe 3-4 weeks a year, and maybe let family use it another 3-4 weeks.  
I can find these small ~500 sqft condos for fairly inexpensively, but when I look at regulation and code on the city sites, it seems they're not legal for short term rentals.  However, if you open the AirBnB app, you can book several of them for as short as a few days here and there. 

When I read the codes website, certain areas are clearly illegal to STR in Treasure Island, for instance, but I've stayed in several in that area and they are fully functioning, operating businesses within condo buildings that contain a mix of permanent residents and STR tenants. Further, they have on-site maintenance and managers who would CERTAINLY report code violations to the city. I've stayed for as short as 5 days before and the unit was clearly turned over before and after I left, and I even had maintenance in the property during that short stay for quarterly extermination spraying.

I reached out to a realtor in the area and he's of little help.  He basically told me that most likely, code enforcement hasn't caught on.  I find this hard to believe based upon the on site management of the properties and the business front that the landlord portrayed.  (welcome book, guide, procedures and policies, contact numbers, etc).

Does anyone successfully STR in this area and can shed some light for me? Or, if you're a realtor in the area specializing in investors and a track record of supporting and understanding investors, please reach out!!
Thanks!!

Brian

Thanks to everyone. 
@Jennifer Petrillo are you In Asbury, NJ (off of 78 new Pennsylvania Border) or Asbury Park?  I live in Asbury Park.  If you have a good mortgage broker in the area you can share, please send his/her name my way!!
Jennifer - to answer your question, the goals right now are to pull out the cash I put into the space to begin with and the rehab costs. The mortgage balance right now is about 96K - so I'm looking to pull out the 10-15K downpayment and the 15K rehab. This can be rolled immediately into another property. This was my first BRRR (my second rental overall, but my first rental doesn't really count because I bought it as a primary residence in 2005, moved out in 2015 and it was underwater and couldn't sell it due to market crash, so now its a rental that barely breaks even). This current BRRR will actually profit about $350/mo positive cash flow after all expenses including holdbacks for vacancy, repair, capx, etc.
So, I'm on the hunt for the next one just like this or better and want to pull the money out quickly to get into the next one quickly and keep building and snowballing.

Thanksj @Harjeet Bhatti for the information.  DO you know if the 70% max if less than 6 months differs state to state?  My guy in NJ said he could do a cash out ReFI at 80%, and he did the original conventional mortgage for me in last week of July of this year.  
If thats a national lending law, then I won't beat down doors of other lenders.  If that is variable state to state or institution to institution, then it may be worth seeking another mortgage guy to investigate cash out refinance options.

Hi all, 

Question is 2 part:  

Just finished Rehab on a property in Ocean Co that I got for 110,000.  Tenant moving in November 1. 

Comps are in the high 160, low 170 range.  I did about $18,000 in repairs.  

I'm looking to pull the cash back out and pay myself back from the reno and of course start looking for the next one. 
I've worked with a mortgage broker for a few past deals who is from a pretty big national company.  
I emailed him LAST Friday, asked him to help me out with some options.  He quickly named a few, then said "I'll work on it Monday and get back to you". That was 5 days and 2 reminder emails ago - no response still.  
So I'm moving on. 

First part of the question - I've found HELOC rates, recommended elsewhere on BP, for non-owner OCC from Pentagon Federal CU. 80% LTV and 6.25% variable APR. I do qualify for Pentagon Federal CU membership. Does anyone know of any better interest rates or LTV rates or have you worked with another HELOC that you recommend?

Second part of the question - The "VERY BRIEF" conversation I had with my mortgage guy a week ago was "a cash out refi will be better in the long run".  I raised the question about pulling title, closing costs, points, etc and he said "The costs would be minimal on a small cash out like this, I'll work both out and show you."  (Then I never heard back and I'm tired of chasing someone to give them my business)

Can anyone shine any light on his statement about the cash out refi being better?  Assuming an interest rate in the mid-upper 5's with this one?  He mentioned 5.5 or 5.7 or something like that - it went by quick and I didn't catch it because he promised to get back to me with more detail.  
If you can shed light on part two - does anyone have any recommendations for a good NJ place for a cash out REFI?

Thanks - want to pull this money ASAP and I'm done waiting for my guy to get back to me.  I'm looking for any expertise out there who can provide some info!

Brian

Thanks for the tips everyone.  I've been leaning heavily toward trying to dump it for about a year.  
In about 9-12 months the amortization should be such that I will ALMOST break even if the market stays close to where it is now.  That'll be the goal - unload it in 9-12 months and take a small loss and move on.  
Thanks!

Hi all, 

I currently own two rental properties and have owned a few additional about a decade ago when I lived in another state. 
I'm currently in the process of starting to build my portfolio again, almost through a BRRRR on another right now with hopes to get into yet another within 6 months max.
My question: 
One of my rentals was purchased by me as a primary residence when I was 28 yrs old or so.  Its a Condo, and I bought it at the absolute PEAK of the market in 2005-2006 and lived there for 10 years.  Terrible purchase.  
I have since moved out of there.  It was not purchased as a rental at the time, but due to the crashing market, it was/is underwater and I had to convert it to a rental because I couldn't sell it.  
I have a great tenant in there (going on 3 years with slight rental increases every year).  He takes great care of the space, does minor maintenance himself, and I get the rent usually EARLY by a day or two.  Rent is currently at market rate or maybe $25 below, can't really raise it much anymore right now at all.  
However, since it was not purchased as a rental in 2005, it doesn't make monetary investment sense.  It still loses money each month, to the tune of about $150/mo.  On top of that, the condo association (very small, 6 units only) is a disaster and is nearly bankrupt, the shared space (i.e. yard, parking lot) are in terrible shape, and the current association officers won't take steps to collect against past due association fee owners.  I ran the association in 2009-2012 or so, and I filed court papers and garnished wages against deadbeat owners. Unfortunately, they quit their jobs and escaped the garnishment, and the local sheriff is not helpful when it comes to chasing these types of things as its considered "small potatoes".  Getting the money due to the association from the deadbeat owners is basically impossible.  
I can't refinance because the crash of the market versus the amortization of my mortgage on the space means that the balance due (principal) is basically equivalent to the appraised value of the property.  The mortgage companies won't touch a ReFi because they'll only refi at 80% of appraised value.  I can't sell it because when I factor in closing costs, commissions, etc I'll have to bring at least 10K to the table.  
Any creative ideas to minimize this loss now?  It doesn't seem like a ton of money, but owning this one is definitely slowing my progress toward picking up actual money-making investment properties.  Its eating into my other rental income profits and slowing my ability to have cash available for purchases when a hot deal crosses my path. 
Thanks for any ideas you can throw at me!
Brian

Rekha/Bo

I live about 3 miles from Milton Ave/Neptune City.  
I'm in Asbury Park. 

Neptune still has some rough areas. If you're looking at a 12% ROI, you're probably in a tough area of the city. Shark River Hills and the Southern/Western sides of Neptune won't net you 12% unless you're really lucky and have found a great deal. I tried to get into 2 places in the nicer parts of Neptune, went so far as to write the offer, only to find out that the listing agent didn't list the property correctly and it was a HUD home owner occupied purchase only.

I would be very cautious of the parts of Neptune that are directly adjacent to Asbury Park.  The rough side of Asbury Park is directly bordering Neptune.  Bangs Ave, Lake Ave, Springwood Ave, Corlies Ave, all of the numbered Avenues (1,2,3rd, etc) up to the Neptune Middle School are all tough areas.  
There are certainly a lot of great rental properties there - you just have to know what kind of neighborhood you're dealing with.  There are a lot of drugs, gangs, etc.  

If you're serious about owning property there and plan to self-manage, I would recommend visiting the area several times at different times of the day, including about 11 pm or later.  
Asbury Park/Neptune is an interesting community.  One block is beautiful, safe, clean, old early 1900's colonials and victorians, and LITERALLY one block away there's gunfire because two gang members got into a disagreement about something.  My block (where I live) is beautiful, safe, relaxing.  1/2 mile from me is a war zone. 

Good luck!  Let us know how you make out!