All Forum Posts by: Brian Bohrer

Hey @Ted Usatynski,

I am a local real estate agent in Colorado Springs and I recommend all of my clients and colleagues to use Isela Owens.  She can shop several companies to find you the best deal for your situation.  Tell her Brian sent you!

Isela Owens - [email protected] - 719.219.8498

Wow @Jack Stalnaker !

You are making some great income at 19!  Keep it up and save for that down-payment.  I would advise as others have here, and strongly suggest the house hack strategy to start with!

As a primary residence you can put less money down, leaving more reserves to cover mortgage payments, renovations and to save up for your next down-payment!  You will also get a taste of property management and learn the ropes as far as tenant relations, contracts and screening.

Another excellent strategy that I feel is the most powerful tool you can use in today's market is to purchase this home with an Assumable Loan! All FHA, VA and USDA loans are assumable and there are thousands of homeowners who bought in 2020-2022 who have an excellent interest rate and have no or low equity as the market has shifted. You could essentially find a home with low equity, pay for the closing costs and take-over a 2%-5% loan, saving you hundreds of dollars every month!

I wrote a blog post that dives into the powerful combination of assumable loans and house hacking if you want to learn more!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/922/topics/1175338-maximizing-wealth-the-dynamic-duo-of-assuming-existing-loans-and-house-hacking

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions and I will be happy to assist!  Good luck in your adventure! 

Take Care,

Brian Bohrer

Great questions @Austin Merritt !

I am partial to buy and hold so I would lean toward the "keep it" side of the fence...  As rents increase over the years, your cashflow will soon become positive while you ride the wave of inflation and appreciation! 

Do you know what you would buy with the equity if you did sell?  Current interest rates are going to make it difficult to reinvest into real estate and not come out of pocket more than $1000 annually, per your current situation.

I am also assuming you are paying a property manager with your current figures.  If so, you may consider a flexible property manager who will work with you on the fees and find a structure that works for you both!  Some savvy managers wont charge anything upfront and will collect when sold in the future instead!  Thus, allowing you to take home profits now and let your future appreciation pay the bill.

If you are interested in learning more about this style of property management please reach out and I would be happy to discuss!  I wish you the best in your adventure!

Take Care,

Brian Bohrer

Why not search for a house hack opportunity that also has a FHA, VA or USDA loan behind it? You can get a 2%-5% rate on a mortgage that you assume and since values have come down in most states over the past 2 years, you may be able to find a seller who would be willing to have you take over the payments and cover the closing costs!

I wrote a blog post about the most powerful purchasing strategy available to every buyer in todays market combined with house hacking!  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/922/topics/1175338-maxi...

I personally bought my last primary residence in November 2023 with a 3.08% assumable loan (in a 7.5% rate market) and hope to buy my next few homes the same way every year!  I wish you the best in your journey!  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!  Take Care :)

Hey @Steven Nani,

There are several ways to find these loans. In my local MLS, it may not be true in your area, there is a field that a listing agent can fill out to designate the home they are selling has a FHA, VA or USDA loan which by default would make it assumable.

You can also reach out to your favorite local title company and ask if they can provide you with a search tool like TitlePro247 or provide you with a list of current on the market homes with a FHA, VA or USDA loan in place. This would be a great place to start!

I hope this helps and please reach out if you have any other questions! 

Take Care,

In my local market of Colorado Springs, the MLS has a section that can be filled out by the listing broker that will let other agents know that the home has an assumable loan. Otherwise, you can use a source like Propstream or TitlePro247 from a you favorite local title company to research homes on the market with assumable loans.

In my local area we have a ton of military that move in and out of the area every year so there are plenty of VA loans out there to search. Even if you do not have VA eligibility (non-veteran) you can still assume these loans if the seller allows their eligibility to transfer with the loan! I would suggest searching for all FHA, VA and USDA loans in your area with a filter for current houses on the market to find some opportunities. Also, a heads up that a typical loan assumption will take 60 - 90 days on average, so be prepared for a long closing period.

In our current market we have seen home values decline since 2020/2021/2022 so there may be some motivated sellers out there who need to sell but their loan is now greater than or equal to the value of their home.  This would essentially allow you to take over their payments with a very low down-payment, typically to just cover their closing costs!

Subject-to purchases are very enticing, but they are becoming more and more regulated as the federal government has stated that any realtors or closing companies who assist in a FHA, VA or USDA loan subject-to transaction may have their ability to transact these loans revoked for up to a year! I imagine we will see less and less of these subject-to transactions in the coming future as this method has been popularized by some famous proponents...

As far as finding these deals, a sub-to transaction would most likely be found by trolling foreclosures and finding off-market deals like a wholesaler. You can also find off-market assumable loan opportunities by soliciting foreclosures or cross referencing your VA, FHA, USDA list with active listing in your current market.

I hope this helps!  Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions or want to pick my brain.  Take Care,

Hello @Joel Amparan

You have quite the interesting situation there.  I am a huge proponent of taking advantage of assumable loans in today's high interest rate market!  I personally assumed a loan for my most recent purchase and after I live here for another 6 months we will buying another one! 

As for your situation, it sounds like you are generating some good cashflow from your 2 rentals. I am curious if your Condo has enough equity that if you refinanced at today's rates and pulled the necessary $88,000 to cover your $18k debt and the $70k your parents want to move to Texas, would the rents from the Condo and the SFH in Colorado Springs be enough to cover the new payment?

I wish you the best and would love to hear about the plan you come up with!  Take Care :)

Hey @Tori Trent,

It sounds like you have a great plan in mind! House hacking and buying a new primary residence every year are great strategies to ensure you are consistently growing and profiting from every purchase you make!

I would suggest that you also consider seeking out homes with assumable loans!  In my opinion, purchasing with an assumable loan is the most powerful strategy available for any primary home buyer in today's market!  The biggest hurdle right now is interest rates, it is extremely difficult to buy in a popular market and actually make a profit out of the gate.  

BUT!! When you buy with an assumable loan (all FHA, VA and USDA loans are assumable) you will buy with 2%-5% interest rate that will give you a much better chance to profit when it becomes a rental once you move to the next one! We bought a $400,000 home with a 3.08% rate and are paying $2,157 including escrow compared to a $2,950 payment if I took out a new loan at 7%! Which payment do you think would be easier to cover with rent? AND this doesn't include the increased principle paydown I also have with a loan that has already amortized for 2 years!

I have a blog post that dives into the powerful savings in lower mortgage payment and increased debt paydown when you buy with an assumable loan vs a new loan at today's rates!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/922/topics/1175338-maxi...

If you ever have any questions about how this works, feel free to reach out and I would be happy to share my experience and knowledge!  I wish you the best on your journey!  Take Care :)

Hello Kristen, 

Congratulations on closing on your Condo!  It is true that most property managers would want to lease the unit and then manage it for you instead of only offering a tenant placing service.  I run a Professional Landlord Service in Colorado Springs of which I am the President and may consider providing this service for you.  

Most Property managers charge between $250 - $1,000 to place a tenant and sign a lease in addition to their monthly management charge.  I would estimate that if a manager was to provide this service only, they would charge a bit more as they would not be receiving continual income over the life of the lease.

Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss some options that I may provide.  I wish you the best in your new adventure!  Take Care :)

Hello @Baron Wheeler,

It sounds like you have a great foundation to start out with to continue your investment journey!  Living for free is essentially the first great achievement to the path of financial independence and you have already done that!! You should be proud of this as most investors (including myself) have not achieved this goal yet!  

In my opinion Option 1 could be a bit risky in today's environment as we are not sure if prices have hit the bottom yet, there are positive signs in the CoS market that point to price appreciation in the future, but there is a good chance the interest rates are not coming down for a while, which will have a negative impact on home values.  Plus if you do not have a well established team to get your project finished up before the end of the summer selling season, you may not get the return you were expecting as holding costs and declining values are eating profits.

Option 2 sounds like a safer bet, but yes you will have to cover some expenses and may have to carry the property with your own cash until rent prices appreciate enough over the years to cover your mortgage payments.  You would still want to be sure to buy a nice home in a good area to ensure that you are not coming out of pocket for years to come, and will attract quality tenants.

Option 3 could work, but I agree that maybe you wouldn't want to give up that prime location and that sweet low interest rate!  

My suggestion is that, if you are willing to move around the area then maybe you should consider the strategy that my wife and I are currently implementing. We are buying a new primary residence every year with a low 3.5% - 5% down payment and then keeping the home as a rental when we move on the next year. AND, an even more powerful strategy to implement in today's market is to target homes for sale that have a FHA, VA or USDA loan because these loans are ASSUMABLE!

You can, just as we did last November on our most recent home purchase, buy a home today with a 2%-5% interest rate!  We are saving over $1,100 per month on our mortgage payment and banking over $350 in additional monthly debt paydown by taking over a 3% loan originated in 2021 compared to a 7% rate loan if we took out one today!  

Depending on the situation of the seller, you may have to come up with a down payment to cover the sellers earned equity, but many homes have dropped in value since mid 2022 and sellers are being left with very minimal equity depending on how much they put down when they purchased.  I have a blog post where I talk about the power of buying via an assumable loan and I think this the only way to buy a profitable investment in today's market conditions!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/922/topics/1175338-maxi...

If you need some help finding an assumable loan target in El Paso or Teller County please reach out I would love to share my knowledge with you!  I wish you the best on your journey and look forward to hearing about your next steps!

Take Care,

Brian Bohrer - Homesin719.com