All Forum Posts by: Brian Loftus

Is this a roof or a floor? In either case you may be able to add a 2x4 or a 2x6 to the bottom of said rafter/floor joist turning your 9.5 in into 13" or 15" respectively. Are you sure about r49 being the code? I'm in PA and we have used this method to get to r38, but we've never been asked to get r49. If you can't add any lumber to the bottom you might be stuck with spray foam alright. Hope this helps.

Thanks Joe. Definitely food for thought. I'm looking at the equity that would be trapped in the SFH. Just for a hypothetical, if the value of it was $230k and I did a cash out refi for 80% of the value I'd have a $185k mortgage to pay. The thing would never cash flow. I'm not sure it would cash flow now and I have 50% equity in it. My question is, is this a function of my submarket, region or SFHs in general? I've heard Brandon Turner talk about the BRRR strategy and I'm just not sure it could work in this area, maybe I'm not seeing it correctly. Anyway thanks for the earlier thoughts.

Thank you Dave! I appreciated the warm welcome. I'll have to google Cebu. Looking forward to the BiggerPockets experience.

After the refi I'm looking to get a heloc to help fund a new construction home on a piece of land that I own free and clear. When the new house is ready I move there and keep the first one as a rental. If I refi the numbers look like this PITI- $1080 Vacancy- $150 Maintenance-$150 Caped- $165 PropMgmt- $150 Total- $1695 SFH comparable in my area are renting for $1500-1800, so I may only break even but I would have someone else paying down the mortgage. Otherwise I would just skip the refi and use a heloc for the new construction and then sell the old house when ready to move in. We plan to stay 2yrs to avoid capitol gains and then sell the new property b/c the taxes are outrageous!

My refi is actually a harp loan, From what I understand there are no strings attached. The refi would allow me to get my monthly payment to $1080 PITI , now with allowances for vacancy ($150), maintenance ($150), capex($165), propmgmt ($150) that gets me to $1695. SFH in my area with similar amenities go for $1600-$1800. That puts me right there, a bit tight. Hard to believe I have almost %50 equity and still can't get it to cash flow, very high taxes! The idea is to use a heloc to help build a new construction home on a plot of land that I own free and clear. Once I have the new home built I can refinance it to pay off the heloc and other construct loans and live in it for 2 yrs.Then convert the first home to a rental or sell it. Both homes are in the same town and have great schools are in desirable locations. Taxes are the biggest downside to both properties

Thank you Michael, hoping to use my skills to get it up and running and then focus more on less physical work!

Hi my name is Brian, this is my 2nd post. I am just starting out in the Philadelphia suburbs, specifically Delaware county. I have a new construction opportunity that I'm preparing for but first what to do with my current home. I have about 50% equity and I've been working on a refi that will bring my PITI down to just cover its costs with maybe 20$ left over. I have used the blog posts and rental calculator to try and make sure that I have realistic expectations on the month to month costs. Should I think of selling it to get the cash out for my new construction venture or keep it and get a heloc to fund the new construction. It wouldn't cash flow but it would pay for itself and I would avoid closing costs. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Hi, my name is Brian. I am a 39 yr old carpenter/contractor. I'm looking for real estate to help me create true wealth so I can enjoy life without sacrificing my body to the wear and tear of being in Construction. Looking to create a network of friends and colleagues to help and be helped in my path to eventual financial freedom

Hi all, this is my first post and I am new to real estate investing. I currently own a SFH with about 50% equity in the prop. I'm wondering if I should try to keep this property as a rental. I'm currently in the process of refinancing in order to get the monthly payment low enough to get it to cash flow. Using the rental calculator I would be close to breaking even, meaning almost no cash flow, but why should I pay all those closing fees, etc when I could just get someone else to pay down the mortgage. That way I could also use the equity in the house to pay for my next investment. Is my thinking flawed on this? Any help/ advice would be greatly appreciated.