All Forum Posts by: Brian Tome

Come on out and hear about two investors' latest Co-Living Buy and Hold project!  It's always great to get together, and this will be an awesome opportunity to learn about this unique method of acquiring cash flowing real estate from two guys who are actually doing it.  No cost, no off limit questions.  Meet the owners at the property and see what they have done and what they plan to do.

@Khadija Daniels - What part of Maryland is the property in?  It's not a very big state, but the areas and property values vary widely depending on where you are located.

Some things to keep in mind - FHA requires you to live in (i.e. make it your principle residence) one of the units. FHA backed financing will only be permitted for a multifamily that is 4 units or less. I am assuming from the purchase price that your target property is a duplex. FHA will also require the property to be habitable, so if it won't pass an occupancy inspection or has health and safety concerns that an appraiser will pick up on, they will almost certainly not fund.

It's a great strategy for investing with minimal cash out of pocket and capitalizing on your sweat equity.  Just be careful.  Lots of cheap duplexes, triplexes, etc. are priced accordingly to the work and money they need invested.  Investors wanting to gain the upside of making the repairs and holding a cash flowing asset should realistically evaluate the time and funds they can commit to the project before pulling the trigger.  Selecting the wrong property to start with can so sour you (and your spouse/family) on rental investments that you never want to think about it again.

@Wesley Thompson

Sir, be careful not to overlook the status of the utilities and the capital expense of replacing before you finalize your numbers.  Small parks (especially mom and pop owned) are notoriously risky because outdate utilities put you one bad storm or broken pipe away from a $50K repair bill.  Is the park on public water and sewer?  How old are those systems?  Does the municipalities building code require sprinklers in new units?  If so, will the current water system handle the load?  What's the paving situation like?  If you repave or expand will you have to bring any storm water plan up to date?

Not trying to be a wet blanket.  I have looked at a bunch, and the smaller and older they are the less workable they almost always end up being.

@John Schnyderite

My friend @Heather Carrow can tell you what the STR market is like in Ocean City, Maryland which is just a few miles from Bethany Beach. Bethany is definitely a more family friendly and relaxed atmosphere type town than a lot of the other Delaware/Maryland Beach towns.

Prices in most of those towns have been exorbitantly high over the last few years, and it seems like the only way you could justify buying one as an investment is if you got a good deal and made it a really high functioning STR. However, if you have a good W-2 and all you are looking for is some cushion to help with the cost, it's a great "lifestyle" investment idea.

@Ozzy Sirimsi nailed it (pun intended).  Builders Risk Policy is the tool and most independent brokers will be able to connect you with a company who can issue such a policy.

I use Barry Winstead in Elkton, MD (410-398-6700).  He typically sells me a short term policy (3-6 months) through Erie Insurance Co.

R.L.

I don't know who to recommend you to, but Peter Kirsh (Kirsh Title Company) will probably be able to tell you who is available for this kind of service.

I am curious.  Are you selling a mobile home?  What community is it in?

Best regards,

Brian

Give Rich Frasher a call.  He is awesome.  Not sure he will go that far south, but if not he probably knows someone who does.

You can check him out at https://www.loridownsphotograp...

@Peyton Raeder

We have a REIA Meeting coming up in Worton, Maryland on May 24th between 2 and 5 pm. Address is 23874 Kinnairds Point Road, Worton, MD 21678. We will talk about getting started and one of the folks I have coached in the past does multifamily investing/househacking just like you are proposing. DM me and I will give you the link to our Facebook group page.

You're a ROCKSTAR, @Mario Ciccarelli!!!!

Investors,

We have a small portfolio (14 doors) and I am having a hard time getting good book keeping service at a reasonable rate.  Most of the accounting offices in our area are overloaded with work and we get pushed to the bottom of the list in deference to their bigger clients.  

We are not thrilled with our current book keeper/accountant.  They make us duplicate so much and are not giving us online access to our account (so we have to send dozens of emails explaining every expense even after we provide receipts with notes on them and bank statement spreadsheets with explanations).  I feel like they are churning us for basic things like data entry and charging an unreasonable amount.  So we stopped into a local office today who told us "we can set up an appointment to see if we are a good fit.  Our first available appointment is in July."  JULY?!?!

So, I was wondering if anyone has had luck with a particular book keeping service that works remote?  If so, can you drop a reference?

Thanks,