All Forum Posts by: Brittny Kenaley

@Dave Foster Ah ok. I went back and read more about this case...fascinating. I guess we can be grateful it exists at all. Cheers to you, Starker!

 @Dave Foster

You stated that perfectly! Thank you Dave! In this market, getting into contract before the sale of your property is a great call. We are on day 10 of our identification period and just got an offer accepted so we have some relief. We are however using the funds to get into multiple properties, so we have to get moving on the others asap. 

Can you elaborate on the variation of The Three Property Rule vs. The 200% Rule? What is the logic in having these two rules? If I have $500,000 from a sale, why is it permissible to buy three properties worth a total of $8,000,000, but not four properties worth $1,000,001? We're assuming we're missing something really obvious.

@Mauricio Sandoval

I was getting extremely high insurance quotes for our properties in Ohio, then I realized after reading forums on BP that you have to ask them to quote you on Actual Cash Value, not rebuild cost (which are extremely inflated during these times of supply issues). Some insurance agencies may push back or need to insure for slightly above ACV, but you will still be saving a good bit going that route. 

@Nick Giulioni

Hi Nick, Congrats on 100 doors! We are based in California and just started our out of state investing journey earlier this year (Ohio). 

We are in the process of identifying our properties in a 1031 exchange and very curious to learn more about Indianapolis. Any info you care to share would be super helpful!! Thanks so much- Jeff and Brittny

@Alex Bekeza would you mind sharing the info on these providers with me also? I'm based in Los Angeles and experiencing the same difficulties finding a lender for out of state commercial multi-family properties under $1M. Thank you!!

@Christopher J Driscoll thank you! Yeah we just went through the permitting process for our STR, and it went better than expected. I'm not sure if it was due to covid or not, but I believe they just had someone from SB county drive by the house. No one ever went inside so we were approved pretty quickly. Our other property in Crestline, CA had a hot tub so we had to get an electrical permit for that which was just consisted of an inspector stopping by that we actually met with in person. Anyway, not sure if that info helps you...just thought I'd share in case.

@Matthew Forrest We actually haven't reached out to an architect yet...great idea. Thanks so much Matthew!

@Peter Mckernan that's great...thank you so much for the info. I'll definitely check them out. Appreciate it! 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Joshua Tree.

Purchase price: $175,000
Cash invested: $50,000

We purchased this 1955 2bd/2ba home on 5 acres in Joshua Tree, CA in 2016. Jeff and I spent six months renovating the home ourselves, driving back and forth from Los Angeles to JT (about 2.5 hours each way) on our days off to work on the home. Once completed, we starting renting the home out on Airbnb, which Jeff has continued to manage ever since. We thank our lucky stars we bought this home, which has allowed us to purchase 5 others in CA. We are currently in the "what's next" phase.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

At the time, we couldn't afford a home that we wanted in our Los Angeles neighborhood. We were itching to own property and had fallen in love with the idea of a desert property and owning land. In 2016, Joshua Tree was accessible ,and we found a home on 5 acres with amazing views. Our plan was to make this a short term rental, which would cover our mortgage and allow us the cash flow to still afford our rent in Los Angeles.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

In 2016, the JT market was already ramping up. Our real estate agent warned us that we would likely have to make an offer on a home before seeing it in person. Even then, people were coming in with above asking or cash offers. For some reason this home wasn't selling & we were assuming light pollution from a near by college could be why. We visited the property at night & the views were amazing so we put an offer in the next day. We wrote the seller a kind letter asking her to pick us!

How did you finance this deal?

As a first time home buyer, I qualified for a USDA loan. This allowed us to get into the home for essentially no money down at a 3.75% interest rate. We did have to pay PMI, but when we refinanced to a conventional loan we were no longer required to have that.

How did you add value to the deal?

We did all the renovations ourselves, which allowed us to save money on labor while adding our personal touch to the home.

What was the outcome?

We have been running a successful airbnb operation ever since! We've used the cash flow from this property to pay off the debt we accrued on renovations and have been able to invest in 5 other properties in CA. In 2021, we did a cash out refi which we will likely use to build an ADU so we could have an additional short term rental on the same parcel.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Take risks. I was very nervous to buy my first home and spent so much time stressing over whether we bought the right one. This being our first BRRRR, I would get overwhelmed at times and found it hard to make decisions on....everything, from paint colors to doorknobs. It was a waste of time and energy. Make a decision, move quickly, fix later if needed. More than likely, it won't be necessary.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Real Estate Agent- Paul Karr
Outside Loan Originator- James Allenbach at The Allenbach Group

Hi Y'all! We are investors and short term rental property owners based in Los Angeles, CA. Looking to build an ADU on our 5 acre parcel in Joshua Tree, CA. Any contractors here that do work in the area and could help? Thanks! Brittny and Jeff