All Forum Posts by: Caleb Bryant

@Kibwe Williams

I did end up talking to an attorney and we were able to deduce that Ken Vesely brokers money from Lima One Capital out of South Carolina. I’ve cut Ken out of the equation and have instead been in touch with Morgan Stiles at Construction(at)investorlendingusa.com who has been much more reliable and professional, although draws have still been delayed to the point of my project being delayed.

I’m interested in supporting you in a class action lawsuit if you decide to go this route. Feel free to DM me for my contact information.

Here is my experience with Ken Vesely from Hard Money Man LLC. This is copied from my recent Google review.

WARNING: Ken brokers loans from Lima One Capital out of Greenville, SC. By working with Ken, you will be subjecting yourself to increased rates and longer turnaround times on operations versus what you would receive from Lima One.

The reason I discovered this is because after months of subpar service, lack of communication, misleading information, and downright lack of professionalism, I was forced to hire an attorney to help dig into Ken's operation in an attempt to put my fix and flip back on track.

The issues first started the day before closing, when I was informed by my title company, not by Ken, that the cash to close that Ken previously agreed upon would actually be $6,000 higher. Fortunately, I had enough capital reserved to cover the difference, however the trouble continued throughout the construction process as Ken's lack of thoroughness and lack of punctuality made completing draws and requesting budget changes upon change orders an absolute nightmare. Today, its been over a month since my last draw was approved, and construction has halted as a result. Ken and Lime One representatives cite COVID-19 as the reason for the delays, but on requesting a break from interest payments while the bank sorts its issues out, Ken threatened foreclosure and late fees. This combined with Ken's apparent lack of professionalism, calling me names like 'douche' and '*******' when confronted, has lead me to post this review as a warning to other investors. Please research lenders thoroughly before making a decision. Biggerpockets.com has an excellent list of hard money lenders where you might find a better lender and avoid an experience similar to what I've had.

Hello fellow BPers. I've found myself in a bit of a predicament.

Two months ago marks the closing date of my first attempt at a BRRRR. After many showings and a handful of offers, I was more than excited to hear that my offer on a duplex-turned-SFR had been accepted at $15,000 under asking and $10,000 under market value as later appraised. The plan was simple - The house was originally built as a duplex before being converted to a single-family home, so all it would take was a kitchen install, some framing, and a good bit of cosmetic work to convert it back into a duplex and add upwards of $50,000 to its market value.

Now, the deal on financing was that I'd bring $16,000 to the table, and my HML would cover the rest of the purchase price along with a $35,000 escrow for construction costs all at a 12% interest rate along with 3 points up front - Yikes! I know. The first bump in the road came the day before closing, when I learned from the title company that my cash-to-close would actually come out to $21,000. Thanks for the heads up HML! Fortunately, I had enough capital to cover the difference, but this almost entirely wiped out my cash reserves dedicated to this project. Thanks to my contractor, construction has gone smoothly up to this point, and we're about 3 weeks of work from being able to rent both sides out and move on to the refi and some serious cash-flow. Unfortunately, we're now running into a much more serious obstacle. I've been informed that my bank is struggling to process draw requests and other essential operations, as well as that they have lost a 250m line of credit. In the words of my contact at the bank, 'we're f****d.' Three weeks ago, my contact started giving me the run around on construction draws. Fast forward today, the bank is barely responsive and I have not been able to process a draw since then. Construction has halted and my contractor has been forced to move to another project for the time being.

To put some icing on the cake, the bank is still demanding I pay interest on the full amount of the loan including the construction escrow. 

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this BPers, and I hope nobody is in a similar situation, but if you are, how are you managing?

Thanks a ton for the input, @Justin Sullivan! In retrospect, I think some additional planning for the renovation phase would benefit this deal greatly. Don’t be afraid to stay in touch over the next few months; I’d be more than happy to share how this progresses!

Thank you for the input, @Sonia Captain!

Thanks for the input, @Richard A. I haven’t heard of anyone taping letters to doors until now; That may be more effective for my strategy since I’m only targeting a handful of neighborhoods.

Take care!

Thanks a ton for your input, @Allan Smith - this is exactly the type of feedback I’m looking for.

Small world! My girlfriend is wrapping up a radiology program in Chattanooga and we frequently visit my Great Aunt who has retired in Brentwood. Perhaps we'll brush shoulders some day, but in the meantime I'd be happy to connect further. I'll shoot you a DM shortly.

Thanks for the replies! I'm going to repost this in the BRRRR specific forum to hopefully gain some more traction.

Hey there,

My name's Caleb and I'm a local investor here in Knoxville, Tennessee. After many years of listening to the BP podcast and with one single-family long-term rental under my belt already, it is finally time for me to take on my first BRRRR.

I want to share my strategy with you today in hopes of gathering some feedback and generating some conversation. If you have anything to add to the conversation, I'd love to hear it, and if you'd like to connect with me or partner as a private-money lender, wholesaler, or general business partner I'd be happy to block off some time to chat.

Let's dive in:

Lead Generation

One of the interesting things about the Knoxville market is that although we're in a hot market, it is still possible to find properties that hit the 1% rule on the MLS. In fact, I was able to secure my first and only investment property in South Knox (SoKno) for $100k + $3k in seller credits and have been able to secure $400 a bedroom in rent (I'm renting per-bedroom to UT grad students). As such, I have my RE agent sending me regular MLS blasters which include properties listed between 50-120k in my target neighborhoods (Most of which are within a 3-mile radius of downtown as these areas are seeing lots of new development and renovations).

That said, I'm particularly interested in purchasing an off-market property for both the higher potential for ROI and for the experience. I'm planning on executing the following direct mail marketing campaign:

1. Use ListSource and local resources to generate a list of probates and absentee owner properties valued between 50-170k OR generate my own list of distressed properties using the driving-for-dollars method in my target neighborhoods

2. Send out 300 small, handwritten, short and sweet letters that read:

[insert name/greeting]

I would like to buy your house at [insert address]!

Please text or call me at [insert phone]

Caleb Bryant

[Leave business card in envelope]

3. Send follow-up mailers every month for 3 months - track results for analysis

I'm also interested in buying from a wholesaler, but I have not had much luck connecting with one through my current business partners.

Financing

After saving up $20,000 for a down payment, I was able to network through Linkedin, BP, and word of mouth to find a private-money lender who is willing to finance my BRRRR. My strategy is to take out a 12-month bubble loan to purchase and rehab the property, finish the rehab ASAP and place a renter, then refinance the property into a 15 or 30-year mortgage to pull all of my money out of the deal and repay the private money lender. This particular lender has offered me a 30-year mortgage at 5-6%, but I am still considering options for the refi. Here are some details on my loan options if you'd like to know more:

• 12-Month Bubble Loan: This is a loan product specifically targeted towards flippers. In my case, the lender will loan me 80% of the purchase price + all money for rehab at a 9% interest rate. This is an expensive, interest-only loan that is due back in the full amount + interest at the end of the 12-month term.
• Business LOC: I've also been offered a business line-of-credit at 0% interest for 18 months which I could use as a down payment on a more expensive property. I haven't looked far into this, as I don't see it as necessary currently, but I figure the risk here is that the APR jumps to 25%+ if the line of credit is still open after that 18-month period.

The Rehab

So, funny story.. The last apartment that I lived in was NOT ready for move in when it was supposed to be.. So I found myself homeless for a quick second at the ripe age of 23. As much as it sucked, I was able to stick it out and couch surf for a couple of weeks and actually ended up grabbing lunch with one of the developers after the dust had settled. We ended up having a nice chat and the guy was nice enough to give me a list of his best contractors. I'm pretty handy and I do have this list of contractors, but I am a newbie to the rehab process and would much appreciate any advice you guys have on this piece of the equation!

So.. What are your thoughts?

Hey there!

My name's Caleb and I'm a local investor here in Knoxville, Tennessee. After many years of listening to the BP podcast and with one single-family long-term rental under my belt already, it is finally time for me to take on my first BRRRR.

I want to share my strategy with you today in hopes of gathering some feedback and generating some conversation. If you have anything to add to the conversation, I'd love to hear it, and if you'd like to connect with me or partner as a private-money lender, wholesaler, or general business partner I'd be happy to block off some time to chat.

Let's dive in:

Lead Generation

One of the interesting things about the Knoxville market is that although we're in a hot market, it is still possible to find properties that hit the 1% rule on the MLS. In fact, I was able to secure my first and only investment property in South Knox (SoKno) for $100k + $3k in seller credits and have been able to secure $400 a bedroom in rent (I'm renting per-bedroom to UT grad students). As such, I have my RE agent sending me regular MLS blasters which include properties listed between 50-120k in my target neighborhoods (Most of which are within a 3-mile radius of downtown as these areas are seeing lots of new development and renovations).

That said, I'm particularly interested in purchasing an off-market property for both the higher potential for ROI and for the experience. I'm planning on executing the following direct mail marketing campaign:

1. Use ListSource and local resources to generate a list of probates and absentee owner properties valued between 50-170k OR generate my own list of distressed properties using the driving-for-dollars method in my target neighborhoods

2. Send out 300 small, handwritten, short and sweet letters that read:

[insert name/greeting]

I would like to buy your house at [insert address]!

Please text or call me at [insert phone]

Caleb Bryant

[Leave business card in envelope]

3. Send follow-up mailers every month for 3 months - track results for analysis

I'm also interested in buying from a wholesaler, but I have not had much luck connecting with one through my current business partners.

Financing

After saving up $20,000 for a down payment, I was able to network through Linkedin, BP, and word of mouth to find a private-money lender who is willing to finance my BRRRR. My strategy is to take out a 12-month bubble loan to purchase and rehab the property, finish the rehab ASAP and place a renter, then refinance the property into a 15 or 30-year mortgage to pull all of my money out of the deal and repay the private money lender. This particular lender has offered me a 30-year mortgage at 5-6%, but I am still considering options for the refi. Here are some details on my loan options if you'd like to know more:

• 12-Month Bubble Loan: This is a loan product specifically targeted towards flippers. In my case, the lender will loan me 80% of the purchase price + all money for rehab at a 9% interest rate. This is an expensive, interest-only loan that is due back in the full amount + interest at the end of the 12-month term.
• Business LOC: I've also been offered a business line-of-credit at 0% interest for 18 months which I could use as a down payment on a more expensive property. I haven't looked far into this, as I don't see it as necessary currently, but I figure the risk here is that the APR jumps to 25%+ if the line of credit is still open after that 18-month period.

The Rehab

So, funny story.. The last apartment that I lived in was NOT ready for move in when it was supposed to be.. So I found myself homeless for a quick second at the ripe age of 23. As much as it sucked, I was able to stick it out and couch surf for a couple of weeks and actually ended up grabbing lunch with one of the developers after the dust had settled. We ended up having a nice chat and the guy was nice enough to give me a list of his best contractors. I'm pretty handy and I do have this list of contractors, but I am a newbie to the rehab process and would much appreciate any advice you guys have on this piece of the equation!

So.. What are your thoughts?