All Forum Posts by: Cassie Montalvo

Some states require lawyers for closing real estate transactions. You don’t need an attorney for the 1031 part, necessarily, but you do need a Qualified Intermediary to conduct the exchange.

Look up your local and state landlord-tenant laws (because these vary widely by jurisdiction) about how much notice is required to raise the rent and any limitations that may apply. 

I am in S FL and everything here has been going near or over retail - it blows my mind.  I still look, but I have only picked up one house this year from the auction.  

Beware, about 95% of "deals" from wholesalers are pure garbage with inflated ARV's and diminished rehab costs. That being said, they can be found on your local craigslist real estate section - look for the "we buy houses" ads and also google your "city" + "sell my house for cash" and a bunch of their sites will pop up.

Once again, please do not trust their numbers - you need to do your own due diligence on these properties.

Loan origination fee seems outrageous.  I use TitleLeap for closings in S FL and they have a calculator on their site (for fees on their side). You may want to contact the lender to try to negotiate a bit or just change lenders all together. 

https://www.titleleap.com/clos...

Keep the living room (leave it as a 2-bedroom). You would severely limit your pool of potential renters by not having a living room.

Keep the bathtub - they are easier to maintain then walk-in shower floors.

I always put in (at least) granite countertops. Go to the local yard and grab a slab on clearance - honestly, I have found them for $300 (fabrication will be a bit more). You can get a much higher rent when your kitchen looks high end, plus they rent faster. I only do the granite lip backsplash (no tile, unless it’s a high end rental). 

I’ll post a picture of a slab that cost $500 and $1100 to cut - this was enough for a kitchen and 2 bathrooms.

Same $500 slab in another kitchen:

Also, as you can see, for rentals, I’m a fan of darker colored cabinets. 

First read the lease and see if it states anything on the topic.

If not, I would advise the tenant that they are more than welcome to hire their own inspector and IF their inspector finds mold, then you will repair what is needed and reimburse them for the inspection. If the inspector doesn’t find anything - the tenant will eat the cost of that inspection.

For my first rehab, I went way too nice on finishes that were entirely unnecessary (name brand luxury countertops when standard quartz would have been just fine, Pottery Barn mirrors when off the shelf would have been just fine). 

Your first flip is kind of like your first child - you want ‘em to be perfect and the best of the best. Don’t fall into this trap!

I did 3 rental mortgages in 4 months. They were in my business name, but I am the personal guarantor. My credit took a massive hit, so expect that.

I shopped a few different lenders and advised them this would be a 3 transaction deal and to be aggressive. I paid retail rates on the first, but then the second two I got a pretty decent rate reduction. I tell you this because you asked about one lender vs several and the order... if you bank offers you something similar, obviously mortgage the lowest value house first and do them all with the same lender.

I had to have leases in place before they would start the process. There was a single page ‘property manager questionnaire’ I had to fill out about my experience and each question’s answer has a point value and there was a certain value you had to achieve in order to get the loan. I still have a blank copy of this if you want, PM me and I’ll send you a copy.

Don’t do it. Don’t pay an unlicensed person. Just let them assist you on another transaction where the commission would be comparable to the referral for this deal (once they are licensed, of course).