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All Forum Posts by: Charles Clark

Charles Clark has started 10 posts and replied 62 times.

Post: Anyone on track to quit their 9to5 in < 5 yrs from rental income?

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

Walked away from my 9to5 on 11/20/20. Acquired 14 units in Milwaukee since 2019, and have cash flow around $4k - $5k a month. Not a king's ransom, but it was enough to cover the income I was bringing into my household. My fiance owns her business (hair stylist) so she is holding it down until I am able to scale the real estate business and cover the remaining household expenses. I believe I will reach my $10k a month mark by the end of 2022. I hope by that time I will be able to start investing out of state. I look forward to engaging with anyone if they have any questions or would like to connect. I am definitely looking to partner with other investors to grow their business and cash flow. 

Beleza

Charles Anthony 

Post: Walked AWAY from corporate job after 1 year of investing

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84
@Chris John
That is awesome you are allowing your daughter to explore studying aboard opportunities. The experience changed my life. I study aboard in Paris, Italy first before I did Rio. It was a business summer program at UWM, and I was able to use financial aid and get grants. There is a lot of free money for students to study aboard. I got $15000 because I wrote a 6 page paper and wanted to learn Portuguese. Please push her to do it. There is two type of college students, those who study aboard and those who wish they did.  

As for the 8 unit property, it fit my investment criteria. I look for B-C class apartment / mix use buildings with at least four units and up to 24 units in B-C class neighborhoods that I understand and know. I want to cash flow $100 a unit and this was bringing in after expenses a little under $2k a month. I also analyze the debt coverage ratio and like it to be at least 1.5 and this was roughly 2.41. 
The unique strategy was using a SBA loan as down payment. So we purchased it with no money down of our own, and the property pays the SBA loan, the mortgage, and all other expenses. And it is still cash flowing. This is the purchase that allowed me to focus all in with real estate. I hope that answer your question. 

Is your grandmother Portuguese? 

Originally posted by @Chris John:

@Charles Clark

That's awesome to hear.  My daughter is currently looking into schools that have an option for a semester/year abroad in Italy so she can study marketing.  You both make me jealous as I couldn't see past the benefit of making $10/hr at a warehouse during college!  :(

If you don't mind my asking, what was the "unique strategy" you used to acquire the eight unit property?

Bom dia and coisa de mesa (that's pretty much all of the Portuguese I know and I'm not sure why my grandma said it that way...

Post: Walked AWAY from corporate job after 1 year of investing

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

@Matt Walker Bom dia Matt, I hope all is well with you. I invest in small apartment/ mix use buildings. Anything from 4 units to 20 units. What about you?

Post: Walked AWAY from corporate job after 1 year of investing

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

@Chris John Great observation. I lived in Rio de Janerio for six months in 2016 when I was studying aboard. It was a program to teach Portuguese and international finance. That experience had a huge impact on me so I try to incorporate it into my life whenever I can. Obrigado por perguntar

Thanks for asking😉

Post: Walked AWAY from corporate job after 1 year of investing

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

@Bilal Williams To me any investment at the beginning is a home run. You got the property and you are cash flowing. Each property will build on the success of the previous property. Thanks for sharing your success story with me.

Post: Walked AWAY from corporate job after 1 year of investing

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

Last year, I created my first deal and purchased a four unit. My fiance and I house hacked a duplex, where the tenant pays the majority of our mortgage. And during this difficult time we were able to use an unique strategy to acquire an eight unit cash flowing 3x the debt service. Each of these properties were found on the local MLS, and two of the deals the properties were under contract and the deal fell through.

I am so pumped that I stayed true to my goals and analyzed properties everyday. It allowed me to be ready to jump on a deal when it one presented itself. Now, I am able to look over deals everyday and manage a portfolio of units. Yes, I am still working, but now I am completely working for myself. And, that feels good. This post is not to brag, but to share and maybe inspire the next person. A lot of stories on here have kept me going, so I wanted to pass it along. 

Obrigado (Thank you),

Charles Anthony
 

Post: Buy and Hold in Milwaukee, WI (Bayview)

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

@Benjamin Beyer congratulations. We own a duplex in Bay View. We are currently house hacking. Is this your first investment in Milwaukee?

Post: 8 unit for a single family price

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

I agree. Security deposits must be put in a separate account. Especially, since I am a real estate agent. Instead of providing a check to us at closing, the bank credited us with the rents and security deposits.

That is cool you manage 6 and have a property manager for your out of state property. Owning rental property out of state is my next big goal. I manage all 14 units we have. I am hiring a virtual assistant to help with some of the admin work. 

We should schedule a call to chat more. Let me know what you think.

Post: 8 unit for a single family price

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

James, I hope all is well with you. That is a great question. We were credited the security deposits, rents, taxes, and water. So this lower the amount we needed to bring to closing. Originally, we thought it would be around $49k, so this made the deal even better to know we closed only needing $35. 

How many units do you own or manage? 

Post: 8 unit for a single family price

Charles Clark
Agent
Posted
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 68
  • Votes 84

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $245,000
Cash invested: $35,000

Offer price = $245k
Seller paid $5k in closing costs
Purchase price = $240k
Down payment = $36k
8 unit x $600 = $4800 monthly rents
Commercial Loan is a ballon loan for $196k
Interest rate = 3.99% for 5 years then balloon payment of the remaining amount.
Monthly mortgage payment = $986
Monthly expenses = $2,052
Total monthly expenses = 3,038
Monthly cashflow = $4800 - $3,038 = $1,762
NOI = $28,176
CoC ROI = 31.67
Pro Forma Cap = 11.5%

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

The numbers and the location was too hard to pass up. $4800 monthly rent for a $240k property. The cashflow shows the property is worth $480k so this was a value add opportunity. This type of property makes a real estate investor career. This property does need some improvements and there is still room for the rents to increase. It was under contract and fell through because the seller was not willing to make any improvements.

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

This was a gem we found on the MLS for over 200 plus days. Communicated with the seller's realtor to learn what the seller is really wanting.

How did you finance this deal?

Commercial Loan with a 5 year ballooon. 3.99% interest rate

How did you add value to the deal?

Running the numbers and knowing what the property is worth under good management

What was the outcome?

Purchase a property that brings in about $40k a year and we were able to purchase it with a down payment of $36k. We will make our down payment back in less than 2 years.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Communication is key. Always keep a cool head.

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

Yes, my agent is Amber Otto and she was a good asset to have during this deal. The other agent was not always on top of things and she was there every step of the way to make sure the other agent did his job.