All Forum Posts by: Chris Mackinlay

You will need to pay closing costs for the cash out refi. I just did this and it cost me $10k in equity.

Wasn't my favorite thing but something I'll consider in the future.

On my wife's side of the family, we have her parents who are RE investors. They are overly supportive, like to the point where they think we are silly for analyzing numbers. Her siblings "want to invest, but later". So this side is leaning toward supportive.

My family: my mom and grandma are somewhat supportive. Nobody else really knows. I have a history of bucking the trend.

Our solution is simple: we don't tell unless they ask. We try to stay humble and not gloat.

Do potential tenants often try to fight you on pet fees or increased rent due to pets?

Where can I go to get more educated on this?

Great question. If you pay down your mortgage principle, does your monthly payment decrease? It's not like a credit card. It remains static for the length of the note, in most cases.

What you do depends on what your goals are, if paying all of your cash flow into your mortgage to pay it off is your goal, do it. If saving that cash to scale into more proper is your goal, do it.

Business and numbers are neat because it's easy to justify a behavior. Make sure you are doing what is wise.

Hi BP.

I need some repair guidance.

I am closing on a house next Friday. The lender is requiring repairs to the siding. They need to see the chipping paint scraped and the house repainted.

My contractor is recommending the house be resided with some T-111 because the bottom part of the siding, about knee height and down has some rot and he doesn't think we can find the same style siding to match.

He said we could try scraping, then apply an oil based primer to seal the rot, then paint, but he isn't recommending it.

The cost to reside the entire house is approx $4k. Not huge, but not insignificant either.

Any thoughts or experience would be greatly appreciated!

Hello BP. 

I have a house under contract. 3/1.5. ARV is high 150's. Purchase cost is $104,500. Repair costs including a buffer are $11k.

It's HUD, so I am stuck paying closing costs as well.

Plan was to do a 20% down conventional loan. The appraiser called a plumbing issue. The house is winterized and the appraiser is requiring the utilities to be turned on before signing off on it. I'm still working on understanding this, but the important part is that I cant get lending without water being on and a contractor placing a repair bid to be held in escrow. HUD won't let us turn on water. See my problem?

I reached out to a HML I know and he offered me the acquisition cost for 2pts and 12% apr.

Help me understand how I refinance a house I own. If I want to refi for $125k to cover all my costs, do I still need to put down 20% for the loan?

Another way of asking: I want to refi for $125k when the ARV is $158k. Do I need to put any money into the refi (other than loan fees, etc) or is having 20% equity in the property sufficient for a lender to lend on the house?

Hope that is worded well.

Thank you!

Theodore Roosevelt had a few words a lot dating greatly. This is one of my favorite speeches and helped me get started.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Hey BP.

Have a weird situation I think and I would like some thoughts on understanding it.

I have a house under contract that needs some work: exterior paint and some plumbing issues addressed. It's ugly, that's why I wanted to buy it.

It was appraised today and the appraiser brought those things to the lender. Lender is requiring I put funds into escrow to pay for these repairs. I had planned on completing these repairs myself. So I'll be out about $3k.

Frustrating part is it's a conventional loan on a HUD house. Nobody to negotiate with, and it's not as strict as the FHA.

After getting this news, the lender basically blamed the appraisal.

I don't have much recourse here. The house still makes sense to buy and is a huge blessing, it's just irritating that a week before closing, this happens.

Any insights to offer?

@Grant Doyle

I'd you're paying 184k for a property values at 189k, that's not much of a deal.

What makes it workable (maybe) is you not spending $1400/year on rent.

I prob wouldn't.

I will echo the other people.

Based on personal experience, If I knew then what I know now, I would have purchased a multifamily and house hacked it as my first investment.