All Forum Posts by: Christian Sharron

Bit of a long story, but my partner and I are trying to purchase a property from a family friend of mine and we're having trouble locating the last seller. Family friend has multiple siblings (some of which have passed away and have heirs) and they all inherited a 3/2 when their father passed away.  All 17 or however many sellers want to sell, and we've agreed on terms for seller financing, but the problem is no one cannot get in touch with the last reminding person. The family tried and couldn't get ahold of him. We've done a search and have left notes on doors for people who have that name. We reached out to a private investigator and have had no luck. Has anyone else come across a similar situation and/or does anyone have a good PI in the triad region of North Carolina they'd recommend?  Thank you.

Quote from @Chris Webb:

HI @Christian Sharron, what was the initial rents you received? What was the CoC return?

Initial rents were pretty significantly discounted. $400/mo for the top unit (1/1). $600 for the 2/1 unit I was living in (charging $300 to a roommate) and $360 for bottom 2/1 unit with a yard, more parking, and a shed…

Using a 10% vacancy rate, 4% for capex, 12% for maintenance, and sticking with ~ $400 for utilities during the hottest months (pretending that was the cost year round), I was seeing a -10.65% CoC return and 2.2% cap rate according to my numbers when I first took over. Fortunately I was able to do some work myself and with friends so that helped

Quote from @Jewel B.:

Congratulations! Something to keep in mind is Budget Billing for utilities. It evens out the annual costs so you pay a flat monthly rate and avoid those big swings or variations.

I haven’t thought about that thanks!

Quote from @Travis Hill:

Come and network with other investors, agents, lenders, and brokers. New or experienced people in the real estate or financing space are welcome. We look forward to seeing you.

Would love to attend the next one!

Quote from @Account Closed:

From a scale of 1-10 how was your financing for these project?

 Good afternoon,

I’m not quite sure I understand your question. Are you asking how my experience has been with seller financing?  If so, I’ve been very happy with it. This was is 2021 though, close to the peak of that housing market so I think he agreed to those terms because of our long-standing relationship.

Hello Edward,

I am not familiar with that market nor would I say I am qualified to mentor anyone in REI, but I can plug numbers into a spreadsheet. Are you looking to purchase a multi-family so you can house hack it? If you don't want to purchase the pro membership yet, I'd highly recommend getting Craig Curelop's book, The House Hacking Strategy,  from the biggerpockets bookstore. It’s a great read and comes with the House Hacking Deal Analysis Calculator. Make sure you’re inputting the % symbol where it’s required. Also research your local market to get a better idea what maintenance costs, capital expenditures, vacancy rates, taxes, etc. will run you as well. Best of luck!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Okoboji.

Purchase price: $130,000
Cash invested: $29,990

Humble triplex located outside of downtown Greensboro

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

Finding an off-market deal and the possibility of living for free!

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

A good friend's father notified me one day that he had a 2/1 unit available for rent close to the apartment I was currently living at and it was less than what I was paying. My lease wasn't up for another 4 months but he was happy to hold it for me because he knew I'd be a stress free tenant. I rented for 6 months and worked 2 jobs then to save up a 23% down payment. He agreed to seller financing at 2.4% interest with a 20yr note and this allowed me to put the property under an LLC.

How did you finance this deal?

Seller financing

How did you add value to the deal?

I bought the property as-is and completed the deferred maintenance/repairs over the following months (new window a/c units, new gravel driveway, bathroom remodel, etc.)

What was the outcome?

I was almost able to live for free but because water and electricity are included for renters, I was paying just shy of $400/mo during the hottest summer months when all way said and done.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

A quality home inspection is worth it but the bigger lesson to me was the value of networking.

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

I'm very thankful for Nigel Nelson, a fellow investor, agent, and owner of Easy Homes LLC, for helping navigate my first home purchase and save on some closing costs.