All Forum Posts by: Christina Linn

@Account Closed the only advice I can offer for this stage is to do your research.  Due diligence is so important for any investment.  Are you buying the property or just the business?  From the sounds of it, this is a laundromat that you are purchasing - not creating, right?

You are who you are and people will either accept it or they won't.  I walked into a bank with my toddler and his bin of toys wearing painting clothes (I had just gotten done painting and planned on finishing the job when I was done at the bank) and asked for a million dollars.  After the banker stopped judging me and realized that I was serious and actually earned the right to ask for such an absurred thing (haha) he picked his jaw up off the floor and we got to work.  People judge because of their own biases and I am NOT going to change my clothes to suit someone else' needs.  I work hard. I. Work. Hard. Every. Single. Day. and I have no problem taking care of whatever business I need to with my son (he is always with me) or in my work clothes.  Age was an issue for me awhile back too, but you grow into it. :)  Good luck!!

P&I would be about $2,848/month on that amount. Whether or not it's worth it depends on your goals.  I would not even consider this deal unless there were separate gas meters to help cut costs and there would need to be a very real possibility of increasing monthly rents by ~$2,500, but even with that I would likely not pull the trigger, because I am very much about growth.

If this is the only property you plan on buying and you just want the equity then it might be ok for you; you're the only one who knows what your goals are.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $53,000
Cash invested: $20,000

Two SFH on one lot. The small house needs a new kitchen and possibly bathroom, but the bigger house needs a new roof, new trusses, ceiling, walls, bathroom, kitchen and probably a furnace. We will get the small house ready first and then the big house. Both should be ready and rented by the end of the summer.

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

I liked this deal for the prospect of learning more about creative financing. Plus, it's 10 feet or so from the back door to my 8-plex; I love this fact!!

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

It was on the MLS. We offered $26,000 and countered up to $30,000, but the owner would not budge on price. We gave up on this one, but decided to try for owner financing. We paid more than we wanted to, but all things considered it was a fair deal in the end.

How did you finance this deal?

Owner financing with $12k down and $1k per month payments with 0% interest.

How did you add value to the deal?

We are replacing the kitchen in back house right now, prior to first tenant. We will replace bathroom, kitchen, roof, and ceiling/walls as needed to get the front house ready to rent.

What was the outcome?

In the end we will have about $20k in extra equity, but we will have great cash flow and after 4 years the property will be owned free and clear and bringing in about $1,700/month.

@Bryan Laufenberg congratulations!!! You’ll learn a lot in the next couple years! Real estate investing is an interesting journey, for sure!

I am interested to find out the results of this.  Your debt-to-income ratio needs to be 40% or lower most likely; however, that does depend on the bank.  If you stated you have a primary and you rent; the bank will count 100% of rent amount towards debt, because you are most likely jointly and severally responsible for rent with your girlfriend.  The bank will also count 100% of principle residence mortgage unless you said it was a rental and proved income from it.  If you are only cash flowing 500/month on owned property that's not going to help you much since most banks only take 75% of rental income and deduct expenses from that.  Please post an update though!!

From what I understand, Quicken Loans only requires 6 months.  Otherwise your best bet will be a small local bank that is using private funds for lending.

@Cassie Chun I completely agree with @Twana Rasoul, plus you can prove your income that way.  Banks usually take your rental income and figure your debt-to-income ratio with a percentage of it, so it will benefit you that way. I don't know how taxes work there, but federally it would be the same either way.

@Johann Jells then maybe there are some places that require a licensed plumber for such a simple task, but I know that where I live anyone can do it legally.

No - I looked into it, but thought it was rather expensive.  I only had a couple rentals at the time.  I use GovernRent for my rentals and my laundromat.