All Forum Posts by: Christopher Sarmiento

I listed my rental on Zillow, Apartments.com, and Facebook marketplace. I recently got a call from an agent working for temporary housing. He wants to move in a family with 2 dogs to my house. He said the family has a pipe leak and they need to be moved in soon, stated his company works with insurance companies to help displaced families. I told him the price and we negotiated make this an all inclusive stay/ month to month rent with caps on the utilities, until they are done. He said sure and asked about the security deposit and asked all the appropriate questions. I told him they need to apply on the 3rd party sites so I can get a credit check and background check. He said since he’s working with the insurance company everything will be handled by them and payment will be through them.

I’m still going to request a background check at least on the parents, or if the company already has paperwork from them. The company is called Temporary Housing and said they will furnish the place for the family and work with the insurance company so I can get paid. They said they will email me once he gives all the information back to the insurance company and the family. He stated they can do direct deposit, I told him I don’t feel comfortable with that and he said he can fedex the checks to me then.

I’ll hear back from them Monday. I’m just doing my due diligence to make sure I'm not getting scammed, but I don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to have it rented. I also got a call from a man and a woman who's working with this company asking about the area, house, parking, etc. Which makes it seem more trusting.

Again the Company is Temporary housing. They work under Sedgewick and even have a website Sedgwick.com. Would love any feedback or advice.

@Caleb Brown I'd rate it as a 60-70% timely manner. He's had some family things pop up, tried to manage 2 jobs, and other things with my duplex that came up and needed to be addressed. I was hoping everything would be done by this week to start that refi. But I'm just juggling my funds around and waiting. 

@Mike Wood Thanks for your input, My Lenders are pushing things to get done while my contractor keeps pushing the rehab back. A lot of juggling and i'm trying to get all my funds back soon. I just wanted to see what my options are. 

HI BP community,

So I’m almost finished with a full Rehab on my duplex. We converted the top unit from a 1/1 into a 2/1 with central A/C, new kitchen, bathroom, flooring, and paint. We converted the bottom unit from a 2/2 with office into a 4/2, updated the flooring, paint, bathroom, kitchen, added pantry, new paint on the cabinets and hardware. The final touches should be done this week or next week. My contractor stated that we should be done with the outside portion by the 24th-26th. They need to clean/ paint the exterior, move some the fencing to create 3 more car slots, and clean up with the front yard.

My question for the community is, will the outside portion add a lot of value, or any value at all, when the appraiser comes? My lender wanted me to lock in my rate and wants to schedule the appraisal to be on the 24th. Would this compromise the overall appraisal of the house if the outside portion isn’t finished 100%? Or does the appraisal mainly count the inside portion?

This is my first BRRR and I'm trying to time everything has been "fun." I just want to make sure I get a good appraisal so I can get all or most of my money back to pay off my debt.

Hopefully I explained my scenario
 

@Allan Smith That makes sense, I was thinking about the fluctuating rates of a HELOC. If I take out 75K of credit to cover my rehab cost, from credit cards and a private loan, if I would actually save money this way. I'll speak to some mortgage lenders that do both HELOC and Cash out REFI to see if they can give me a better visual on this, the actual numbers. I'm now leaning more towards biting the interest rate jump to be able to lock in that rate. Then get cash out so I can pay back my debt.

Thanks for sharing your insight 

I have a question for the Biggerpockets community. I’m trying to decide what the best option is for me with the Market and the rising interest rates.

I bought a duplex for 410K June 2021. My goal was to Remodel it and do a cash out refi to get all or most of my capital out. The top unit was a 1/1 but now a 2/1 with central A/C. I redid the kitchen, bathroom, interior paint, and floors. Bottom is a 3/2, but I think I can create another bedroom to make it a 4/2. Redoing the floor, paint, bathrooms, and kitchen. It has a Carport that can fit 2 cars and I’m creating extra space in the backyard to fit an additional 3 cars. The current Zestimate is 579K and I live 4 houses from the intercoastal. I’m hoping it will appreciate to 600k at minimum once everything is finished and if it appreciates more than that then I’ll pocket some cash. I’ll probably have 75K of rehab cost in this Duplex. I wanted to Cash out refi by late may early June, once my rehab is complete. My current interest rate is 3.25%. I can rent the bottom unit for $3,000 as is, hoping to get $3,200-$3,500 for rent once I finish my Rehab.

With the rising interest rate would a Cash out Refi be beneficial? So, I can get all or most of my money back from the initial capital and rehab cost. I’ll have a higher interest rate with this, increasing my monthly mortgage and fees.

Or would a Heloc be better? I'd get to keep my current interest rate and get a credit line from the forced appreciation of the property. I'd use that to pay for my Rehab cost and just pay the monthly fee from using the HELOC until I pay it off. Would saving money on my monthly from a lower interest rate help me out more than refinancing to a higher rate to get cash out to pay off my rehab.

I just want to know if I’m processing everything right, or if I should be thinking about something else.

Chris

Make sure you do some research on the STR side. A lot of places near Clearwater don't allow for them. you'll need a minimum of 1 month stays. I got a duplex in the clearwater area May and i'm doing some renovations to it now. Hit me up if you wanna talk or have questions.

In my opinion Florida is 100% still with it. You have people moving here from New York, Boston, California, and other tech states driving up the rental market. If you compare our rent to California, it’s basically the same, but our house prices are half there prices. I see it as an advantage since I live and invest in this state. 

Trying to network with people in the St. Pete area. I've been investing for 2.5 years now. I have 2 duplexes and 1 SFH, looking to move towards more multifamily or commercial. Message me if you want to get coffee or start a local meet up here in St. Pete.

I’m new to the St Pete area, I moved here from Gainesville FL, and I’m trying to meet up with fellow investors and like-minded people. My goal is to connect with people here, talk shop, brainstorm, and wherever the conversations lead. I was in a Gainesville Meetup group and now I’m finally semi established here to reach out again on BP.

Some background on me.

I have 1 SFR and 1 Duplex in Gainesville FL. I recently bought a duplex in clearwater to house hack. The top floor is a 1/1, bottom a 3/2. I'm currently living in an Airbnb in downtown ST. Pete until the top tenants leave, which is coming up in 2 weeks. I plan on doing a mini rehab on both floors and outside to help push it to the top rental prices. I just need to wait until the bottom tenants leave, September, so I can finish up everything. I should be able to live for free/ make a little bit extra on the side to pay for my utilities.