All Forum Posts by: Cindy Craft

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $114,800

This was my first home bought in 2018 purchased with a VA Loan. My husband also had a home purchased by a VA loan when we met, he eventually moved in with me and we rented his home out. When my husband and I moved to a larger home after our daughter was born in 2022, we decided not to sell and rent this one out also.

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

Our first SFR was a fun and very successful project. We were very excited about expanding our rental business and passive income!

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

This home was originally purchased as my primary residence prior to my ever researching real estate investing.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a $0 down VA Loan to purchase this home.

How did you add value to the deal?

We increased curb appeal, added a nice split rail fence, new floors, and rented it out with all appliances, washer, dryer, and microwave included. I know many people would not agree, but we also chose to allow pets with a hefty pet deposit. My husband and I met at a dog park and our pets are our family. We did not want to deter potentially great renters because of their pets. With proper vetting, we have had excellent renters, with minimal wear and tear between tenants.

What was the outcome?

Because of the interest rate of the original VA loan, the cash flow of this property isn't as high as our other one. But, it is still cash flowing $250/month

Lessons learned? Challenges?

.

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

I had a real estate agent when i purchased the home as my primary residence. But, the rental process was done entirely by myself and my husband.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $112,000

This home was purchased with a $0 down VA Loan, lived in for 1.5 years then turned into a rental. This was my husband's home before we met. When he moved in with me, we decided to turn it into a rental rather than sell it.

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

Thinking longterm...hoping to achieve financial independence.

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

Through research after the home was already purchased.

How did you finance this deal?

VA Loan

How did you add value to the deal?

We kept the property in excellent condition and have made upgrades to it as necessary to attract high quality renters.

What was the outcome?

this property has been extremely successful and is our biggest cash flowing SFR

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Do not listen the sob stories or woes of potential tenants, stick to the rental criteria. Trust your gut.

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

Not in the rental process. The process of renting out the home was done solely by myself and my husband. We listed it, vetted potential tenants, etc. ourselves.

Thank you all so much! Every one of you has given invaluable advice and I will consider all when we officially begin the process. 

@Michael Plante, yes, I do have a terrible habit of overthinking/over complicating things sometimes. I get really excited and sometimes I have so many ideas running through my head I need an outside perspective to help organize them :) Thank you, the list was very helpful!

@Greg Bond I appreciate your feedback, it was very helpful. I am a little nervous about the Turnkey option just because I am not sure how to find out how reputable they are. Also, how would I go about finding a turnkey company to discuss the possibility of a deal with? Because I am so new to this, my real estate network is pretty small.  

At this point, we are leaning towards doing most of the work ourselves. I am looking for a rental that is in livable conditions, that might just need a boost with some minor or more cosmetic changes that happen over time. We do have a decent amount of cash put aside in savings that we could put towards new flooring and/or some other fixes in a rental, we each have a retirement fund, and we do not touch the income that our first rental has produced unless it is something specifically needed for that property, so that is building up slowly, but nicely. 

Please help! We are hungry and motivated!

My husband and I have one SFR currently. It was his home when we met and we moved into my home and rented his out in 2019. It is doing very well and we are looking to invest in a second rental property, either another SFR or a MFR in the Findlay, OH area. I am not exactly sure where to start. Now that we have narrowed down our market/location, do I contact a realtor first, a lender to get a pre-approval, an investor (we will need an investor for the down payment), or do I need to have a specific property in mind and analyzed before pursuing any of these?

Also, at what point should we create a business or LLC?

Any advice would be truly appreciated!

@Rick Turman, Thank you so much for the suggestion to reach out to the B&Bs, I hadn't thought to contact them directly. 

@Sofia Sharkey, Your advice is very helpful! THANK YOU! I am not afraid of the work, I am truly enjoying getting into real estate. 

Joe, thank you, I appreciate your feedback. Yes, the market in Findlay is a little different. I did not necessarily plan to rent ours for the same amount as the Toledo house. I was just using their property as my reference in developing the idea and figuring out the logistics of how I would go about it if we decided to make the switch. Keep in mind, our current tenants will still be there until December 2021, the travel ban and shutdowns might be lifted by then, however, I will certainly consider that when it comes time to decide what path we are going to take with it. I just don't see that property doing well as a vacation rental as it is in the suburbs, no spectacular views or special amenities that you couldn't get at the average home. If we do not have the numbers and support from local businesses to do this when I am done with my research, we will just continue to list it as a LTR. 

I create my own schedule as of now with my job as an agency nurse, and my husband only works every 3rd day as a Firefighter, so I could account for the time if needed to clean between inhabitants. 

Thank you. There is only one, fairly small, but functional bathroom. I would like to limit the amount of people who will inhabit it at one time as we will only have two queen sized beds and a couple couches. The third room is very small, so we would put a desk/work space in there. Clientele I am probably interested the most in are the professionals, business clients. However, I do not want to completely limit and occlude everyone else to the point where I will not have any tenants. I do however want to cater more towards a calm, private, family/home environment for those who have to relocate temporarily and do not want a long contract or to stay in a hotel.

In Findlay, OH we currently have one LTR that is single story, with a covered car port, close to downtown, a park, and shopping in a quiet neighborhood. The current renters are amazing and have been in there since we first listed it. However, they will be moving back to CA next December and we will be looking for new tenants. I just recently heard of someone in the Toledo area with a home very similar to our LTC, renting out as STR however, it is rented on a weekly basis to traveling employees from nearby companies. They have been very profitable and are booked for the entire year already at $1200/week.

I would like to look into doing this once our current renters move out. Findlay, OH has a lot of factories, Marathon headquarters, distribution centers, and a hospital. 

Has anyone done this? I am not sure where to begin with reaching out to the local large businesses and developing a relationship or contract. I know I will need a special license and to get a tax ID number, and it would need to be fully furnished and live-in ready. Is there anything else I need to do? 

If anyone has any advice or help figuring out the logistics of this please feel free to share!

Nathan G. 

I am thinking that we did list it a little low. There is not a lot for rent in our area right now as far as 3 bedroom houses goes. Marathon headquarters is here along, University of Findlay, and many distribution centers that are bringing an influx of people.