All Forum Posts by: Connor Wentling

Congrats, Holly!

Hey Carl,

You and I are both passengers on the same train! I'm just getting started too. I couldn't agree with Chris, education is the first step, and it sounds like you're taking full advantage of everything you can.

I appreciate the frustration you might be experiencing from "analysis paralysis." I've been there too! Taking the first action step is enormous! I would encourage you to stay firm on your buying standards (e.g., pg. 53 of The Book on Rental Property Investing), but flexible on how you might fund it. Banks and other lenders might be a bit more cautious these days, so keep your eyes open for seller financing deals or partnership opportunities. 

Also, stay focused on your long term, specific goals. It sounds like you're knocking on all of the right doors. They'll open soon enough. So stay encouraged!

Best of luck!

Connor

Hey BP community!

I just closed on my first rental. I'm working on setting up as streamlined and automated of a process as I can. I heard about Cozy on one of the BP podcasts. I used it for the application, credit screening, and background check. It seemed pretty easy for my first potential tenant to use. I'll also offer that as an online rent payment option. So so far, so good there!

The question I have is about the lease agreements, pet addendum, etc. Is there a good online option that any of you would suggest for the contractual side of the business?

Thanks for your time!

Connor

Thanks for the response and guidance, Nate. I'll definitely look into the state laws for SC. This may be too obvious of a question, but when you say "escrow account" is it actually an account your bank offers for escrow related funds or is it simply a savings or checking account that you've created solely for that purpose?

Thanks again!

Connor

Hello BP community,

I'm closing on my first investment property this month and have lined up a tenant for one year. My plan is to collect one month's rent as a damage deposit. That seems to be a standard approach, but I'm curious what your thoughts are.

Are there any unique restrictions on managing the damage deposit? Can I place the money in a business checking account or does it need some other line of tracking? 

Thanks for your time and advice!

Connor

Thanks for all of the valuable input that each of you gave. Even more than that, thanks for the time you took to reply. I'm new to the BP community and am already blown away by the support.

I've decided to press ahead on this one. It might not be the best deal, but I've decided that I'm in this for the long haul and I'll welcome the experience. We'll see how it turns out!

Best of luck to all of you guys!

Thanks for responding, Nicholas.

I could be making a slew of rookie mistakes here, but this is my thought process...

The tenant would cover utilities. Regarding cap ex, the place recently went through a custom remodel. So everything is new from the ground up. The seller has agreed to a 24-month balloon. I guess I figured that I wouldn't have to worry about any cap ex costs during that period. I could reassess that if needed. 

I wish that I had a picture of the garage. It's ridiculous. I've never seen a garage with eight-inch baseboards and crown molding! It's a detached, two-car garage in immaculate condition. Never stored cars or tools, just racks of clothing and furniture. 

I've done a lot of remodel work and was planning to do this myself. You did get me thinking about the 10k estimate though. I didn't factor in a mini-split wall unit. That'll drive up the cost $2,000 or so. Since I'm doing the work myself, I wasn't planning to pull a permit. 

Again, I could be making some mistakes here. I appreciate the sanity check. 

Feel free to share any thoughts that you might have.

@Joseph James

Thanks for taking the time to share some of your knowledge with me, Joseph. It’s definitely intimidating starting out. I believe in the process though and am bought into doing the work. I’m excited to see where all of this will lead for me and am very grateful for people like you!

Hello!

I am very new to the BiggerPockets community but have been blown away by the knowledge and willingness to pass it around!

I have wanted to get going with investing in buy and hold rentals for years and decided that I'm going to give it an honest attempt this year! My goal is to purchase three houses this year. I have a two-bedroom - two-bath residential property under contract. I've been going through the process of getting a conventional loan. The seller wants 200k for the house. It appraised at 206k. There is not a lot of room to increase the equity in the home through rehab. It's definitely "turn-key!"

There is a detached garage. I've considered converting that to a studio apartment. I could easily do it for less than 10k. I would be able to add equity that way.

I used the BP rental property calculator, and the numbers on a conventional loan were no good. I've got a tenant lined up for a one year lease at $1,300 per month. But the mortgage payment would be $940, and the taxes and insurance would be $250. The homeowner owns the home outright, so I offered a seller-financed option instead.

He has agreed to 20k down, $800 per month, and a 24 month. Under that scenario, I'd be cash flowing $250 per month. Converting the garage could bring in an additional $500.

Two questions:

- Am I crazy for thinking this way? I am super new. And I have thick skin and really want to learn. So fire away!

- Does anyone happen to have a seller-financed contract that you'd be willing to share? I'm in SC. I'm not sure if they have to be state-specific.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might share!

Connor

Greg and Logan,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post! I have so much to learn! Logan, thanks for the advice regarding the calculators. I'll start familiarizing myself with them tonight.

Stay healthy!

Connor