All Forum Posts by: Corey Westermann

@Zach Liu - Thanks, I agree that I should spend some more time finding a good portfolio lender who might look past my debt to income ratio - if anybody has a good referral I'd love it.

@Account Closed - I appreciate the comment, I guess. However, my question has more to do with how investors that don't have POF might write an offer and still get a deal under contract.

Hi BPers,

I'm planning on getting my Real Estate license as I continue my investing career in Portland, Oregon. I intend only to use it for my own deals, I'm tired of relying on my agent for comps, access to the MLS, and access to properties.

In Oregon I'm required to operate under a "Principal broker" for 3 years before I am allowed to become a Principle broker myself and operate independently. 

My question is this - Is there a typical method for finding a Principal broker I can operate under knowing that I have no interest in acting as an agent for anyone but myself? What kind of costs can I expect for this sort of arrangement and how common is it?

Thanks!

Hi BPers,

I'm still relatively new and could use some advice regarding getting properties under contract. To this point I've purchased 3 rentals using conventional financing and large down payments. My goal is to continue to buy and hold SFRs in Portland, Oregon.

I'm currently looking to purchase my next property but my debt to income is out of whack and conventional loans are pretty much unavailable to me (even the portfolio lenders I've found).

The market here in the Portland metro is pretty crazy right now and I'm having trouble getting sellers to take my offers seriously without proof of funds. I'm consistently put in back-up position or ignored in favor of pre-qualified buyers. I have a large down payment ready and I'm confident that I could find hard or private money once I had the deal.

I guess my question is this - What strategies or methods should I learn about that will allow me to get properties under contract without being pre-qualified for a loan? Is it really my only option to have investors or hard money lined up prior to writing an offer? How do whole-salers do it - do they really have a POF letter that they include with their offers?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Thanks all - for both the welcome notes and helpful advice! This place is great.

@Taylor Shields 

Thanks for the response - I appreciate it. Maybe I'll see you at a Rarebird meeting sometime soon.

Yep - traditional financing. I've definitely wondered about how transferring the titles into an LLC would affect my current loans. Most people say that banks never exercise the due-on-sale clause, but seems like there's at least a little risk there. Do I need my lender's permission prior to transferring the title?

Hi BP, I'm Corey.  I'm happy to be here and figured it was time I introduced myself and get a little more involved.

I'm 33, self employed, and I've got 3 kids. My businesses and kids (all 3 are under 4yrs old) keep me very busy, but I see real estate as a way to build a kind of financial independence that will eventually make me less busy and better able to provide for my family.

I currently own 3 SFRs in the Portland metro area with near term plans to add #4 and 5. I have a buy and hold philosophy with the goal of long term cash flow. I manage the properties myself. 

Some thoughts I'm currently kicking around that I'd love input on: 

1 - I'd like to start an LLC to hold my properties as well as a separate LLC to manage my properties. I have a personal umbrella policy but have been told many times that's insufficient. I'm unsure whether I should keep each house in a seperate LLC (Oregon doesn't have a series LLC option as far as I know).

2 - Property here is freakin expensive! Without a big down payment it's tough to make a SFR cash flow in my area (no such thing as the 2% rule here as far as I can tell). Aside from investing far outside of my area or buying a POS (neither of which really interest me) I don't see many alternatives to just saving up a big stack of cash to put down to keep the mortgage payment smaller than the rent. While I'm ok with this strategy, it's SLOOOOW and hard to be patient - especially when I listen to the BP podcast and hear all these guys buying $60k properties that they can turn around a rent for $1k/mo.

3 - I'm interested in finding a Portland real estate investor group or meetup in my area to plug into and was hoping that there might be one you guys could recommend. I'm currently living in SE.

4 - I want to get my real estate license, not so that I can act as an agent for others - but so that I can get access to the MLS and for ease of getting in to see prospective properties. I've been told that getting my license can increase my responsibilities as an investor quite a bit and would appreciate your thoughts on why it is or isn't worth it.

Thanks in advance for welcoming me here.