All Forum Posts by: Jared McKie

Tom,

Bed and breakfast residences are permitted uses in the T1, T2, T3, T4, B1, B2, and B3 zoning districts. Bed and breakfast residences are permitted uses in residential and BC community business (converted) districts provided the following conditions are met. Conditions: In residential districts, a conditional use permit is required for bed and breakfast residences with two (2) or more guest rooms, and for any bed and breakfast located in a two-family dwelling. In RL-R4 residential districts, a bed and breakfast residence may contain no more than one (1) guest room. The bed and breakfast residence may be established in a one-family detached dwelling or a two-family dwelling, located within a single main building.

Regarding your statement for example the university club - being a long standing establishment they were probably granted a variance or non-conforming use. It sounds like from the info above you would have to apply for a conditional use permit in a "R" district. I personally haven't been through the process with the city's zoning department for this specific use, but as real estate slows down in this season - it might be quicker than other times of the year.

https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspecti...

Hope this helps - let me know if I can be of any assistance!

Have a property under contract which is located in a Heritage Preservation district that's needs some TLC. Anyone have any experience working with this Department? Seems like they are very disorganized when calling them to gain more insight to their process and to discuss their review protocol etc...

Is the property zoned as multi family? If so, there shouldn't be an issue with reverting the use back to a duplex. Given you're prepared for the cost to separate utilities and any ingress/egress issues they may have changed if they converted it to a SFR.

I'm wondering if any other RE Investors out there in MN have worked with any local CPA's for their personal taxes and had a positive experience and would be willing to share their contact info. 

I'm wondering if any other RE Investors out there in MN have worked with any local CPA's for their personal taxes and had a positive experience and would be willing to share their contact info. 

Kerry - Its important to remember like all markets real estate is cyclical and those cycles can be different for every market. Like many other have said on this thread the level of risk should be analyzed on a deal by deal basis. I would suggest looking back at historical rent averages in the area you want to invest and then make some assumptions based on your local area economic conditions - job growth, income, taxes, population growth, vacancy rates, new construction, age demographics, how much subsidized money is being spent in your area etc and try to forecast what you might see in the next 5 - 10 years. 

Real Estate in my opinion is all about location. If you invest in an area people want to live whether its because of the proximity to amenities, school systems, work etc there should be a reason they want to live there and that should only be trending in the positive direction. These areas that are attractive are often more expensive but you often can look to 2nd ring suburbs or just on the fringe of these areas for good deals. It helps to limit your exposure if you have concerns about market stability if your a buy and hold investor looking for cash flow and (possible appreciation) its a good place to start.

You can always test the market whether its you calling on places similar to the place your looking at buying and inquiring about renting it just to see what your competition would be or posting a for rent ad and seeing how many inquires you get its important to know what else is out there and what your competitive advantage may be. Local management companies can also be a huge asset if you form a relationship with any of the managers - they know vacancy rates and what is currently happening usually they will open up with free lunch or coffee and give you some great info on your local market.

Best of luck!

 I use Square Cash. It's free if you set up up correctly. Not sure how many tenants you have but it works for me in the <5 range.

I was the same situation with my first duplex. I purchased in my name because of financing reasons and when I first spoke to several banks/lenders if it were to be purchased in the LLC which would have been created for that specific reason that entity wouldn't have had any real credit history thus they would have a harder time lending. In addition, it would have been a commercial loan and >25 % down would have been required. I would seek a lawyers opinion who practices real estate in your state. Depending on what your risk tolerance is and if you do obtain a loan that has a due on sale clause such as mine does you would have to hedge your bets against the lender enforcing that if you transfer it after the sale.

Ultimately after working with an attorney I've transferred it into an LLC and didn't come across any issues but everyone's situation is different.

-Jared

Hey Everyone! 

So I've started investing in April of 15' after about 12 months of searching and saving for my first deal which is a live in Duplex. I moved into the 2nd unit that needs more work and will update over the next 2 years while the other unit pays 80% of my total monthly expenses (including taxes, insurance, mortgage 10% vacancy factor, utilities Etc..). The question I am contemplating is my next steps. After those 2 years my plan is convert to a 15 year conventional mortgage, lease out the unit I fixed up and keep it as a rental and do it again at another Duplex. 

In the meantime...

I'm eager to keep moving forward but in Minneapolis/St.Paul its a very competitive market and I don't have the privilege currently to invest out of state. The capital I can provide is limited, roughly $20k to invest. I'm thinking SFR from 80K - 140K is the spot for me in a good location. May have to go to a 2nd tier suburb when looking to grow which I'm fine with having less competition.

I've created a business plan identifying my goals, investment parameters, returns etc but have yet to nail down the best strategy or strategies for my situation. 

The strategy I'm most drawn to is a hybrid flip/hold. My goal would be to find a hard money lender or private lender that would lend around the 8-10% interest only loan for 1 year. I'd purchase the SFR complete updates in 2 months and rent it out. After 12 go to a conventional lender who will lend to me on the new ARV of the property, pay the private money lender back and use the proceeds to invest in a new duplex or another SFR and do it again. The obstacles I face is 1.) finding a private money lender 2.) identifying a conventional lender that will lend on the SFR after its renovated and stable 3.) Identifying a contractor that is able to complete the work.

The other option would be to wait, save more money and work with a portfolio lender once I have enough funds saved up, however I think that would take another 2-3 years which in my opinion is too long to wait. 

Anyone willing to share advice or experiences using private money and refinancing after renovating to a conventional mortgage would be much appreciated! Or just general comments.

Thanks - Jared.