All Forum Posts by: Jacques Cyr

@Jaideep Reddy : Welcome to BP... Such a Great resource.

I agree with you about the potential need for out of state (Mid-west) investing for your next phase. One of the main investors I partner / work with lives in San Diego, and simply can't find deals to get into right now. And he has rather deep pockets to pull from for capital. 

We're able to do some interesting projects here in Grand Rapids, MI and West Michigan. Still some good opportunities in this area, though getting a bit more challenging to find. For most of the folks I work with, we typically have to act quickly to acquire the right properties when they come on the market. If you don't mind a little friendly advice: do your due diligence ahead of time, finding the market you'd like to target, and find local resource (checking references, etc...) for individuals that can "walk the subject property", writing up general rehab budget, and has a network of resources. You'll need to trust this individual, but can make sure to include an inspection / funding clause as part of any offer. Good luck... feel free to reach out with any questions. Always happy to help.

@Guy Yoes, I may have missed it in the thread, but way not use local credit union or similar to finance out your original investment, leveraging up to more properties? Under current rules, you can hold (10) residential loans, after that you're into commercial loans. I get the potential interest of SDIRA; though, your decision most likely comes down to personal goals. Here in West Michigan, we have several options in the CU arena which provide excellent service. The cash flow is still there, and your still building equity, but on scale. Hope this helps. Good luck with your investments. 

@Chad Smith: Welcome to BP... Great resource, and originated in your backyard. Not too shabby.

I agree with @Antoine Martel regarding potential need for out of state (Mid-west) investing for your next phase. One of the main investors I partner / work with lives in Boulder, and simply can't find deals to get into right now. And he has rather deep pockets to pull from for capital. We're able to do some interesting projects here in Grand Rapids, MI and West Michigan. Still some good opportunities in this area, though getting a bit more challenging to find. For most of the folks I work with, we typically have to act quickly to acquire the right properties when they come on the market. If you don't mind a little friendly advice: do your due diligence ahead of time, finding the market you'd like to target, and find local resource (checking references, etc...) for individuals that can "walk the subject property", writing up general rehab budget, and has a network of resources. You'll need to trust this individual, but can make sure to include an inspection / funding clause as part of any offer. Good luck... feel free to reach out with any questions. Always happy to help. 

@Tyler DeNooyer welcome to BP, and congrats on wanting to take the next steps. I agree with @Paul Leason regrading Aaron at Hungerford. They do a nice job. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Always happy to help fellow investors (young or old. new or seasoned... :) ). 

@Alex Witte, Jeff has provided you with some great advice. My suggestion to you would be to know your audience. I've done a few debt position loans here in the Grand Rapids, MI market. Essentially, straight 10% (early loans / projects - Higher risk and all...), with perhaps 7-8% simple interest on later projects. Another approach is a straight 50/50 equity position. (Or better to borrower on later projects). Again... this would be for shorter term plays. For Buy & Holds, we've then refinanced via traditional lending institution once the property is stabilized - which is often quite quickly once rented and forced ARV appreciation.

As for the positioning with your Friends and Family, I'd suggest asking what their goals are. Perhaps they'll be open to even more favorable terms (towards your benefit), but I suggest being fair, and "having as much skin in the game as you can comfortably withstand". Also... the rehabs are almost always more than originally budgeted. Just sayin'... I can share some of the first person loan position documents we've used; however, as Jeff mentioned... it sounds like WI is slightly different than the West Michigan regulations. Not in my wheelhouse. Hope this helps. 

@Jason Fleming - Much like @Casity Kao I'm also biased to the Grand Rapids / West MI region. Strong economy / low vacancy / relative low cost of entry / etc... I also agree with Casity that this is a competitive market, like many areas of the country right now, and you'll need a network in place to ensure you're goals can be met. One area I often suggest to the investors we work with is to double check the property taxes for each subject property. You may know this already; however, many investors will use the current owners "homestead" tax rate when running their numbers. Overall, our labor and material cost are similar to other midwest area cost; however, here in MI we have "Michigan Basements", which you'll want to be aware of when inspections, etc. Congrats on the Tampa project. Hopefully you've had some good success. Jacques 

@Victor Cooke, Thank you for sharing. Some great advice included within your "Short" summary (ha). Good advice... including the neighbors and inspection. I had a property that I finally sold, which had "challenging" neighbors that I wish I had been more observant of prior to purchasing the subject property. Even the contractors I had working on the rehab were concerned with the madness of the neighbors. Ha. 

Good luck, and welcome to BP. I grew up in the Traverse City general area, and I'm bull-ish on its potential (after Grand Rapids of course. :) ). Several under-estimated areas in Northern MI. 

Have a great holiday and let me know if I can ever be of help. Jacques 

Welcome to BP @Monique H. Exciting times for you and your husband. I agree with Tim regarding the "hybrid" approach. 

I'm sure you'll be running plenty of analysis on the initial properties; however, one MI related aspect I always advise the investors I work with to be aware of is the calculations for Non-homestead tax rates when estimating P&L, as well as cash flow. Several resources available, but happy to help in this arena if you'd like. Can point you towards a few sites I use, etc. Also how I run my initial numbers for rough "Go / No Go" out of the gate analysis. What areas of GR are you looking at for your first round (of many... :) )?

Have a great weekend / holiday. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Jacques 

@Jose Leon III. Congrats on getting started. 

Thought I'd share a few questions for your further consideration. I'm assuming your 30 year interest rate would be a bit hire, but I'm sure you'll adjust accordingly. didn't notice any information on the subject property specifics / condition: i.e. Roof, Foundation, etc...?  Do comps provided have updated kitchens, bath, flooring, etc...?

Couple pieces of advice - I suggest you also factor in holding cost, property maintenance, property management, insurance, vacancy, etc.. as well as taxes. Here in Grand Rapids, MI, actually Michigan in general... the property taxes are the biggest error most potential B&H owners make. I often see calculations done using the "homestead" tax rate, vs non-homestead, which can be 1.5-2X the normal rate. Grand Rapids has an extremely low vacancy rate, one of the lowest in the country in fact, so rates are going; however, so is the cost of each subject property. Feel free to send me a spreadsheet with your numbers, and I'll do what I can to provide some feedback. 

Exciting times... looks like you're moving forward. Jacques 

Cody, Welcome to BP. Exciting times to be getting started and taking action. 

Question for you: have you started to attend local meet-ups? Identified local investors / storage owners? Established a baseline of what each will be looking for from a subject property? etc... Your market is certainly is different than ours here in Grand Rapids, MI. 

Frankly since you're targeting self-storage, I'm not sure if this approach would require commercial focus. I would think so. 

BP is fantastic for finding local investors and networking, as well as analysis tools; however, not sure if self-storage analysis tools are available. Good luck... Hope these thoughts will help you get started.