All Forum Posts by: Darian Richardson

@Anthony Dooley I am looking to do the same as William, I appreciate your insight. Could you let me know where I can find the laws that you mentioned please?

Also, are you saying that it is legally required to have a real estate license to open a property management company?

@kerry I appreciate the positive insight. Ironically enough I have scooped out a qualdplex in the area, that I look to piece together. Hopefully the owner is in fact "open" to different options of selling the property. 

@Stephanie P.Thanks for your perspective, I'll definitely keep this in mind. 

Hello Biggerpockets,

It has been about 18 months since I purchased my first deal of a duplex that I am currently house hacking. I am looking to do the same process of house hacking a multi-family but on a larger scale this time and purchase a quadplex. The situation I am running into is, since I am already financing my current duplex with a FHA loan, I won't be able to pull out another.

Are there any other owner occupied loans that I can take advantage of with a low down payment similar to the FHA 3.5% down. I am not planning to go down the 20% route due to the high price point in the Atlanta market. It'll be ideal to place 15k - 20k down for a quad-plex in my current situation.

Would anyone have any recommendations, or links to a low down owner occupied loan? I took a look at Fannie Mae's Conventional 97, but they have a "one unit principle" which goes against what I am aiming for. With the Home Ready program, I am a bit unclear of there stipulation with already owning a property.

Any thoughts or recommendation if you have been in a similar situation, how'd you manage to prevail?

@Aaron Murphy I am currently in a similar situation where I am trying to sort out financing for my second deal without going down the road of 20%. How did things end up going with your second deal?

@Francisco Cimon Thank  you for your input, as time goes on that option looks more and more inviting!

Happy Belated Fourth Fellow Investors,

I am in a bit of a predicament, and wanted to reach out to BP before I make a decision.

My partner and I are selling a 2/1 single family home in the Caribbean Island Sint Martin however, we live in Atlanta. We previously decided to try the sell by owner method and elected a buyer in November 2017. After leading us on for nearly 8 months, she finally informed us that the bank rejected her financing because the house is wooden and has a greater risk of being damaged by the tropical weather.

Recently we were presented a cash offer of 75k and the house was appraised at 112k in November 2017. We are not planning to go down the sell by owner path again, so that leaves us with two choices. 

1. Hire a Realtor in SXM and sell the house (8%-11% of Agent commission)

2. Negotiate or accept cash buyer offer of 75k

Disclaimer(s):  The process of selling internationally has been a hassle. Communication to the island has been a challenge as well getting in touch with other necessary moving parts on the island such as the notary, Kadaster, as well the previous buyers. When we do get into to contact the lack of timely professionalism on simple request leads to more frustration. Nevertheless, the whole process these last months have been a hassle.

Hurricane season is approaching within the 3-4 months, and with the condition of the house, we do not feel confident that it can with stand another severe storm. The house has a damaged roof, and other cosmetic damages. 

The concern with option 1 is that if, the house  is not sold before hurricane season it potentially can accrue more damage or completely lose the entire property. However, with a realtor the house will be sold at a higher price, which brings in more cash.

The concern with option 2 is that, if we do settle for the 75k offer that is  36% from the appraised price, which does not sit to well with us. However, the selling process would be less straining and completed sooner.

If anyone has dealt with any situation similar to this, your experience would be greatly appreciated.

Hello BP,

I am in the process of refinancing my duplex for a lower rate of 3.875% using the FHA streamline program. A company called Credence Funding in Maryland informed me about the program. Some of the benefit were that my monthly payments will be lowered, skip one mortgage payment, and get back my escrow money from the current mortgage company.

I decided to move forward with the streamline with a particular loan officer  that a solid relationship of trust was formed. All the way up to the week of closing after and the final closing disclosure was suppose to be sent, his branch manager called and nicely informed me that he was taking over his files because he is currently on "leave of absent" and he cannot get a hold of him. Immediately I text and called the original officer to see what's going on, but till now no response. The branch manager sent me the closing disclosure and everything looked legitimate (from my knowledge) and talked with him on Friday and was shooting to close today(Saturday), but I still have not received a call from him to confirm. 

I have received notice from my current mortgage company that Credence is planning to buy the current loan. I also looked up both of the loan officer's NMLS# and it showed that they are licensed in my current state. Does anyone have any other ways to verify a loan officer/company legitimacy?

I am wondering if anyone else ever dealt with a out of state closing/ refinance and their experiences with it. I am considered because my mortgage is due on 15th and my term is only locked in until the Tuesday the 19th, and also the security of this loan process. 

Please, any suggestion would be appreciated!

@Michael Guzik

I am currently house hacking a duplex and just finished remolding my kitchen and bathroom. I didn't really have that much experience with remodeling but I had internet so I could look at various videos on the specific project and could follow their directions. I quickly realized that a lot of the work was not as difficult as I thought it would be and the most important thing was just trusting in myself to get started.  

I would say if you don't have a lot of capital, do it yourself is the way to go if your half way handy. Realizing that the first property doesn't have to be perfect but is meant for the momentum of your real estate investor career takes a lot of pressure of the first purchase. 

I hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any other questions. 

@Charles Kennedy Thanks for the connect.

@Scott Smith Thank you for the insight. I listened to your podcast and that was also very informative (definitely will have to listen again to follow understand).