All Forum Posts by: Dave Poeppelmeier

@Timothy Burns Some solid advice on here. One thing I would suggest is if this is going to be your long term plan, is set it up correctly from the start. 

1. Set up a business checking account for your daily funds and a business savings for your Security Deposits. Keep everything separate from your personal funds. 

2. Since you're house hacking, it would seem like a very blurry line on if you need an LLC or not. Just have a nice big Umbrella Insurance Policy in case someone falls down your steps and the hand rail was loose or something. Once you move on to your next house, put your current house in an LLC. Talk to an attorney for official legal advice.

3. Tenantbackgroundcheck.com worked for me initially, and if you use Zillow they have a pretty simple application/background check system that should work. 

4. Start getting used to a property management app and running your room rentals like a business. Lots of them do allow ACH transfers for rent, but if you're going to accept cash, make sure you give them a paper receipt (and keep a copy) or have them go directly to your bank and put the cash in there so you never touch it. 

Best of luck, you're doing great so far!

It depends on what the point of the mentorship is. Are they simply using you to bird-dog properties for them? Are they simply using you for a payday? Or are they actually teaching you something? Back in the day (2013) my wife and I wanted to learn about RE but had nobody in our families or friends circle that was involved. We spent $3-4k on Robert Kiyosaki's 6 month online program, and it was invaluable in teaching us the basics of Real Estate and is probably the best money we've ever spent. It was also before he went off the deep end of crypto/gold/etc and was still a RE Educator. 

 Now, a lot/most of this information is available free, BUT you have to know who to trust. Any yahoo can say they have X properties on YouTube and that they're an expert, but they're just in it for clicks and ad revenue. Bottom line, you need to know the basics: knowing how the numbers work, how to manage a property (or find a PM), getting your team set up of a Realtor/Tax Pro/Attorney/etc. After that, you just need to take the plunge and buy a property, make mistakes/learn along the way, wash/rinse/repeat. And yes, you can find all of this here on BP. Best of luck to you!

 It's easy, you save a keyword search for "Ohio"... 😄 In all seriousness, we see lots of investors coming to Ohio for the relatively low prices compared to the other areas of the country. Plus, Ohio does have everything: Columbus is a hot market and hot city with limitless expansion potential (literally it is surrounded by farmland), Cleveland and Cincinnati are both established major metro areas with high end areas and cash flow areas, and the tertiary markets of Toledo, Dayton, and Akron also have great cashflow returns.

I would simply have the conversation with your roommate that her GF is essentially another tenant, and that if GF is going to hang out when tenant isn't there all the time, she needs to be on the lease. In general, this is how it should go, but when the property owner doesn't live in a house/unit, they never know that the significant other is essentially behaving as a tenant. Having the GF on the lease also protects the tenant, in that if the GF goes crazy and damages stuff, it's GF responsibility, not the tenant's. 

I would talk to an attorney to clarify what tenant's rights specifically are in St Paul just to be sure, but this shouldn't be a huge issue. You're still on the right path letting roommates pay for your mortgage.

I would put the stackable washer/dryer in. Even though it's not in a high rent district, it's going to make your unit so much more attractive to renters, and you'll likely attract a better quality renter with a higher rent number. You can also mention to prospective tenants that they're probably saving money by renting a unit that has a w/d and not getting raked over the coals at a laundromat or apartment coin-op laundry. Nobody is going to buy their own stackable w/d, because the next place they move to it likely won't be appropriate for. Just my two cents, good luck!

That's a great lender question. In general, if you're showing cash flow from an investment property, it's fine as long as you have reserves in case something goes wrong. You do have to look at your Debt to Income ratio to make sure you don't have too much debt vs what you think you'll be making with your new career, which is what Nathan is referring to. But again, talk to a lender and they can fill you in on all of the details. 

@Amy Summer welcome and congrats on thinking this far ahead! You have a few options here: 1: Simply focus and pay for your schooling. Unless you're going to be a full time Real Estate Professional, focus on your career. There's nothing wrong with bringing in a good W2 income to save money for down payments for future Investment Properties. 2: Buy a house where you're going to go to school and house hack. House hacking is where you buy a property, live in it for a little while, then keep it as a rental and buy a new house to live in. Look at the numbers on what it would cost to borrow money for Student Loans vs your Mortgage Payments. If you're going to leave in 2 years, you can keep the house as a rental there. 2(a): Buy a house where you're going to school and find some roommates to help cover the mortgage, utilities, etc. Yes, you'll still be spending money on the down payment, but at least you'll have to take out less loans because you'll have money coming in from your roommates. 

If you're going to try something like this, you need to contact a Realtor/Property Manager where you're going to school to see if these numbers would work. There are great contacts in most every market here on BiggerPockets that can help you figure this out. The one thing I wouldn't do is buying a property where you are now and you're not going to be there, so you're going to need to hire a property manager. Then a big cost item breaks/something happens, now you're distracted from your studies worrying about a house you're not living in, etc. 

Just my two cents on everything, but best of luck to you!

Agreed, go with what's here on BP. Most investors fine tune their leases over time to their tastes and needs, but if you just want to keep a renter in your old house and make some money, that's the easiest/cheapest way to get a solid basic lease. 

Also agreed on leasing 1 year at a time. I would also stop in more than once a year if you can. There are "professional tenants" out there that can tell if you're a seasoned pro or on your first property. Hope this helps, good luck!

Talk to @Chris Wharton at First Ohio. He works with several clients of mine. If you're interested in the Toledo market, let's set up a time to talk. 

@Christian Wendelboe to answer one of your original questions, yes you can switch lenders mid-transaction, but you and the new lender have to get on your horse to get things done by your closing date. The biggest thing is the appraisal, you need to make sure the new lender orders that ASAP. If you're going to do that, you need to have your Realtor reach out to the other side to see if they're ok with delaying closing potentially. If they're not because it was a competitive situation and they have other offers to fall back on, you may be stuck. 

Otherwise, I'm in the Local Lender boat (for Single Family), in that if you have a lender from the area you're looking in, listing agents and owner-occupant sellers are more willing to "trust" your offer. A lot of people have been burned by the "Out of State Buyer", who comes in with a high offer with financing from an out of town lender nobody has heard of, only to have them ask for tons of money off after inspection and/or the lender isn't able to close for some reason. If you have a local lender and a local Realtor of course, the listing agent knows who they are, Title knows who they are, etc. With the slowdown, this may not apply as much anymore, but it was definitely a thing the past couple years. If you're looking for Multifamily/Commercial (or the Single Family is already a rental), then @James Wise is correct in that they don't care about where your financing is from, so it may be worth the effort to look nationally for the best terms that apply to you and your investing. 

I will also vouch for First Ohio, many of my clients use them up here in Toledo and they do work all over Ohio. Sorry your offer didn't get accepted, but there's tons of properties out there. Good luck!