All Forum Posts by: David Hall

I would say no depending on your experience.

Unless all CAP Ex has been completed, there may yet me more large expenses. Like you said you are buying at max retail so any potential cap ex that comes up would be right out of your pocket. Class D properties look great on paper but provide so many headaches they normally aren't worth it. Even with a manager things may arise that cause you stress and take your money.

Unless lower class investing is your main focus and you have the capital and comfort level in this arena I would not do this deal.  You said there is no appreciation in site, I think it would be better to find a multi family in the "path of progress" or even in a better area that will be stable, with potential upside, as opposed to this deal that seems mostly negative.  

Be sure you aren't talking yourself into this one.  If I am not comfortable being there, I wouldn't buy it.  If your property manager goes under, you may be in trouble.

Hi Darrell,

Being an investor and realtor myself I have an opinion.  I would pick a realtor who owns rental properties and someone who it's too new in the business or too old.

If a realtor owns rental properties themselves, they automatically have experience your buyer is going to want in a realtor.  They also are more familiar with rental code, compliance and management.  Most realtors who are landlords will also be able to share their handyman and other contractors who will save your buyer time and headaches.

By too old or too new I mean this.  Choose a new agent with caution.  Now often times new agents are hungry and will do a great job searching for a good property, but be sure they know your criteria and be prepared to help correct their searching to allow them to better serve you.  By too old, I mean a busy agent who is no longer hungry.  They might just set you up on automatic emails and wait.  You want the middle ground agent who has experience but is hungry to do more deals.  Investors are some of my favorite clients as they bring repeat business and often can articulate EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT!  Prepare what you are looking for very specifically, give it to a couple realtors and see what you get.  Make sure you tell the agents you are talking to multiple agents up front!

Check out this video I made, "Is this a good deal?" I got this question so much I made this to answer that question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpS9-TOA_Dg

You do not have to refinance to get another FHA loan. Keep in mind the only advantage to FHA is low down payment, but if you only pay a small down payment you will be forced to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) which can potentially send a lot of cash flow down the toilet. Conventional loans are being offered at 3% down now as well with less PMI cost.

Are one year you can get another FHA loan and keep the first one in place and go buy another property. This is a great strategy which I've used with success to acquire a few properties. ALWAYS by Value add or as I like to say, "upswing potential". This gives you instant equity and the ability to refinance if you need to or sell without a loss (and potentially a profit).

I am happy to discuss with you further if you wish.  Sounds like you're on the right track.

I booked the back froom at The Lansing Brewing Company all summer. I know we already had our formal event this month, but who doesn't want more REI networking opportunities?

We will be meeting at the LBC at 6pm. Come grab a beer and network with other local investors. Learn what others are doing, what is working and how you can grow as an investor.

Hi Eric, and welcome to the area.  I have several rentals in Grand Ledge and Lansing.  I've house hacked before and would be happy to share some "best practices" with you anytime. 

The Lansing REI group is actually meeting this week on Thursday the 30th at the Lansing Brewing Company at 6 pm. If you can stop buy it's a great way to get to know some of the local investors who are hungry for knowledge and love real estate.

Welcome Ryan! I myself am a buy and hold investor, interested in multi families, mobile homes, SFH and am doing some flipping right now as well. I am a licensed realtor as well and would be happy to discuss which markets I choose in the Lansing area (I also live on the west side) and where I have found success. PM me if you want to connect.

I use evernote.  It allows me to sort receipts by month and by property if necessary.  It still requires a book keeper to manually enter things, but if you are looking for a solution to use on the go, that is cloud based and free, I would explore evernote.

Due to lower summer attendance we are grabbing a couple tables in the rear room at Lansing Brewing Company to network and keep up on real estate.  With the upcoming Ingham County Tax Sale, there are bound to be some good tales to tell.

It sounds like you need to call all your local banks. I'd start with smaller, local banks. Ask them if you can refinance the property either way, with commercial financing on the LLC or personally into a 30 year mortgage. Seasoning may apply for residential funding. I've been able to use the property's income (once you rent it) to qualify for a commercial loan as long as the cash flow makes sense. Commercial normally has a balloon, shorter term and higher interest but no seasoning. I once purchased, renovated, rented and refinanced a house in 6 weeks with commercial financing since they gave me 70% cash out on a refi based off appraised value.

You may find some banks say no, but keep calling and explain what is happening and hopefully you can find a few to say yes.  You may also want to try using a different private investor if you only need short term financing.

Liberty Title does a good job and has done "outside of the norm" types of deals for me.  Very good at responding and communicating.