All Forum Posts by: David Robinson

 Great answer @Nathan Gesner

I put my first land purchase in an llc, which stopped me from getting a free culvert put in, county will install culvert and access to property to residential owner occupied, like if i wanted to build a 2nd home, the work would have been free but not if land in llc. Would have saved 1000 dollars and time of installing culvert, and could have put it in personal name, paid cash, got culvert and then paid for it to be quit claim to my llc? There also may be benefits if the llc is on the land and its in a hubzone, may make it more valuable if commerical zoning changes are made or is allowed on the property. 

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $10,500
Cash invested: $7,000

Land only, needs culverts, driveways, electric, water. some landscaping and grading needed. cash invested for acquisition only.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Close to a college, grew up playing on the land.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Realtor had it listed. I offered below asking price, and it was accepted.

How did you finance this deal?

HML

How did you add value to the deal?

Added a survey, cleared space for a perc septic test. Kept communication with real estate agents, paperwork and calls.

What was the outcome?

Holding on thin ice, currently listed to sell land and possibly use the cash to take a breath and then find another piece of land that I can be at within an hour or two drive not 6. Sounds like 1st world problems. But thats my excuse, even though when I had cash, it could have been used to do more rehab and make it more presentable to see and ready to build on.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Have the cash on hand for the quickest possible way to cash flow short term or long term. Be ready for more work on raw land.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, both realtors from acquisition to current realtor listing it, have been a pleasure to work with. And glad for their help.

Sounds like a smooth deal. How long was the process for the rehab portion?

I acquired my first land deal, had two lots. One with electrical transmission overhead line running over it. Thought it was enough space for a small short term rental far enough from the line, few miles to a college. But I didn't do any of the rehab. No driveway, no culvert, no meters, bare land that need some cleaning up, some timber, tried selling half the land. I guess I am answering my own question, but this was a stretch of time, that I didn't measure correctly and cash that wasn't available, which should have been measured too. I tried selling half of the 2 lots and keep one for small short term rental near the college, but it didn't sell. Which in my mind would have given me the cash to build the short term specialty rental, or short term rv parking, or like a tree house rental. The most up to date, is to sell both lots, .6 acre, and find another property within an hour of me to do my own rehabbing, clearing and grading.  Any feedback welcomed. 

@Joshua Dorkin Love the website so much that I just applied to be on the team.

@Tre Tyler Most lenders can give you an estimate in writing with a verbal credit score, but terms can change if after beginning the process the score and other information is different than what you provided. What type of loan will it be, commercial or residential? You can ask if they are going to service the loan or sell it? You can ask about closing and title companies? Ask about appraisals, some lenders use BPO. I have worked in both commercial and residential lending, let me know if i can help any more. There is a lot you can ask, just build a relationship with one that you can trust that is for your best interest and will work towards your goals.

@Victor Delgado Velez Not sure on tenants during renovations, but do want follow your progress with the 203k process. Is it a 4 unit. Major renovations or minor, the tennants shouldnt mind if their getting nice upgrades but how intrusive will it be. Too bad you couldn't include tenant hotel expenses into the rehab portion of the construction safety expenses.

@Jody Sperling This looks great. I have never heard of this but sounds like a great product. Thanks for sharing.

@Malcolm Ovenden I wouldn't send you my bank statements, unless you wanted to see how much my wife spends on amazon and help me stop it,but I do work with multiple commercial lenders,and some require a commitment fee. Some lenders are not going to put their team and their time on a project without knowing you are serious and committed. I will be glad to give you some of my time to help just not during the game this weekend or the super bowl. Go Bills

@Dave Spooner Yep, thanks Dave.