All Forum Posts by: Dana Chen

@Eric Giovannucci thank you very much but I was just doing the right thing

So we are in the midst of ramping up our real estate company and part of being a start up is keeping overhead as low as possible.  We've been buying desks, chairs and various other items off Craigslist.  Well, last night we went looking for a MacBook Air that would help us look up properties better on the spot and be easier to carry around than the current 6 year old laptop.  What we thought was only going to be a 30 minute transaction turned into a 5 hour affair with flashing blue lights and people going to jail.  I guess this is what they call "growing pains".  

Everyone stay safe, you never know who you are going to meet on Craigslist or if what they are selling is real.  The story is in the link below.  

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10101012703216682&id=25106766

@Brandon Sturgill if your ARV is 130k and you find a lender to give you 80% LTV after 6 months seasoning (many lenders require 12 months in order to go to 80%), then your mortgage could only be for 104k.

130k - ARV

104k - Mortgage at 80%
- 4k - closing costs/fees/per diem and so on (will vary depending on your state)
- 75k - mortgage balance
= 25k cash out (which would cover some of the 37k you have invested into the home)

With a 104k mortgage at 4.5%, you would have a P&I payment of $527 so whether you will cash flow on that property will depend on your taxes, insurance, HOA and any other variables you might have. You won't be able to completely get your 37k out of the house though if the ARV is only 130k.

@Brandon Turner thank you! another reason why bigger pockets is awesome - you guys are always on top of things

@Hattie Dizmond and @Jon Lafferty I didn't have any problems until I upgraded to OS8, I guess I will go back to using the site on safari until an update is made for the app.  I just wanted to make sure it wasn't just my phone.  Anyone we should tell at bigger pockets?

I've upgraded to OS 8 and now whenever I use the bigger pockets app on my phone it crashes. I can open the app and the latest forums will load but as soon as I click to view the topic, the app crashes. 

Anyone else running into this problem? 

As an update - since my post 2 months ago, I have purchased 50% ownership in a real estate brokerage that specializes in property management which knocked out #2.  It is an established company that already has 55 properties under management.  Based on the books, I should be able to get my investment back within a year.  Also it will also be the company I use for my own buy and holds.

New question now.  I currently own 2 properties.  Both are free and clear.  One was purchased in 2006 and has been rented out for the last 4 years.  Cash flows about 900 a month right now.  The other I just bought 45 days ago for 425k.  I would like to pull the cash out of these two houses to use the money to invest in either buy and holds or flipping.  However I cannot get anyone to lend me the money since I no longer have a W2 job and no real history of being self employed.  Crazy to think I worked in mortgages for 5 years and now I can't get one...Can anyone point me in the right direction with this?  Credit is excellent.  

@Richelle T. could you share what banks you have spoken with that will allow you to do cash out so soon after purchasing the home? I used to be in the mortgage business and recently just paid cash for my new home but I have yet to find a lender to give me a HELOC or cash out on the property since I have only been in it for 45 days. I'm in Florida so if anyone knows any lenders that will allow this, I would love some advice.

We always used a website called sitex.  It's www.sitex.com.  You have to pay for the service but it is certainty worth it.  It shows you who they took the loan from, what loan amount, terms of loan (doesn't always show interest rate but always shows number of years), people vested on title, any transfer of title, comps of sales around.  You can also do an aerial view and pull a report on any house in the surrounding area allowing you to know if there are a ton of people upside down and other valuable data.  

Thanks @Dave Visaya!  I was thinking with my mortgage experience I could always start looking for deals to wholesale, fix/flip them or do a lease to own option and be able to have a separate entity (mortgage brokerage) that finances the purchase for them.  Gives me multiple exit strategies on a home and allows me to have control over the entire process.  I speak Chinese and was born in Beijing so another idea I have is figuring out how to get foreign investment money to fund a buy and hold strategy.  Chinese people these days have bundles upon bundles of cash.