All Forum Posts by: Josh Dillingham

I use Cozy.co for online payments, and accepting applications. Very easy and free if you don't mind waiting 5-7 days for your funds to deposit. Tenants can also submit maintenance requests through the website. It's easy for the tenants to sign up and there is tech support for them to talk to if they have trouble so you don't have to walk them through it.

@Luan Oliveira I considered it but it would only be $80/per month I would be saving in PMI and with the refi fees and the fact that interest rates are quite a bit higher than when I got the original mortgage it doesn't make since to refi just to drop PMI.

@Leonardo Gonzalez It is possible to use the BRRRR strategy on a 3% down loan situation but in order to end up with enough cash at the end of the transaction to turn it into another property you'll have to get a better deal then you would if you were using a conventional mortgage with 20% down or paying all cash. I bought a 3 unit property for $120K using FHA 3% down, put $10K into it and it appraised for $160K I would have liked to use the BRRRR strategy and refinance and repeated but I could only refi for 75% which would have been $120K which wouldn't really leave me with anything left to "repeat" with. I would just have a new mortgage with 25% equity. I'm not saying it's a bad deal, I'm just saying it takes money to make money. the BRRRR strategy is about recycling money. if you only have 3% into the deal there isn't much money to recycle. But if you could find a $100K property with 3% down, put $10k into it and get it to appraise for $200k then you would have some room to work, but that would be an exceptional deal.

I just went through this same process and ended up with a 6 camera system from Security Camera Warehouse.  Their cameras have great video quality at a fair price and they're tech support is fantastic.  They are IP cameras that are powered through an Ethernet cable so there is only a single cable that will run directly to the recording device.  I was able to install the system including all the wiring in a day with no prior experience with security cameras. They will even help you decide the best camera layout for your property.

Evictions in Vermont can take longer than in other states and Vermont has an additional 5 protected classes on top of those protected by the fair housing act. Property taxes are high which means you have to find a property with a high ratio of rent/purchase price. I am a landlord in Vermont and I'm doing fine. Choose your tenants wisely and know the laws and you can be successful landlord anywhere. That being said, if I didn't live in Vermont and was not familiar with the area I would not choose to be a landlord here.

What about a key pad entry where you can just change the code whenever someone moves out and alert the current tenants? That way you will never have to replace lost keys and if there is a security breach you can change the combination on the spot and not have to worry about giving everyone a new key card.

given that this is an auction Hard/private money or partnerships may be your only options. does the auction give you time to finance the property through conventional means or will you need to have the money at the close of the auction? Also keep in mind that buying at auction is very risky for your first deal, you don't really know what is going on in the property unless you are able to get in there and inspect it, or better yet have a home inspection done. Trying to get into your first deal with none of your own money will be more difficult considering hard money lenders will want you to have skin in the game especially considering you have no reputation or experience. Are you exploring other options besides auctions? 30K is enough for a down payment on a duplex or tripex in some parts of Cincinnati. The best bang for your buck would be to get an FHA 3.5% down payment loan on a 4-unit owner occupied building, but then you would have to intend to live there for a year.

Eric,

I'm sure that would be specific to the property management company you choice.  I can tell you that with the bigger pockets calculators  "other income" doesn't factor into the equation when calculating property management fees based on a percentage of monthly income, and I would imagine this would be the standard in the property management world. 

@Josh Ledbetter I would say this is a good idea only if you know for sure that your area has a need for corporate rentals, lodging for travel nurses, ect. Then you need to get connected to those hospitals, corporations etc.  and make sure you are their first choice. If you are just advertising on craigslist, Zillow, facebook, etc.  I don't see this working out.

Hi Bonnie, 

I invest in multi families in the Brattleboro area and I would not consider a property listed at $227K with total potential rents of $2200/month.  I don't know any investor that would consider that deal.  especially considering the high property taxes in vermont, investments for me need to be close to the 2% rule, meaning monthly rents would need to be 2% of the purchase price.  in the case of a property listed at $227K I would be looking for rents of $4500/month. 

you mention single families selling for more than your duplex, this is because the buyers are completely different people.  Someone looking at a single family is buying on emotion and will pay more to get a house they really want to live in.  Someone buying a duplex is buying for the investment, the property doesn't need to appeal to them emotionally it just needs to make since financially, your property doesn't seem to make financial since for an investor.  You could end up selling to someone that really likes the property and likes the idea of having an extra unit to help defray mortgage costs, but that would be a very specific kind of buyer as most people just looking to buy a house don't want to be a landlord. Is there any chance you could convert the property into a single family?  That could actually increase its value.