All Forum Posts by: DJ Richmond

Originally posted by @Raymond Guillotte:

@Jessie Nunley Tell me about it! I did not realize what kind of burden I was placing on myself when I was taking out my school loans, but like I told somebody else on this post, in a way it has led me to where I am now,  getting my personal finances in order, working my *** off, and helped me discover BP. I have only been listening to the BP podcast for about a week and I am hooked! Thank you for the recommendation and goodluck with everything! 

 Can't look backwards, only forward. With your attitude, the future will be bright!

@Raymond Guillotte one other thing I wanted to ask about. 

You mentioned that you work in Boston but would want to buy as a house hack in the Southcoast. Have you thought about what that is going to do for your commute? $400+ per month in MBTA commuter rail passes and a lot of time spent. Assuming you're in New Bedford/ Fall River, there are a lot of tough areas over there, which would be known as a C or D class neighborhoods. Although the numbers may look good on paper, the reality may be a little different. Managing this type of tenant base can be a job in itself, especially for a first time landlord.

I work with other agents/investors in those areas, I know from their experiences.

Hi @Raymond Guillotte welcome to BP and Real Estate Investing!

If you're planning to go the FHA route, I don't believe a 700 or 750 credit score would matter too much on the rate. For my first purchase I went FHA and took advantage of the 203k rehab loan - I couldn't be happier with the result. 9 Months after purchased, I refinanced into conventional, saving me over $200 per month.

I also have student debt, so I feel your pain. Are these loans made up of Federal or Private? If they are Federal, why not keep them as is and change your payment schedule to be 10% of gross income? This would also help your chances to qualify for a mortgage. I refinanced my private loans last year from 8.5% to 3.75%, so I wouldn't wait too long if you've got private loans.

I have a Bachelors degree in Finance. My second job out of college was in the finance and accounting department at one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the world. I knew my day to day job wasn't where I ultimately wanted to be, but it opened my eyes to the real estate investment piece as well as some great brokers in the industry. Now, I can analyze and break down specific investments for clients and myself. My background obtained through education, I feel, has given me a significant leg up on my competition that someone without it never would have been able to get.

Hi John N. , I know some lenders that would be willing to finance you at 20%, possibly lower. Shoot me a PM and I'll send over their info! PS - it's not too often I run across people from Holbrook, I grew up there!

The small cash flow you mentioned, is that after taking into account any CapEx and routine R&M expenses? If not, that could eat up any future cash flows rather quickly.

One good thing is that like you mentioned, it continues to appreciate rapidly and will always have appeal to renters, so you can count on yearly rent increases higher than the norm for not just the nation, but locally as well. The further development of Andrew Square will continue to add value as well. South Boston weathered the last recession very well for property values.

I'd be happy to send you all active multis in your area as well as some recent comps for reference. Shoot me a PM with your E-mail.

Hey Brad, welcome to BP! Sounds like you've made some pretty good investments to this point.

It doesn't sound like you're getting much of a return on your equity for that Southie condo with a low cash flow. Now that you live in Wilmington, it may be beneficial to sell the condo and use the proceeds to invest in the Woburn area, possibly a small multi family. How long did you occupy the condo for? If it was over 2 years, you should be able to exclude the profits from taxes, but check with your Accountant on that. Are you self managing your condo? With the maintenance issues, is it taking up a lot of your time traveling to and from, in addition to costs?

@Stuart Gardner

Exactly what @Account Closed has said. You can also meet a lot of other investors at local RE meetings for networking purposes. One could be willing to unload a property or know someone else who is and it could fit your criteria to buy. It could be beneficial for them to transact off-market due to avoiding the hassle and costs to sell on the MLS with limited disruptions to current tenants.

Hi @Stuart Gardner, it can be a great place to start depending on a number of factors, but most importantly 1. what your short and long term goals are and 2. how hard are you willing to work for it?

I closed up on my own 2 family purchase in Quincy last year via FHA utilizing the 203k loan program. Long story short, after paying a 3.5% downpayment and doing renovations and getting a tenant downstairs, I could rent out my unit and cash flow $800+ per month, total. Not a bad return for a $20k downpayment. Right now we are in the middle of a refinance, which would free up another $160 per month in cash flow.

The method I used is to look in a developing area, find aspects within the property I could add value, make the renovations by leveraging my network of contractors, and then rent it out at what the market rate was. 

Depending on what your investment criteria is, a strategy you use in South Boston (A class area/ A class tenants) vs Mattapan (C-D class area/ C-D class tenants) will vary greatly.

I work with clients both experienced and beginners, acquiring and leasing their properties. Feel free to shoot me a PM and we can discuss further.

All, thank you for the replies and information! Alex Cwiakala I'll PM you shortly with a couple follow up questions!