All Forum Posts by: Doug Dias

@Jonathan Bombaci I would be VERY interested in connecting with some more experienced folks in this area. I’ll send you a DM. Thank you!

I successfully BRRRRed a property in 2020. Now I’ve been looking for #2 for four months and am finding it absolutely impossible to find deals in this market.

My target are single family homes in Worcester MA that need rehab. Capital not an issue at the moment. Does anyone have any good strategies to locate deals in Worcester, MA?

@Michael Clark

I called 75 CUs in MA and found two that did 80% LTV cash out, but I wasn't in their field of membership so i couldn't become a member.

I then started calling Savings Banks and found one fairly quickly that did 80% on SFHs and 75% on MFHs.

I say keep calling and networking with other investors. The lender you need is out there.

Nathan - I didn’t go to college right after High School and found myself stuck in jobs that did not pay very well. I tried sales and found out I couldn’t sell well, and opening my own business also did not work well.

I went to college while also working full time when I was 27, and graduated with my Masters when I was 32. That decision changed my life, and I was able to leverage the degree to earn six figures after a couple of years from graduating. This was only my experience, and I am sure there are many others that did not go so well.

Here are a couple of things I’d advise - but again, my opinion only:

- There is absolutely no need to get into crazy debt for a degree. Unless you want to be on Wall Street, your local public college will do just fine. I went to community college for two years then got scholarships to finish the other two years of my bachelors degree. I then paid full price for my Master’s at a local public college. My only regret is not going to an even cheaper school for my Master’s. Both degrees cost me $40K in total, and that’s a $450 monthly payment for 10 years.

- If you decide to go, pay attention and learn some things in class, but focus on making connections as well. Those people will help your professional life long after you graduate. One recommendation from someone you know within the organization will almost always at least land you the interview.

- Pass all your classes but don’t kill yourself over grades. I was obsessed with a high GPA, which I was very proud of, but two jobs after graduation and it just looks silly to leave GPA on your resume!

I know that as a 17 year old who dreams of financial independence through entrepreneurship, going to college might seem counterintuitive. I was once there and used to think the same way. I still want to be financially independent. What college ended up doing for me was opening the doors for high-income jobs that then allowed me to save enough capital to invest in real estate. One can absolutely do this without a college degree, of course, but I was not one of those people.

Good luck! And good for you for asking these types of questions at such a young age.

I listen to Dave frequently but only follow his advice partially. He has helped me and many others manage personal finances better, which gave me the capital to start investing real estate. Without the "frugal mindset" he preaches, I would have never had the money to buy my first BRRRR. At the same time, Dave would probably have a brain aneurysm if he knew how I structured that first deal.

I continue following Dave's advice as much as possible for my "personal funds," but I do use some of those funds to invest in my real estate business and I treat those real estate investments as a separate business where I follow REI mindsets and strategies.

For what it's worth, I like your REI strategy and niche a lot, and think you should continue to explore it.

In you position, I would repair it. For future leases, try adding in that the jets work but won’t be maintained by the landlord.

I bought a property that had jets and I asked my electrician to disconnect the pump, then stated in the ad + lease that the jets do not work. I did not want to deal with this exact issue you’re having. Had I not done that, I would repair it as it seems to be a reasonable expectation from the tenants.

@Jonathan Paul Shortt

I would finish the rehab. It's possible that the ARV is better now that you've made more improvements. Maybe the rent could also be higher?

Even at the existing ARV, the property is rented at the 1% rule which is good.

Once the property is finished, you can assess where you stand, but as others mentioned, a finished product will provide you with better exit strategies.

@Steven Lemoine

Here’s what I would do:

Sell the property you have, and buy a duplex or triplex in Springfield. It seems like you could do that with about $250K, which would mean about $20K out of pocket for you ($12.5K for 5% down and $7.5K closing costs).

Take the remaining profit and pay down the bad debt as much as possible. Then, try to save another $20K ASAP so that you can move into another owner occupied duplex/triplex in another year or so.

Not to be judgy, but the key to this strategy would be avoiding bad debt moving forward. Keep these cars until they rot and do not get into more credit card debt. If you can manage to combine better personal financial management with house hacking as suggested here, you will be in a much better place in 5-10 years.

Thank you very much, Whitney!

Hi Sam - another Worcester house hacker who is interested in BRRRRs sent me a DM. I'd love to start a group at some point of "newbies" trying to break into the Worcester market. It would be great to be able to share information about the city as well as reliable vendors in that area. 

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about my specific BRRRR experience.