All Forum Posts by: Drew Shirley

Look for a mentor or partner who will let you trade sweat equity for a piece of the deal and the credibility that goes along with it. Learn the business as you go. 

There's bound to be some successful investors on BP from Detroit. Reach out to them and ask how you can help them with their business. 

Flood damaged homes are obviously trading at serious discounts right now, the big question is whether they will always trade at a discount to non-damaged homes, even after they are remediated. For retail buyers, I would imagine that at least for a while, their first question will be "was this house damaged by Hurricane Harvey?"

Are you looking for single family flips or rentals? I have found it extremely hard to find rentals that cash flow and I have found the flip market extremely competitive. So much so that I'm done with SFRs and I'm syndicating an apartment deal in Houston. Your mileage may vary.

Congratulations!

There's been a pretty big spike in demand for apartments, people either displaced by the flood or simply choosing not to move back into their flood-damaged homes. 

I don't spend much time trying to predict what the markets will do, but I would imagine flood-damaged houses will trade at a significant discount to non-flooded houses for quite a while, maybe forever. That's going to be the first question most retail buyers ask.

Originally posted by @Jason G.:

@Alex Johnston, you are likely receiving a mortgage bill every month from your lender which includes principal/interest/escrow.  If someone contributes to that bill, they are arguably contributing to the principal payments (equity) in the property.  The concern would be that the relationship deteriorates and your partner turns around and says for so and so years she has been contributing $x towards the mortgage payments and therefore has $x amount equity in the property.  If you enter into a legal contract such as a lease with someone then that isn't the same situation, but your original post specifically stated, "50/50 everything? Should I let her pay some variation of HOA, property tax, mortgage, insurance, utilities?"

 Absolute nonsense, at least under Texas law.

@Jason G. What you are saying is incorrect under Texas law. You cannot acquire an interest in real estate by paying part of the mortgage. All real estate transactions in Texas must be in writing to be enforceable. Stop giving bad advice. 

@Alex Johnston

@Alex Johnston don't listen to this guy. Don't listen to me, for that matter. Do some research or consult a Texas attorney for real. 

This is honestly more of a relationship question than a real estate question. If I were in your situation, I wouldn't charge her rent or ask for her to pay half the mortgage, but I'd probably ask her to pay half the living expenses (food and utilities mainly). But it's all negotiable. :)

I'm not your lawyer and this is not legal advice, etc.

IF YOU STAY IN WASHINGTON, WATCH OUT, BRO.

A 2-second google search showed me that Washington state recognizes some sort of nonsense called , which means that if you and your girlfriend live together and split expenses, she may have a claim on all your property, even if it is 100% owned by you and even if you do not hold yourselves out as being married.

To avoid this, you will need to enter into a cohabitation agreement with your girlfriend, clearly setting out what is yours and what is hers (for example, all real estate now owned or later acquired). 

I'm not licensed to practice law in Washington state. You need to find someone who is. 

IF YOU MOVE TO TEXAS, things are a lot better. Texas is a community property state, which means that any property you acquire before marriage is your separate property. Your girlfriend wouldn't acquire anything by living with you, paying bills, etc. 

Now, Texas does recognize common-law marriage, but honestly it is extremely rare. To have a common law marriage recognized by a Texas court, you have to (1) agree to be married, (2) live together as husband and wife, and (3) tell everyone ("hold yourselves out") you are married. Here's a good summary of Texas law on common law marriage.

Good luck.

If you were able to pull out 70% of that equity, you'd have just under $1MM in free capital. Lot of options. Invest it in a syndicated apartment deal, and you might get a 6% preferred return ($5,000 per month) plus 2/3 of the additional profits, plus all those lovely tax write offs, plus another big kick when the property sells. A good apartment deal should pay 15%+ to equity investors on IRR.