All Forum Posts by: Erica Larence-Penna

@Mark Yesa We haven't raised the rent.  With everything going on, we decided it wasn't a good time to do that.  One of the tenants has been there for ten years and the other two have been there for three, so once everything subsides, we will likely raise it.  We did tell them they were responsible for electric (it's separately metered and the seller had been paying for it), so in a way we raised the rent with that.  

We used an FHA loan. The unit we are renovating is going to be owner-occupied.

@Matt "Roar" Gardner I am moving to Clermont at the end of the year.  We are able to close throughout Florida, though.

@Michael Chheang do you have an agent? Usually the rents will be listed on MLS and your agent should be able to see that or verify with the listing agent.

@Josh Weber I recommend looking into house hacking with a low down payment loan. We did the FHA 3.5% down on a fourplex and we are currently renovating one of the units. It may take longer to BRRRR if there are tenants, but those tenants are paying our mortgage and then some even with one of the units vacant. It will also allow you to save up even more for another property.

I also see that you're a college student - do you currently have income?  If not, you may need someone who is willing to co-sign for you.

@Gregg Reinbold I'm not a loan officer, but I have heard of a number of people using the BRRRR strategy with VA loans, so that leads me to believe that VA loans can be used on properties that need repairs.

@Cameron Nagle I definitely recommend reading "Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple" by David M. Greene. You should also check out this article: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

@Carlos Gomez I'd love to connect!  I am a title attorney and currently own a four-unit.  

@Michael Ferrell welcome!  I'd love to connect if you'd like to chat sometime.

@Alyxandria Welch I started by househacking. We bought a four-unit in our area that needs a bit of work.  We are currently renovating one unit while the rest are occupied.  We found the right deal and we are actually netting about $200/month even with one of the units owner-occupied and we expect that we can rent that unit out for $850-$1000 after renovations.  We also have really good, long-term tenants.

It was not all easy, however.  When we bought the property, the seller had given notice to one of the tenants to vacate, but he didn't.  We had to go through the courts to evict him (thankfully, I'm an attorney and handled the eviction on my own, so it only cost us court costs).  He finally vacated, but he trashed the place.  When we were finally able to start renovations, COVID hit and our cabinets got delayed over a month, so we are still renovating (8 months later).

It's been a hassle, but we learned so much and has been a great way to live without a housing payment so that we can save for the next investment.  We are currently looking for an out-of-state investment in either Columbus, Jacksonville, or Tampa.

Educate yourself as much as possible; I highly recommend all of the BP books, but my personal favorite is "Set for Life" by Scott Trench.  Network - everyone has different experiences and it's great to see how many different avenues there are.  Finally, be patient and wait for the right deal to come along, but don't be hesitant to do it.  Some people talk about investing forever and don't actually do it.

Feel free to reach out anytime if you'd like to connect!

@Spade Dean Schumacher welcome!  We also started by house hacking.  We lucked out in our market and found a four-unit that needs a bit of work.  We are currently renovating one unit and the rest are occupied by long-term tenants.  We've learned a lot of lessons on this first deal, but overall it's been great.  We are currently netting about $200/month (after taxes, HOI, utilities, etc.) even with one of the units owner-occupied.  We expect to be able to rent that unit out for between $850-$1000 after renovations.  I'd be happy to connect if you want to chat about it more!