All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth O.

I wanted to revisit my post just in case anyone was in a similar panic position.  

It was very big mistake to think that I could drop the cash gift into my HELOC and expect it to work out. Not only did it not work out as i still needed to come up with other funds, it then was stuck in my HELOC and I now have to pay interest on it. Thank goodness this deal had enough cash-flow to cover it.

It was easier than I thought to borrow briefly against my Roth IRA. FYI, don't call it borrowing. I just closed out my account and then redeposited the money a few weeks later. It cost me nothing and the money was in my account 3 days later. You can only do this once a year. I didn't need the money as I stated before but I needed to have the liquid cash sitting in my account. It was easier and quicker to access this money than I thought.

@Brad M.@Fred Heller

Thank you both for your comments.  I got quotes from lawn4me and thumbtack.  Better response from thumbtack.  I ended up using a guy on bigger pockets who reached out to me.  

He did a great job at a very reasonable price.  So if anyone is in need in Richmond I can recommend them. 

I got a quote from my property management company for cutting grass/weed wack and blow for 65$ and they want to do it 3x per month.  This seems crazy to me.  I'm up in Northern Va and pay $40 every two weeks.  Surely someone out there is getting a better rate.  I wanted to check in on bigger pockets before going to get quotes.

My property is in the 23225 zip and the lot size is 7,900sqft

Does anyone have a good lawn company they work with?

thanks for any advice.

@Account Closed

One of my properties is in chesterfield and I house hunted in Midlothian so they sure do.  I always rely on Carl and my realtor to give me a heads up on areas and how they rent.  

I am set to close on an investment on July 29th. A few months back my in-laws gave us a check for 20K. I want to use roughly 15K of this to be put toward the 25% down. I didn't realize until yesterday when they told me that I can not use a "gift". So I took the 15K out and made a payment to my HELOC. Now my HELOC has the full funds in it to close. I thought this would work. My lender doesn't think so as it originated from a gift. We are waiting on the final word but she's very doubtful it will work. I thought this would work because the gift was used to pay something off but now it just my equity line.

please help as I don't want to pull from my retirement accounts and pay penalties to close.

any advice would be VERY appreciated!!

@Morgan Marshall

The link to the property above is not active on the mls. Don't count on zillow to find properties especially for multifamily. Usually the good deals are gone very fast. To get a current list of active listings you need to look at the MLS or contact a realtor to set you up with the listings.

I looked around the 32st area a few weeks back and it wasn't for me.  The good deals I found seemed to be tear downs eventually with bad foundations and uneven floors.  Most were built in the 1900-1940, that's not really what im looking for as a buy and hold investor.  It's definitely not a great area but it can still bring in rent.   

I hope you find something good!

I am soon closing on rental unit 4 and 5. First property 10% down Second 20% down with HELOC off primary residence Third same as second Fourth/fifth (a duplex) 25% down. Half heloc. First three cash flow and I expect 4 and 5 to do so as well. My question is what do I start to pay off first? Lowest loan amount first? Or maybe start paying down heloc? My plan is to try a cash out refi a year after I've owned one of the properties to gain money for the down payment on another. Man this gets addicting! I don't need my cash flow as I still have a day job right now. Please share your thoughts on where I should start. Or please share how you started your snowball effect. Many thanks!

I have a great property manager and an investor friendly realtor in Richmond.  Message me if you would like their phone numbers.

@Chris Seveney

I'm from northen va and started investing in Virginia Beach.  That area made sense for me as I have family down there and go a few times a year.   I have a single family home now in richmond and am looking for more there.  Richmond was the obvious choice for me because the company that does my property management is based there.

I actually left from NOVA this morning at 8 am and drove to richmond to look at a few properties, had lunch and am now almost back at 2:30pm.

Traffic can be terrible coming or going so you may want an e-z pass. 

A little background: I have four traditional loans right now and have found a lender that will go up to 10. I walked through a Fourplex today that I would like to get a traditional mortgage on. Two of the units have been rehabbed and the other two need a lot of work. The place also needs a new roof and windows. I asked my lender if they do investor rehab loans and she said no. She then told me that it needed to meet the minimal property standards. I asked her where I could find these standards specific to multifamily and if each individual unit needed a functioning bath and kitchen. She said she would get back to me. Have any of you been able to get a traditional loan on a small multifamily that needed a lot of work without making the fixes prior to close? Thanks for any and all advice.