All Forum Posts by: Eric Schroeder

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $325,000
Cash invested: $32,500

Vacation home purchase in Tampa, FL that we have set up as a short-term rental.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I used a real estate agent we found on Bigger Pockets. She helped us locate a property that would work as a short term rental.

How did you finance this deal?

30 year fixed - 10% down

How did you add value to the deal?

Replaced the deck and some cosmetic work on the interior. Furnished it from top to bottom with Amazon and Ikea.

What was the outcome?

At the moment breaking even. Being the hottest part of the year in Florida this was expected. We're looking for more bookings in the Fall/Winter/Spring time, once we've built up reviews.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The house is a 100-year-old bungalow. This comes with its own challenges. We had a full inspection done, but things that were okay at the time of inspection have come up since. We had to replace some pipes in the yard due to the ancient trees in the area. The A/C runs a LOT. So make sure the HVAC has frequent maintenance.
Investing out of state, we used some referrals from our investor agent and found a fantastic contractor/handyman. For some other minor issues, we've used Google search.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Agent Kristina Kuba - Tampa, FL

@Jefferson Brown thanks for the tip! Where did you end up buying in Florida?

I'd love to get a copy of your STR regulations for Pinellas County. If you don't mind sharing that!

Do you have any personal recommendations for automation tools that you like?

Thanks! 

I live in Colorado and am looking at the west coast of Florida for STR property (Tampa to Sarasota region). I would like to finance it as a 2nd home/vacation property to use the 10% down. I would plan to stay in the property a couple of weeks out of the year and use it as a STR the rest of the time.
Are there restrictions to using this type of loan and hiring a property manager to turn over the property?  Or because it's a 2nd home loan, do I have to manage it myself?

I’m a 1st time landlord in Colorado, preparing to rent out my first home. I got an applicant asking if I accept Section 8. While I believe Section 8 is protected here, I have my own minimum qualifying standard that the tenant(s) must earn 3x the monthly rent per month.

How do I find out what Section 8 would pay per month or I do strictly go off the applicants listed income?

Is denying the applicant by simply stating they do not meet my minimum qualifying standard enough to protect me as the owner?

Being a newbie I don’t want to get myself in trouble right out of the gate.

I appreciate any advice.

Thanks!

Yes, @Michael Plaks that is what I am asking.  And thanks for the answer!

The home I'm currently living in will become my first rental at the end of January 2021.  I have it listed now on multiple sites and put a lot of rehab into it in the 2020 year.   

Since it was not a rental in 2020, am I able to list capital expenditures during the year of 2020 on my taxes when I file in 2021?  I hope that makes sense and I appreciate any advice! 

My reason for holding the money is that I want to move out of my current residence in a year and into a multi-family (duplex, which is when I would use the $), so I can get a better interest rate and house hack. A year later I would move out of the duplex and into another SFH, etc. Doing it this way, I would keep my current residence as a rental giving me 3 total properties.
I don't think I can employ this strategy immediately because I have to stay in my current home for a year before I can get another conventional loan to make this strategy work (and avoid loan fraud?). 

I have approximately 100k in equity in my current home. My current mortgage is an FHA at @ 4.25% which I took out 6 years ago.

My plan is to refi, pull out most of the equity.  Put it into a savings account, and then a year from now, use it as a down payment on a duplex (we would move into one side) and convert my current home into a rental.   The reason for putting the $ in savings and holding for a year... I believe I have to remain in my home for a year before I can apply for another loan?  

Then after living in the duplex for a year, move out into a more permanent home, giving me 3 rentals. 

Does this sound like a solid plan?

Do most hard money lenders require the borrower to have liquid assets available?  I am trying to get into real estate flipping and have learned a lot.  I am ready to execute but because I don't have a lot of personal money or any liquid assets I'm running into a wall with hard money lenders.  The deal(s) make sense but because I don't have money for down payments and reserve assets I can't get any help.  Is the only alternative to find a private money lender and hope they don't require as much?