All Forum Posts by: Erik Sivertsen

Thank you Sarah. The prior mentioned resources have been helpful already in evaluating. I think I’ll try the short/mid-term strategy, and see how it goes for a bit. 

Thank you for your input, Christian.

I’ve looked briefly at  AirDNA. I’ll have to look deeper and I will try these other resources. Thank you!

Hello all,

I own my primary residence in the Salt Lake valley. I got divorced and began traveling for work. Most of my time is spent away, with housing paid for by the company I work for. My residence just sits, but is still my primary, and I pay the mortgage. My children and ex have moved out, and I’ve had to make some essential updates.

The property is unique with, in my opinion, much potential for development for AirBNB (not sure how that market is doing), mid term rentals (I.e. nurses or other medical professionals), or weddings and events.

I’m new in this space and know I need some networking. I could sell the home and get the considerable equity to invest in other properties, or develop this one.

I’m looking for opinions and possibly networking.

@Alejandro Munoz

Hi Alejandro. In my limited experience, first, congratulations on thinking about this much earlier than we have.

Do the things BP teaches. Listen to podcasts, learn the lingo, find a mentor, read the books that they mention over and over, and learn to evaluate and know a good deal.

For me this all started after my wife started listening to the Rich Dad books. The revelations in his teachings is mind-blowing. Real estate is a great way to get out of the rat race (I think).

I guess for you, getting your first deal, however you do it, will provide the funding for the next. Brandon, on BP, has many segments on low and no money down, finding partners, etc.

Good luck!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Hendersonville.

Purchase price: $234,000

Our third primary home, bought after moving to North Carolina.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It wasn't an investment, but we knew it may be in the future.

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

MLS search and a realtor. The purchase price was good, as the sellers had tried to sell the previous year, but the buyer financing fell through. We purchased it for the same price they had paid 3 years earlier. They just wanted to make sure they sold it so that the house they were building would go through (contingent on the sale of the current house).

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan, zero money down.

How did you add value to the deal?

For us, the VA loan added value, and the home came with equity.

What was the outcome?

We still own the home. We moved back to Utah and rented it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I go back occasionally and inspect the home. A good lesson is to rent where you know people, or have friends or family. We have friend who live across the street who informed us that, despite our very specific contract of no cats and only the two existing dogs, that the tenants were up to 3 dogs and 3 cats! I did a surprise inspection and gave an ultimatum. The cat urine smell gave it away, despite them trying to hide the felines.

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

Just the realtor who dealt with VA loans for purchase.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Midvale.

Purchase price: $176,000

We initially moved into this home as our primary. We lived there for 6 years, moved for a job, and kept the property to hold.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Honestly, a very hard lesson made us keep this for an investment. We owned a condo in San Diego, CA when I was in the Marine Corps. Being young, and obviously stupid, we considered renting the unit but felt it would be "a pain in the ***" if we did. It probably would have cash flowed $500-$600/month (in 2001). We sold it, made around $19K, and blew the money. We decided we would never sell a property again, unless it made sense.

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

MLS search for our primary home.

How did you finance this deal?

We bought it with a VA loan, no money down.

How did you add value to the deal?

We gutted and remodeled the entire basement, and continue to make upgrades to maximize our rental income in that market and to maximize our equity.

What was the outcome?

We continue to hold the property, make some money through it's cash flow, and plan to do something like a BRRRR (now that I understand what that is and how it can move us forward with our investing).

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Not an essential lesson, but it has made us educate ourselves and consider making an LLC for the property, and others. We have also learned more about our market and how to maximize our rent through upgrades.

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

Not yet, other than the a la carte services we've used for purchasing our primary homes (4 times now).