All Forum Posts by: Eric Rohver

Yeah, I figured it to be a mess when I found it. Not my ideal property at all, but it's fun to figure out what it would take to make a deal work. Thanks for checking it out.

I just found a property with a duplex and six occupied rental lots. The seller has owner-financed the six mobile homes to the current tenants, and has included the notes in his inflated asking price of $189,900.

The duplex is rented ($500 + $565) $1065
Six lots rented ($250mo each) $1500

Payments received on trailer sales $1500mo ($50k outstanding)

Does this raise any flags? The seller should probably drop his price and hang on to the notes (sell separately) instead of raising his asking price.

I'm looking at the $2565 monthly gross (not including payments received for trailer sales). Does the 50% rule apply here where there's no maintenance on the rental lots?

Thanks for all the great replies! I was a Realtor in this area for a little over five years, and based on my knowlege of this neighborhood it's a desireable home. Incorporating a small focused marketing effort into my investigation is a great suggestion! I have no marketing materials at this time, but I could whip something up. As of now, I'm just a guy with a dream and $12k.

I drove off of my usual route today while running errands and I think I found a vacant house surrounded by some very well kept "City" homes. The paint is peeling and it looks a bit dated and neglected. When I got back to the office I did a quick Zillow search and found out that it last sold in 2005 for $106,000, then I looked for comps within a six block radius and found two that have sold in 2013 for between $100-110K. A quick search of the city tax rolls shows the assessment at $128,500 and the owner's name. Looked up the owner with a google search and found that it's an 87 year-old woman with relatives in the area. So maybe the property isn't vacant and abandoned, but I'd like to find out what the situation is. I have no phone number for the owner, but I found two local relatives with phone numbers listed. Should I go knock on the door and peek around?

How would you proceed?

[b]

I just found this on VAnewsblog.com:

"That statement, taken directly from the VA lender's guide, answers one frequently asked question many vets have when facing an overseas tour of duty or re-assignment far from the home they purchased with a VA mortgage.

It IS possible to rent out a home purchased with a VA mortgage–so long as the borrower has refinanced with a VA IRRRL. Like any mortgage loan product, an IRRRL takes time to complete an application and get a response from the lender."

So it could work!

I've used my VA loan eligibility twice so far, and I had to satisfy my previous loan commitment (payoff) before I could become eligible to get another VA loan. They also require that you use funds to purchase your primary residence. The duplex that I live in may have to be refinanced to a non-VA loan if I decide to move out and rent my unit. If anyone knows otherwise please speak up.

I need to call and ask some questions. Dawn and Andrew, thanks for asking the questions I hadn't thought to ask!

Woops! I punched 3 years into the calculation.

Interesting Dawn, I hadn't thought of that. If I were to lend the 10k for up to a year @ 10% I'd see about $1100 after paying 3.25%. Does that sound right or am I mangling the numbers?

Matt, my current YTD ROI on the 401k is 5.9%...which is weak.

I just found out that I can borrow up to $10,000 @ 3.25% from my 401K, but it gets paid back via payroll deductions. The only way to make larger payment on the loan is by paying the balance in full.

I'm an owner/occupant in a duplex with zero equity, my wife and I bought it as our primary residence using my VA eligibility with no money down. It's cheaper than our previous rent was by $400 mo. plus we can write off mortgage interest, so I'm trying not to beat myself up over it.

I'd like to buy another property that we can use as a 'stepping stone' towards growing a real estate portfolio, but our lack of equity is making it tricky. What would you do in this situation if you had 10k in savings and another 10k available at 3.25%?