All Forum Posts by: Evan Kraljic

Mitch: I don't have anything in Richfield but own rentals in South Mpls and would like to work my way into a first ring burb like Richfield/Bloomington. 

Check out this link: https://www.richfieldmn.gov/de...

If BiggerPockets blocks it, just google richfield rental license inspection and it was the first result. If you go through with the deal or even if you decide to pass on it I'd like to hear more. Don't have the funds to tackle something like that myself but I want to hear more about small commercial apartment buildings and what those are going for given our current market.

I believe @Tim Swierczek does these and he helps out a lot of investor clients in the Twin Cities in general. So even if the 203k loan doesn't make sense (I think it can be a great tool depending on the property, but can also add some hassle if not managed properly), he could help you get into a househack with a different loan that is best suited for the situation.

@Account Closed Gotcha. Yeah I think if you're planning on flipping homes it could definitely be a value add to have your license since you're saving on the buy and sell side which is obviously a major expense for flippers. With that being said, you're also opening yourself up to greater liability as a licensed professional. But you mentioned that you have the same basic certifications as a lot of those trades workers so if you can pull permits yourself then that shouldn't be a problem. 

To your point about having the same baseline info that your realtor does... there are some pretty decent perks that the MLS portal has and access to data if you like to dig into the numbers too, but it's not like it used to be and the Redfins/Zillows are pretty good at getting maybe 70% of the relevant information? That's just a ballpark as I'm a newer agent and more focused on my recent project so I'm not super well versed with all of the MLS portal, maybe a more experienced agent could chime in there. I think the biggest benefits of being an agent would be having the control to move extremely quickly if you're on top of your ish, and then obviously saving on the commissions.

Your last paragraph resonates with me as someone who got their license recently. I'm an engineer, definitely an introvert and I don't have the natural charisma you think of when you picture a good salesperson. But I'm really passionate about real estate and want to help others get into investing, or even just homeowners who want to get the best value on their biggest purchase in their life. I think there's a niche for people like you or myself, maybe it's not the biggest market because most people don't want to deal with your specialty of fixer uppers, but glad to hear you're not ruling it out. 

I don't think I've given a super direct answer to any of your questions but I hope that helps a bit. I used The CE Shop for my prelicensing courses and thought they were pretty good, although I don't really have anything to compare them to haha. 

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

I like Minneapolis/St. Paul as a local, but wouldn't recommend it for someone investing out of state. The main reason for that being that both cities are very much tenant friendly. St. Paul recently implemented 3% rent control (irrespective of inflation) which has been a complete disaster so far - no one knows how to enforce it, developers are stopping new builds, etc. Minneapolis has an ordinance which will allow rent control to be implemented in the future, but as of now the mayor does not support it so that should hold off for a couple years. Anyhow, that compared with fairly high taxes and moderate cash flow makes me think that you could do better in a place like Knoxville or Pittsburgh, not knowing too terribly much about those markets. 

I'm not doom and gloom on the twin cities as some other investors I know are, and will continue to invest my money here, but I can't realistically advocate for others to do the same without an unfair advantage, as you stated in your post. Good luck!

Just so I can try to give a better answer, what exactly are your goals Nate? From what I can infer with your post, it sounds like you would want the license to save on commissions when buying/selling your own properties. If so, an option for you would be a limited broker license, which you can use if you're the principal in the transaction, so you couldn't represent others but it sounds like you have no interest in that so no big deal there. 

But I think a more important question is does it actually make sense for you to get your real estate license? Have you bought or sold any properties yet outside of your primary residence yet, or are you just looking to get into it? In my opinion, getting the license is a pretty big time (90 hrs pre-licensing courses + exams) and money (between courses and MLS access expect close to 1k startup, maybe less for limited broker) commitment if you haven't gotten into real estate yet. It's kind of like the classic "Should I get an LLC before buying my first rental?" question. It's not really helping you on your main goal, if anything it's distracting you and taking time away while you could be educating yourself on analyzing deals/property management, or making money as a handyman to fund that first deal!

Edit: I had a much longer response written out but then I looked at your profile and it looks like you've done some flips, so you're probably more serious that just an average newbie starting out. Still not sure if it makes sense for you to get your license without hearing your goals though. If you already have the capital ready to deploy and general knowledge of the industry, plan to purchase multiple properties per year, then yeah it may make sense.

Bumping this thread to review how we did, also may be worth starting a new 2022 goals thread @Adam Tafel? I would but I feel like my next year is very much TBD so I don't really have any particular goals set, just taking things as I go for now. For 2021 though...

1. Use my HELOC to fund a 25% down payment on a duplex with 12%+ COC return. Done - Didn't hit the 15% ideal mark but 12.4% will do.

2. Pay down HELOC at 3k/month. Nope - Ended up setting my autopay to 1k/month so still a bit above the min of ~300 but with inflation where it's at and my HELOC rate still at the floor of 3.99%, not sure it's worth increasing the payment yet. Will revisit this year especially if rates go up.

3. Help friends with remodel projects. Done - Helped my friend with a full bathroom remodel and tile backsplash for my sister.

4. Take at least 2 weekend trips with friends and hiking trip with family. Done - Grand Teton with family, Vegas with friends, a couple bachelor parties and Iowa gambling trip, visited college friends in California.

5. Buy 3-4 unit value add deal with owner occupant loan in fall. Kind of - Didn't see a 3/4 unit where the #s worked and may have had troubles going to a larger # of units with FHA, so I closed on a vacant duplex with a owner-occ/construction loan hybrid.

6. Full DIY ikea cabinet and countertop install, if I find a kitchen where it makes sense. Not yet - Didn't go Ikea due to supply chain issues but I bought some Kona cabinets that I may be able to sneak in an install this week if they ship in time. Otherwise early 2021 this will be done. Only 5 cabinets so nothing crazy though.

7. Read 20 books, write 5 blogs. Not even close. I probably got 5 books in the first few months then nothing after I closed on my 2nd deal. I might have 5 blogs written in my google docs but didn't publish any of them lol. But I did start a social media page for real estate investing/renovations which I wasn't planning on so that's cool I guess

Wow, incredible growth man. I remember seeing your very detailed post on your previous BRRRR deal in Saint Paul so I'm excited to see how this one turns out. Agreed that it'd be cool to see you host something on this one. @Alyssa Strom organizes meetups for a local investor group in the twin cities that usually get a pretty good turnout, I think this would be a cool one to see. 

Classic case of wanting to have the cake and eat it too. You're on the right track with 2 properties at 22 but if you're looking for cash flow in this market, there is always going to be some tradeoff in getting a deal to work out. In your situation I think that would come as buying a house that needs some work so spending some time/money/energy upfront to make it work, or converting to a STR as @Daniel Anshus and spending time/money/energy during your asset management. 

 Try calling a property manager who works in your area to see if they will let you know what kind of rents they see where you're looking as part of your due diligence. Network with local investors to find subcontractors as you need them, and don't do much more than a cosmetic rehab for this next property if you're afraid of biting off more than you can chew. Make sure you have a good agent who are aligned with that goal and don't tell you a house has "good bones" when they don't know what the hell that means. 

If you're concerned about the rehab and working with contractors, I get it, but that's part of real estate. It's a mega cliche but entrepreneurs are compensated in proportion to the problems they can solve. If you could buy a turnkey 3 bed 2 bath in the burbs and have it cashflow with little to no work, then everyone would do it and prices would go up, more demand for people to buy vs. rent, you get the point.

@Isaac Larson

Tag should go through now that we’re connected

Hey Jem! @Isaac Larson is an agent/investor that does a lot of work for clients up in NE Mpls, and did a major rehab himself up there converting a single family + ADU to a legal duplex. He did a deal diary on it recently which you could find on his profile. But yeah he definitely knows a thing or two about NE Mpls, and he'd probably be willing to help you out from the investor perspective, or as an agent if you're looking for one.

Also, I wouldn't consider myself that experienced but I closed on my 3rd duplex recently (all in South Mpls) and love a good rehab project myself, and I'd be willing to meet up with you sometime to share some of what I've learned with my househack rehabs. I was able to use a pretty sweet loan for this last one that I'd consider a better/easier version of the 203k loan, so that could be a good option for you depending on the deal. At the very least, another tool in your toolbelt, and you can figure out what works best when you have the deal. For a lender, Conor Hesch owns several duplexes in NE Mpls and him and his team are great, they've helped me out on 2 of my deals and I can't say enough good things about them.