All Forum Posts by: Forrest L.

@Jonathan Bombaci thanks for the mention Jon. I have refinanced two 4 families with Lowell 5. One into an owner occupied loan one into a commercial loan. One was an fha loan the other was a mass housing loan.

How much equity do you think you have and why are you refinancing? What’s the goal?

Thanks @Jonathan Bombaci

@Tony Alvine if it really is just the panel and all wiring is to code then is shouldn’t be too bad. I can’t put a price out there without seeing but certainly not less than $1000.

You do not need to upgrade everything to gfci and arcfault due to a panel change as your not modifying the circuit. You should have gfci on counters regardless.

Based on what you have described above I’m unsure why the panel needs to be replaced. Moisture is not good but if there’s no damage/corrosion of the live equipment then it’s not necessary yet and your better off dealing with the source of the moisture. If you want to send me some pictures shoot me a message and we can connect.

@Kuriakos Mellos absolutely you can. I have done this twice, once with a Massachusetts housing loan, once with an FHA loan.

The mass housing loan I bought a 4 family for 415k, did 15k in renovations, then refinanced it at 465k four months later. I lived in one unit for a year

The FHA loan was one year after the first purchase. I bought a 4 family for 440k, did 35k in renovations, then refinanced it at 640 six months later. I still live here.

This was in Lowell MA.

@Andrew Chapman looks good! Under market tenants can be a challenge.

@Henry Lazerow I’d be okay with it. Who are you trying to appeal to a young growing investor? Or an older opinionated investor on their way out?

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Lowell.

Purchase price: $440,000
Cash invested: $35,000

This is a 4 family property I purchased off market with 16 beds and 6 baths. It had three occupied market rent units and one uninhabitable 5 bed 2 bath townhouse unit. Inside I gutted and finished the bathrooms and kitchen, repaired ceilings, painted everything, and had floors installed. Outside I had the front steps and porch re-decked, landscaped, and had gutters installed. The property appraised at $640,000 after rehab.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Lowell.

Purchase price: $415,000
Cash invested: $16,000

Owner occupied multifamily with four vacant one bedroom units. I did floors and bathrooms in each unit, put coin operated laundry in the basement, and rented the units out. outside I had the old half of the roof replaced and a chimney removed. To fix the garage I repaired structural rot, rebuilt the foundation, and vinyl sided it. I also added a tenant patio area. 4 months later to the day I closed on a cash out refinance pulled out 55K in equity while lowering my interest rate.

@Andrew Mowe I started out by house hacking a 4 family in Lowell Ma. I lived for free and had 1000$ left over after mortgage, taxes, and insurance from the other 3 units. I added value through sweat equity (lots of sweat) and cash out refinanced into my second 4 family. I’m in the process of repeating this and getting into a third building in the next few months.

Let me know if you have any questions!

@Nate Hubley It all depends on the market your looking at. You might be hard pressed to turn a profit renting rooms out in the greater Boston market but I do know someone house hacking a condo renting out room by room and doing just fine.

@Nate Hubley sure feel free to PM me but the discussion of sfh vs 2-4 unit home could be a good one to have here.

Single family home you have a mortgage paid by you and whoever you rent rooms to. Repairs are out of pocket.

Two family you have a mortgage paid by your tenant plus you and anyone you choose to rent rooms to. Repairs are out of pocket.

3 family you often have a mortgage paid by your two tenants while you live for free. Repairs are often out of pocket.

4 family I have my mortgage paid by 2 of my tenants and the third tenant essentially pays for any repairs plus profit.

This doesn’t apply for every market or every property but that’s why I am thrilled I went with 4 family to start.