All Forum Posts by: Francis Rusnak

Do any flippers require buyers to use their lender?

I know it happens more on new builds, but thinking this could reduce a lot of wasted time since all lenders are not created equal.

If so, what type of resistance have you ran into, or any suggestions? 

Will this .5% increase still be the case for 'delayed financing' if house is initially bought in cash? Are there any workarounds you can think of?

It will be a few hundred dollar difference (monthly) on some of the small multis I'm looking to refi.

Yesterday there was a .5% fee added to anyone doing a refi. 

If you're business model is doing the BRRRR things just got a little more expensive.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/refinancing-your-mortgage-will-cost-more-thanks-to-a-new-fee-from-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-2020-08-13

I'm going through a lot of this on my first multi up north and best thing you can do is have your agent send a cma of .5 mile radius 2/1 rentals in the last year and gauge it from there on what you'll do on the rehab. Whatever the market dictates, keep your own taste/preferences out of it. 

Ask your agent if he has any contractor connections. Having a good contractor(s) imo is easily the hardest part of the investor equation. If he doesn't have anyone, hang out at the Home Depot pro desk from 6-7am and get as many numbers as you can. 

I've got a rental in Bolingbrook; great place for a rental from the early going. It's $35 for landlord license that needs to be renewed every year and they do a city inspection in-between tenants. It's a bit of a hassle, but they seem a lot more reasonable than most towns and look mostly for safety issues which is never a bad thing. 

I'm thinking a dirty tenant would be harder to clean up then after a renovation ... my cleaner says Chicago going rate for post-construction cleanup is .30/sf and he doesn't include basement sf or charge extra for windows (usually extra). Says he'll go down to .25/sf.

Still seems high and too technical, but he's super reliable and does a good job ..

 No hauling away of anything, just normal deep clean. 

I'd think this is prime opportunity for cleaners to charge extra and claim they're 'disinfecting' but really be doing the same thing as always; maybe switch over to bleach if they use a more natural product. 

Our standard house is 3/2 1200-1500sf ... we were paying around 2-250 a few years ago.

As cost of labor has gone up so have our cleaning bills. Just got one for 600.

These cleaners will travel from North 'burbs to South 'burbs and are available quickly. They are cleaning vacant houses that have just been renovated so extra dust/debris. 

What is everyone else paying? 

State Farm you're paying for the name. You can almost cut that price in half. I'm at about 1600 for a 3 flat on north side. Usually either use Arcana or Guard. Be aware customer service/bookkeeping is pretty awful at Arcana and I can only imagine what it'd be like to file a claim. 

Can't go wrong talking to a broker as was said above. I've got a good one if you want a referral. 

Where's the building at?

I think cash for keys is more valuable now more than ever with the courts being closed. Best of luck.

What neighborhood is this property in?