All Forum Posts by: Gabe Mcmullen

 Hey Michael, 

Would love to get a copy of that document if you've still got it! 

Cheers!

Gabe

Absolutely. It was required in the lease, and sadly because of how quickly they moved in from the last fire, it never happened. 

I am assuming my insurance will be going after damages from my neighbor. 

 There was actually a pretty huge mistake on my insurance's end - they never transitioned it over to a commercial insurance policy. It's still owner occupied, which means i have two Owner-occupied insurance policies :( 

 Yup, claims have been submitted. 

 Sadly, I don't think they had insurance :( 

My house was attached to another house, which caught fire due to the owner's negligence (most likely, unconfirmed at the moment). I'm going through the motions with insurance, and a restoration company already. I think I have everything under control with all of that stuff. 

 My tenants have been displaced, and my heart breaks for them. Their apartment (two blocks away) caught fire on New Years Day, and they moved into my property three weeks ago. They have once again been displaced. I am wondering what my responsibilities are, and what I need to do for them with rent. Their rent is $2,050 per month. They were given a gift from a local non-profit for $950 that was applied to February's rent, and they paid the remaining $1,100 balance on Feb. 1st. My thought process is that I fully refund the $1,100 and then credit $510 of the non-profit gift money towards the next available month that they are able to live in the apartment. I don't think it's right to keep the money if I don't need it. What would you do?

 Exactly what Michael said. It's more about finding a location that we like and not having to work around previous constraints from other houses/units/city with the flexibility to add more units later on! 

When you say Time to Market, what do you mean? Like how long it would take us from purchasing the land to the first night renting?

I'm looking to partner with a friend of mine and buy some land and then build PreFab's near a national park or outdoorsy area in either VA or PA (Think Poconos or Shenandoah NP). Our thoughts are are a city/town that's a close destination to the outdoors, but also not too far from some major cities.

Basically, the location isn't strictly determined yet. We'll look for land, maybe 3-5 acres and dig for water, route electricity, etc, and then build either a prefabricated home or an A-Frame perhaps. We're both in the very early stages of this and really looking for some insight/advice. 

- Has anyone done something like this? 

- How hard is it to build one STR, and then build a second or third STR a year or two later?

- What does zoning look like for something like this? Is it township/city specific? 

-What are some other things I should be looking into/consider before purchasing land?

Not sure what else I need to add for more context, excited to continue this conversation! 

Thanks!

-Gabe

@Andrew Sponsler, hahaha! I'll let you know if anyone creates any chaos! 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $203,000
Cash invested: $5,000

Bought my first house with the intention to house hack. It's a 4 BR, 1 Bath in downtown Lancaster, PA.

The total rents for each room is $1,700 and total expenses including mortgage are about $1,650 per month. Whenever I move out of the place, I should be making around $300-400 cash flow. I rent each room individually with all utilities included.

The location is amazing, and I'm hopeful that it will appreciate up a lot as the city is constantly growing.

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

This house was towards to top end of my price range. It was on the market for about 60 days, so I knew I could probably get some seller assist (which I needed for closing costs). The house had a lot of potential as far as aesthetic. It had really ugly blue paint in several of the rooms (think Tobias Funke). It also had some ugly carpet, that had gorgeous hardwood floor underneath it.

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

I found it through MLS with my real estate agent. Negotiated to receive $11,000 seller assist to help with closing costs.

How did you finance this deal?

3.5% down with an FHA loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

Fresh paint, and refinishing some hardwood floors. Plans to add more value by installing vinyl hardwood floor, and renovate the layout of the house to add a better flow (in the next two years).

What was the outcome?

It's a long term rental.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The house is semi-detached, and the neighbor attached is relatively delinquent. He has not taken care of his property at all, which leaves me worried that the value of my house will not appreciate as fast as I hope it would.

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

Caitlyn Horst was my real estate agent, and she was wonderful. We're long time friends and she's been an inspiration towards real estate investing!