All Forum Posts by: Glen Wiley

Quote from @Tracy Reaves:

Hi all,

I am looking at a mixed used property and haven’t not secured all my funding. Should I put in offer without all the funding?

This would be my first investment property 

All feedback welcomed

Thanks

Get your funding lined up first. It makes you more competitive if there are multiple buyers competing for a house, many sellers are reluctant to go under contract unless they can mitigate the risk of not closing due to financing problems - they do this by only signing with folks who are either pre-approved or pre-qualified.

Another reason for getting funding lined up first is that you will be way less stressed between going under contract and closing.

Quote from @James Carlson:

Yeah, if it was my full-time job to manage Colorado vacation rentals, maybe I'd take the time to do this. But I've got other things going on in life and want our rentals to be as easy as possible. (I think most of my STR investors feel the same.)

You say the "risk" of depending on OTAs. I think that is minimal to non-existent. Airbnb and VRBO have millions in advertising dollars. Whatever risk of getting demoted in the algorithm for them exists as well on the web. 

Where's your STR?

I suspect you are right, the risk seems pretty low.

Ours is near Kilmarnock Viringia in the northern neck just off chesapeak bay.

http://bluecrabcove.com

Quote from @Dulce Davis:

At 75%LTV my cash is going to deplete fast.

Consider your risk tolerance. My wife and I prefer to scale slowly but with rock solid finances so that we can sleep at night. At 75% LTV you avoid PMI and have significant equity in the property which leaves you with options. Your debt service will also be lower which helps avoid getting pinched by unexpected expenses and being forced to sell.

Include appliance replacement amortization in your deal breakdown. For example, I always assume that I will need to replace the HVAC units even if they are working during inspection.

Not having electric turned on wouldn't matter to me. I would do a visual of the appliances and assume replacement for any that look sketchy. If the cost of a few appliances breaks the long term performance then you are too close to the wire anyway on the deal and shouldn't buy it.

Quote from @Brian Hunsaker:

 Wow, very helpful! Thank you. What is CSS? That's a new one on me. I'll look up that book :)

 Cost Segregation Study.

Two things that makes deals in residential real estate hard:

1. You are competing with emotionally driven buys of primary residences. They will pay high prices to meet needs that are not income producing - they are shopping for a different product that is provided from the same stock that our income properties come from.

2. having deep enough knowledge of the neighborhoods to allow us to recognize a good deal takes a lot of time. Without investing time into research and understanding a neighborhood, REI can be a bit of a gamble.

Sell.

I am really concerned about trends I have seen in Florida where condos are being shut down due to unpayable costs/assessments, the building gets torn down and then a new one rebuilt and the condo owners simply lose everything.

The idea of an HOA on sterroids makes me want to avoid them but then the added risk of shady tear downs makes me avoid condos like the plague.

Unequivocal yes! We have been married for 33 years and RE investing is one of the thigns that we have really enjoyed doing as a team. It gives us something to do together than is fun, challenging, gives a few opportunities to argue, make up, prove each other wrong, etc. :)

I feel strongly that our assets are "ours" not mine or hers, consequently it is logical that she should be involved and have a say in it.

My wife went from really not liking it to absolutely loving real estate investing. The one big downside is that to make her happy I have to keep buying houses.

An added benefit is that she qualifies as a real estate professional (per IRS) which saves us a ton in taxes.

In Virginia our lease MUST provide a physical address to which tenants can bring rent that is not a PO box. The new corporate transparency act further degrades the utility of LLC in providing anonymity. I doubt getting a PO box is actually worth it at this stage.

Thanks, to be clear, I am looking to buy long term rentals from wholesalers?