All Forum Posts by: Greg Powers

Hi Eric--

I'm an agent in Manchester.  PM me and we can discuss a few ideas.

Hi Andrew--

Did you get a reply?  I have several I could recommend.  Feel free to PM me.

Greg

Full disclosure, since my profile doesn't reflect it--I am a Realtor.

There are some Realtors who also do a lot of rentals, and do, in fact, have a good handle on the multifamily market up here (Brett C.'s 10%).

They help the investor find and buy the property (for a commission, but at little or no cost to the investor); they advertise for tenants and do the screening (but not the selection) in exchange for half a month's rent; and if the relationship works out, the investor will list the property through the Realtor when the time comes to sell.  So there are several ways you can repay--literally and figuratively--the agent for his or her expertise.

You could also ask a property manager about local rents, but they will want to be compensated in some fashion as well.

PM me and I'll see if I can help.

Some money pit issues are hard to determine up front--hidden wiring issues, hidden mold, etc.  Retaining walls are in plain sight, even if the problems are not immediately obvious.  I once listed a house for sale that had a 10-foot retaining wall holding up the backyard, which was failing, and we got a bid of $26,000 to fix it.  I swore then never to buy a house that had a retaining wall that was more than a foot high.  It's a running joke with my wife and Me.  

I'm sorry to hear about your tribulations with this particular property, but thank you for sharing it with BP so that others might beware.

@Lynn Maher --yes, $50k is the max, but not per year.  That $50k is an absolute maximum.

The actual IRS calculation is the lesser of: 1) 50% of your total vested balance, or 2) $50,000 minus the highest outstanding loan balance over the past twelve months.  So....

If your vested balance is $80,000, you can take a loan out for $40,000 (assuming your employer or the plan doesn't restrict any sources of money).  If your vested balance is $200,000, you can still only take a loan out for $50,000.  And if you take out a $50k loan on Oct. 20, 2014, and have a $48,000 balance on Jan. 1, 2015, you can't take another $50,000 out.

Also, to emphasize another point I made above, the second half of that IRS calculation can be tricky.  Let's say you take out a loan for $50,000 to buy a flip, you do the rehab and sell it in four months, then pay back the $50,000 loan.  You won't be able to take another loan out for another eight months because the IRS calculation is seeing that "highest outstanding loan balance over the past 12 months" as $50,000, and according to the calculation, $50,000 minus $50,000 equals zero.  Or say you take a loan out for $35,000 and pay it back in six months; over the next six months your maximum loan amount might be $15,000.

And again, to kick a dead horse another time or two, THIS IS ALL EMPLOYER SPECIFIC.  I have seen one employer that only allowed you to borrow 25% of your vested balance.

Hi Julio:

Congratulations on passing the RE exam!  I recently re-acquired my license, too (I was an agent a decade ago), and I would highly recommend The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller.  If you're a motivational speaker and author, you'll definitely appreciate his approach.

Best of luck to you!

Hi @NA Jones   Glad the information was helpful.  That little tax implication is one of the hardest things to explain to people who are taking out loans.  Most people--if they even consider it--think ALL the loan repayment is getting double-taxed.

The biggest problem I've seen with these loans is that the payment period is so short.  The payment on a $50,000 loan over the five year maximum can certainly put a dent in your cash flow.

Good luck with your investing!

Hi @Jay Groleau  !   Thanks for introducing yourself.  I'm a residential real estate agent in Manchester, so I may well get in touch with appraisal questions.  I'm also looking to invest and recently joined the NHREIA after attending several meetings, so maybe we'll meet up there?

If you've read my profile, you'll know that one of my passions is rare books, prints, manuscripts, etc., so every Sunday morning I'm at the flea market in Hollis, New Hampshire. This morning I happened to pick up a folder entitled "Properties of the Waltham Savings Bank" in Waltham, Massachusetts, so I thought I'd post a few pictures for the entertainment of the BP community. There are about 60 properties listed here, almost all from Waltham, but with 6 other towns represented by a single property. 

Just last night I was on a foreclosure auction web site, so the parallel between the days of the Great Depression and our own recent Recession was interesting, but the contrast between the technology involved in selling these was striking!  I guess "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

Here are the photos:

Pic 1 - Cover

Pic 2 - Notice to Brokers

Pic

Pic

Pic 5 - 13 units for $45,000

Pic 6 - Almost a castle