All Forum Posts by: Ian Tvardovskaya

@Cody Jensen it depends on where you look for the home equity line of credit. Major banks require you to wait 6 months for title to season. Local banks that finance and keep their loans in-house vary. I've seen in my market as early as 45 days. Banks will vary but you can refinance 70-80% of the appraised value of the house. That may or may not be your down payment. 

@Victor Williams for an under $10k loan I would suggest going to your bank and asking for a personal loan. If your bank won't provide the loan or you need something quicker crowdsourcing sites like LendingClub or SoFo offer small loans and usually get funding to you in a few business days. 

You have a lot there, let me try and work through it. 

Duplex v. 4-plex - You will have 3 tenants instead of 1. Yes, that means 2 more monthly checks but it also means 2 times the work, at least. If you're living in the 4-plex it also means you have to share the place with 3 other people instead of 1. A duplex may be small but learning in a controlled environment is invaluable. 

Best practices - Get a good lease and follow it. Treat your property like a business and tenants like people. Be kind, understanding, and listen when tenants have issues, but understand the bank doesn't accept excuses and neither can you. 

Money Separate - personal choice. I would open a separate bank account to help you track what you are spending, making, and see the little costs associated with a rental property. Your first time home buyer mortgage will have a good rate so probably not in a hurry to pay that back if you have to use hard money at 12% for the 2nd property. 

LLC - probably makes the first time home buyer loan more difficult if not impossible. Honestly, an LLC is not necessary for the first property. Keep good records of your expenses and income from the property to give to the accountant and they can handle the rest. You can always transfer the property into an LLC later - or have an attorney do it at the same time they set up the LLC.

Hope this helps! 

@James G. downturn in the economy may lead to your tenants losing their job and their inability to pay rent. If you still have a mortgage you owe the bank regardless of whether the tenants are paying. Non-payment leads to evictions, restoration, and vacancy expenses. It may also make it more difficult to find a tenant with a stable job who can consistently pay the rent. 

@Rochelle Duong of course and good luck! If you end up looking in Ohio let me know, I'm happy to help! 

@Rochelle Duong that makes sense! I think before deciding if you should house hack you should consider if you want to move. If living with your family is comforting and you would rather not come home to an empty house every night then I think you should stay and continue to pay off your loans and save. 

At the same time, I think if you've started your career and are ready to move then taking advantage of cheap FHA loans makes sense to help you achieve both your investing and personal goals.

If you don't want to move then I think you should explore finding a partner either in CA or out of state who can go into a deal with you. To me, this would be a better fit if you're looking to make your first investment but not alter your current lifestyle. 

February 20, 2018 1:27am 

Congrats on the job! You mentioned you don't have a lot of cash at the moment but I'm curious why you don't use the equity in your current home if you own it? 

It sounds like you have a huge chunk of equity you could use for the down payment without dramatically changing your current lifestyle. A duplex or triplex might even be able to pay for itself and a mortgage on your current home.  

@Max T. yeah. Called the nonemergency line and they never came. Ended up having to take it down to the station and wait 1.5 hours for anyone to see me. 

First, thank you to everyone. Everything I know and overcame below is because of this community. Much love and respect. 

Begining of autumn I bought my first rental, a duplex, but didn't ask the right questions. Everything looked great, why question - 22% ROI, 1 long-term tenant, leases that extended through the summer, and no repairs needed.

What I learned when I bought: (1) I had mice; (2) lease violated almost every law in Ohio; (3) rent was not "late" until the 15th of the month; (4) gutters were installed wrong and front porch roof was damaged; and (5) the bottom tenants decided they didn't like the house and were not going to pay rent. 

Since I was legally required to wait until the 15th of the month to give the 3-day pay or quit notice- and couldn't enforce my late fee or indemnification clause - I decided to pay cash for keys and get the unit back Nov. 8. Inside I found the tenants had destroyed the bathroom tile and left me a bag of pot which took me 8 hours to turn into the police. 

Today, I'm happy to report I have no mice, the gutter is not doing more harm till it can be properly repaired in the spring, the bathroom and kitchen were repaired for $140, new, qualified tenants are moving in on December 1st under an enforceable lease, and the rent was raised $25/mo. Now all I have to do is pass my law exams! 

*EDIT* Marijuana is not legal in Ohio and landlords have an affirmative, statutory duty to turn in any illegal substances found on their property