All Forum Posts by: Justin Pierce

I'm not an expert, on anything.  If you rent out the basement of the home you live in then it's not limited.  I don't know where the cutt-off is.  I don't think DC is going to allow you to Airbnb a 20 unit apartment building.

Shadi,

If you live in the property and are present while the renters are there then you can get a license and rent the place unlimited.  However, I heard the city can be a pain when approving permits... as usual. 

DC Hosts Have a Little Bit Longer to Apply for the City’s New Short-Term Rental License (urbanturf.com)

Thanks for sharing. I'm not in Ohio but investors really need to get in the fight where they can on this matter. I'm getting into the STR game and future legislation is a big concern.

Good work.  Do you get many deals down in Fayetteville?  I own about a dozen down there.  I'm looking for good 3 bed 2 bath homes in fair to good neighborhoods and I'm looking for higher end 3 and 4 bedroom homes in really good areas to add to the portfolio.

I didn't know you started a DC podcast. That's good stuff. Thanks for the heads up.  I'll check it out.

Thank you and you're welcome.  There are much worse mistakes to make.  You're in a good spot.

There's a type of agent for every client.  Some people will look at the agent you describe and think they're pretentious.  The important this is no matter what you were be sure to look like you but some time into you appearance.  Khakis and a collard **** is ok but make sure they're clean and tucked, your shoes and belt are not ragged.  Don't go into debt trying to be something you're not, yet.

You get much (much) better terms on a home loan if it is your primary residence.  On your primary residence it is possible to refinance up to 100% of the value of the property and the rate is usually a good 1% lower than you'll get on an investment property.  Typically, on a home that is not your primary residence you can only finance up to about 80% of the value of the home and the rate is typically higher.  

For example: 

If you live in a home that appraises for $500,000 and you only have a current mortgage of $350,000 then right now you could probably refinance that home at the full $500,000 value, get $150,000 cash out of the home and (if you have good credit) you can probably still get a 30 year fixed at under 4% a year.

Conversely, If you have a home that you rent out to a tenant that is worth $500,000 and has the same $350,000 mortgage then if you want to refinance that you can only take out up to 80% of the value.  In this case that would be $400,000... you'd only be able to get $50,000 cash out in this scenario.  Your rate would also likely be closer to 5%.  

I'm not a mortgage guy so don't quote me on the rates.  That's just an example.

@Amy Coleman great job.  Primary residence financing is the best financing you can get.  This is a great strategy to get started.  You say you have $150k equity.  Did you pull any of that out before you moved out?  That's the way to go, refinance out a chunck of the equity while it's still your primary residence and use that cash to help you get a better deal on the next property.  What's your next real estate project?

@Nickolas Rakovsky, I'm not a supreme expert on STR's but since no one has responded to this yet I'll give you couple things I've figured out on my fairly recent attempt at STR's.

First, hit up Airbnb and VRBO and see where the current STR's are in the area's where you're interested in investing. Where the mass of rentals are currently is probably where you want to be unless you know of some untapped demand or attraction. A great resource is Airdna. They will estimate for you your average daily rate, occupancy rate, and gross income for any given property. If you subscribe you can get even more information. Don't trust their numbers blindly, of course, but it's a good start. I do believe BP has a Short Term Rental podcast. If I'm wrong just go to youtube and search the how to's on the subject and you'll find some great information and additional sources.