All Forum Posts by: Isiah Ferguson

I’ve been with State Farm for some years regarding all of my policies. I have about 7 policies but I’m tired and looking for a new company to take my talents too. Do anyone have any recommendations for a good solid insurance company to house my policies. They consist of rentals, vehicles, & umbrella. 

Thanks in advance. 

My name is Isiah. I am 31 years old. I have a wife & 2 boys.

Whewww ! I don't know where to start. 1 thing for sure big thanks to Biggerpockets & this community. 

I started this REI journey super green back in 2016. I couldn't wrap my head around the the concept "The Rich Don't Work For Money" - Rich dad. I always thought, the more jobs someone has the more money you make. Sheeshh I was wrong. Reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad" made me realize it's not about how much money someone has but how much CASHFLOW they generate. How long can you sustain your life without a JOB ? I begin to understand CASHFLOW a lot more. But I also realized to obtain FINANCIAL FREEDOM you have to have a GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT mindset & become the person you need to become from a mentally standpoint to get what you're asking for.

I brought a duplex a couple months later after learning about REI. Brandon Turner always talked about not getting analysis paralysis. I did not want to get caught in that. I am more of an action taking guy. I'm the type to jump in the pool and teach myself how to swim. I will not let myself drown mentality. I always won going against the grain of the norms. If I'm being honest Brandon was like my online virtual mentor. I would be od motivated by his story and prospective about REI. I seen his growth through social media. I felt he can do it, I can too.

Present day, 7 years later & 6 units later. Also, we have a 7th unit up the pipe line. I am super grateful. I still can't understand why doesn't everybody want CASHFLOW over a paycheck. 

Anyways, Today I called my employer & told them I quit. My supervisor & his boss was shock. I told them this is not an emotional decision, I've always had this planned. I use the JOB to help me build a bridge to increase my rental portfolio. I'm not sure if they understood or not but okay. Today, this decision felt so right. This was GOD timing. I felt and seen many sighs to leave. I know too much and I prepared for this moment. I would always worry about health insurance but for a family of 4 we were only quoted roughly $215 monthly through BCBS.

At the moment, it feels kinda scary, exciting, unknown, & just mixed emotions. Then, I thought you have to watch what you wish for it because GOD will reveal it to you. I can feel any kind of way but I know I am prepared for this. We have a healthy six figure nest egg, rental CASHFLOW, & expenses are relatively low. We refused to give into the consumerism lifestyle. I've kept the iPhone 6 Plus for yearssss and never gave into the more expense upgrade. We've made many sacrifices to get to this point. 

Moving forward, me & my family plan to take at-lease 1 year off to travel the world. The first stop is Lisbon, Portugal. We are super excited for the unknown and GOD blessings. 

I humbly tell you guys some of my story for motivational purposes only. I hope this motivates someone else to build their own CASHFLOW. 

Goodluck & GOD bless

Best Regards, 

Isiah !

Yoo. I’m currently doing my DD on a potential property. It’s currently a 3/2 w/ an half finished basement potential 1/1 with separate kitchen and driveway. There is a roughly separate garage w/ roughly 1000sq.

I spoke with the city and since the property is on .8 acre it can be zone for a 3 family. There is more than enough parking.

The main house is complete, I’ll just need renovations to finish the basement and the 1000sq separated garage space.

Potentially, this can be a 3 unit. The main living with is a 3/2, the basement 1/1 and separated garage space 1/1.

I would use my HELOC for the renovation. What should be my first steps to make this come to life ?

Initially the PP was 310k on open door. They dropped it to 262k but we offered 250k 

@Allan Smith @Kim Meredith Hampton Thanks for the feedback. 

Yes, I believe it zone only as a single family. 

Basement has its own driveway, entryway, second door, and windows. Legally it’s considered a single family unit. From the looks, I automatically assumed this is a duplex being sold as a single family. It looked like opportunity to me.

The utilities are operating on 1 meter, I believe. I only notice 1 A/c unit. I’m tryna see how can I make this a deal ? I wouldn’t mine advertise the units for rent with all utilities included. How should I approach this legally ? 

I came across a single family with a 3/2 about 1200sq. There's a basement with a full kitchen, bedroom, and great size living room with a potential for a second bedroom. The main living has a door access to the basement with a lock. The basement its own has a front door, backdoor, and own drive way. But it only has 1 A/C unit connect to the house. It was listed for 310k 2 months ago but now is at 275k. Potential rent for the 3/2 is $1600-$1700. The basement apartment can go for $900-$1000. The basement need some work. The main living space is moving in ready. I'm thinking to put a offer in. What should I do ? any advice ?

@David M.

I have to ability to close on both. 1 closing will be direct to seller and another will be with an agent. I was not sure because I have 2 different approvals from 2 different financial institutions. 

Hello, I currently have 2 separated Pre-approval letters from 2 different lenders. 1 from a mortgage broker and another from a credit union. My question is can I use both separated approval letter to get 2 different properties under-contract to purchase ? 

This is for motivational use only. Me and my wife closed on our "Primary Residence" back in August 2018. I believe is is a C+ neighborhood. In the back of my mind, I figured somewhere down the line this house could potential be a rental property. 

PP - 200k

PITI- $1,350

4b/2.5b 2,996sq

Interest rate - 4.875 no PMI

5 year ARM/ 30 year amortization

During the purchase, I just assumed once the 5 ARM is time for renewal we would have enough equity to refinance into a loan with an 80% LTV to avoid PMI. We add some personal touches to the home. We undated the kitchen, all new paint throughout, living room, open some walls and closed some. In total, we spend about 30k for upgrades. My wife fell in love with the neighborhood and built great relationships with a few neighbors.

Fast forward to January/February 2021, we refinanced 3 years later instead of waiting the full 5 years of the ARM.

Appraisal - 262k

New loan - 201k

We received a check at closing for about $1,900.

PITI- $1,117

Interest rate - 3.375

At this point our mortgage got lower and we was happy with that. We had thoughts about a cash out refi but instead we preferred a lower mortgage payment. We could've got a lower rate but we decided not to pay for interest points. After about 1 month, somewhat we are ready to turn our home into another rental property. We found a New Construction duplex on the MLS. We spoke with a lender to get pre-approve but got denied because of the '100 mile rule -The FHA has a requirement that specifically states the new primary residence must be 100 miles away from the old departure residence. This means you cannot keep your house and then turn around and buy another one a few miles away using an FHA Loan for the acquisition of the new primary home." 

At this point, we had to find another route but we refused to put 25% down because we didn't want to touch our cash reserves. From here, we started to have deeper discussing about rental out our now home in which we just refinanced. My wife definitely wasn't on board emotionally because she love our neighborhood and she comfortable. At the same time, she understands wealth creation and our family long term goals. Instead of trying to buy a new "Primary residence" right away, we decided to rent apartment again to avoid 25% down payment and the "100 mile rule". Going to an apartment was a semi low blow because we went from a damn near 3,000sq home to a 2 bed 1,100sq. It took a certain mindset to make a sacrifice like this with 2 kids.  

We finally agree to rent out our "Primary residence". I'm super excited at this point. My wife is on board and we're focused on the bigger picture and our future together. We making living in an apartment work for us. We come from humble beginnings, so we know how it is as far as making it work. 

We use Cozy and Realtor to market our new rental unit. We got a lot of interest and did some showings. Our standards were pretty high. We mainly focused on job security and credit score. Along the way, we had a few potential candidates ask us do we take Housing vouches ( Section 8 ). We have 3 other rentals but we never had tenants w/ a housing voucher. We really are not familiar with of the program work from a landlord standpoint. Well I do have some experience as a child on Section 8. My parents were in the housing program. I remember going to see our specialist and we lived in the housing projects. So we know the vibes somewhat with the Housing Program. 

We decided to selected a few potential tenants who had vouches. My wife did the showing. We found a woman who had good job history and some like overall a good person. We decided to give her a shot. We the pandemic going on and in our area for renters it seem like most people had to restart with their job situation. A lot of candidates was inconsistant with their work history. 

We almost at the finish line with our Housing Programs tenants. We did everything we need to do including our new tenants. the move in date is may 1. 

Numbers :

PITI $1,117

Asking rent - $1,849

Section8 portion - $1,643

Tenant portion - $206

Net Cash flow without Repairs/Maintenance - $732 monthly

We've been living in our primary residence for 2 years now. Our payment PITI is $1100 and the market rent for our house is $1800 per month. I would love to turn our home into a rental but my wife doesn't. How can I persuade her this is a great idea ?. At this point she emotionally attached which I understand to a degree. SHe understand what REI can do for us but doesn't love it.