All Forum Posts by: Michael Perry

@Diane G. You could start a new thread instead of hijacking @Tyler Jahnke's thread.

Brian, I looked at the Landlord insurance.  But after reading Jamie and Jorge's recommendations I will now look into State Farm.  I think I want an insurance policy that will cover both vandalism and theft as well as other perils though.  So this narrowed down my search criteria.  

Hey Jorge,

I'm actually researching the same exact question right now.  Maybe we can help each other out as we learn about a insurance companies.  

Here's who I've contacted so far:  USAA, NREI Group, A.L. Howes Insurance and AAA.  

USAA - I use them for my personal insurance and I think they are great.  They offered me a pretty high quote though - $100/month for a $500 deductible (lowest deductible  they offer), that covers all perils including wind, hail, and vandalism.  I don't know if it covers theft.  I forgot to ask.  They have other lower premiums down to $56/month but then the deductible is like $6k:/  Also, others on BP have talked about how responsive USAA is and how they always pay claims and they are excellent to work with even though are a bit pricy.  

NREI - heard great things about them.  They work specifically with investors.  Waiting to get a quote.

A.L. Howes - based in Sykesville.  Waiting for quote.

AAA - they won't insurance your investment property unless they insurance your primary.  But I've heard rates are good.

They other main thing I learned is that insurance companies do not honor loyalty.  They hike their rates up after a couple years so you always need to be shopping around in order to get a good deal.  

I'll keep you posted as I learn more!

@Micah Markowitz These are business cards, in a business entity they help you set up (all state filing fees for this entity etc... are all covered with the up front fee). They do not report to your personal credit.  As far as the inquiries, see above. If you want to get the inquiries removed for you then there is a company they partner with to do that for you and that is an additional $1k - for unlimited inquiry removal for 1 year (also they will clean up anything else on your credit that you need within that year as well).

@Donnie N. Once you have your first round of cards (there are 4 rounds total with 3 to 4 cards each round included in your upfront payment) they send you a detailed document that addresses 2 things:

1.) On how to get the inquiries removed from your credit. It's easy to follow and I got the inquires removed within a week after I started the process to remove them.

2.) On how to easily convert your credit into cash. They walk you through each item and you can ask and call back to get as many questions as you'd like.

@Justin Sheley So far I have just been using it as credit cards. One of my cards offers convenience checks so if need be I'll go that route. I've thought through using the gold route and I'm willing to do that if need be, I just haven't had a need great enough for that yet though 

Just throwing my 2 cents in there, I'm currently enrolled in Fund&Grow. I completed phase 1 and have $75k in credit. The inquiries that did show up (only 2 of 4 showed) have been removed from my personal credit and I'm priming for round 2 of funding. From my first application to receiving the cards took about 3 to 4 weeks. Their staff was very friendly, super knowledgeable and very very thorough with explaining every step to you so you know what to expect. If anyone has any questions please let me know 

PS. The other services like this charge a success fee which is a % of the funding you get... this is NUTS to me. I'm expecting to get around $250k to $300k in credit through this process - paying $3k down is much more palatable than paying even 5% credit acquired for a success fee. BTW all the places I've seen, actually charge 10% success fee which is just plain crazy to me. Up front fees aren't inherently bad in and of themselves. In this case it's just a better option - plus you can write it off as a business expense too.

Ozzy Sirimsi Ned Carey Seth Sherman I guess our biggest factor we are looking at right now is cashflow. Well, let me clarify - I'm attempting to look at big picture in that I want good cash flow and decent equity for a return. For my partner he is of the mindset that if we don't ever intend on really selling it then cashflow is king and what the house might or might not appraise for is not a huge factor right now as long as it's bringing a good monthly return. So with this first property we are attempting to meet in the middle with a good cash flow and a place that has a potential for decent equity. With that said, it sounds like these properties don't actually have good equity and more than likely potential for negative equity - at least that is the general gist I get from your comments. That an accurate assessment? If that's the case even without the equity portion, can we still use the good monthly return to our advantage? Save the cash flow until we get about $5k for incidentals and vacancy then after that save it toward the down payment for another property. Rinse and repeat. It makes sense in my head but from your perspective what is my equation missing? Thanks for lending your expertise fellas.

So my business partner and I are looking at another turn key property right now in the the Waverly area and we'd love to get some help analyzing this one.

 548 E 38th St. 21218

3 bed, 1 bath townhouse, fully renovated, updated windows, new roof

asking $110k, seller says the home is worth about $140k, seller will place voucher tenant through one of 13 subsidized programs in Baltimore. Tenant is placed before settlement. Rent will be between 1400-1500.

We have analyzed the the numbers through the rental calculator. The main question I have is for people who know Baltimore and know these neighborhoods. Is 1218 a neighborhood you would invest in? Do these numbers add up for what the ARV value is supposedly at and what the rent would be in that area?

Any help is appreciated. 

@Ned Carey @Ozzy Sirimsi @Account Closed Thanks for the feedback, we decided to pass on that property based on this feedback and concerns we had from looking at the deal ourselves. We have another property we're looking at as well that we'd love some feedback on that one as well. I'll post another post about that one separately so it doesn't get confusing. Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it!