All Forum Posts by: Jenna Stonecipher

@Mark Ferguson Yes, we have proof. HUD did and investigation and chose to award them technical assistance instead. That period of assistance is now over and they are in a bigger hole than before. We are all holding our breathe to see what HUD will do and how we as a community can pick up the pieces to ensure their clients are taken care of--if they choose to re-appropriate, that is.

hashtag.hudproblems

I had this problem when I was trying to buy my first property, which I PLANNED on living in! Incredibly frustrating. We lost out on 6 bids before we landed one (and it ended up being our only Fannie Mae bid, not HUD).

@John Rooster you're probably right.

I say call him out if you have the evidence and then let us know what happens. I work with the Homeless Consortium in Memphis. We notified HUD over a year ago that a specific homeless servicing organization is seriously mishandling HUD funds. They still won't do anything about it, and the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. sheesh.

I work more than full-time for my main gig and fitting the time in for real estate can be challenging. Exercise isn't even in my vocabulary any more. First of all, thanks for the suggestions above! Very helpful.

1. The biggest advantage that I have is that I live in my triplex, which makes it easy for me to rehab after work and on weekends. It also makes it convenient to show vacant units... not to mention my increased ability to save for more purchases since the other two units pay my mortgage.

2. I'm rooted into the neighborhood and the neighbors love that I've rehabbed an eyesore of a property, which was bringing down their trendy street of SFH. The neighbors have brought me multiple leads within the same neighborhood because they know my goals and have faith in my ability to turn houses around.

3. Keeping properties in the same general area cuts down on travel time, which saves alot of time.

4. My work schedule is flexible. Since they know I work more than 40 hours a week anyway, they don't say anything if I need to duck out for an hour or two. I've been offered jobs with higher salaries, which I've turned down because I value this so much.

5. My fiance is committed to our real estate goals and he has a different schedule than me.

6. I love what I'm doing so it doesn't feel like a chore.

@Brett Braden I used a 203k to buy a triplex in foreclosure this past July. It was my first real estate/investment purchase and the 203k loan is literally the only reason we were able to buy it. That being said--if you have other options, I strongly recommend you explore those. There is a ton of red tape and paperwork. You have to be organized and truly research 203k information because the loan officer, underwriter, HUD consultant and everyone else involved is going to tell you something different. In my case, they requested LBP inspection and abatement after the 10 day inspection contingency expired. They required permits on the back end that weren't specified on the front end, and the even required that I contribute additional funds to the contingency after we closed.

If you do follow through with the 203k loan. research it and keep all correspondence to email if possible (or at least repeat it in email for record purposes). Most importantly, have a licensed general contractor in your back pocket. Otherwise, you're looking at nearly 20% extra in costs for his license.

You can do rehab work yourself--as long as it is not specified in the work write up that you and your HUD inspector will agree on, which will be financed in the 203k mortgage.

Feel free to ask any questions if you have them. I should tell you that my HUD inspector said that the program isn't always as difficult as mine... but I'm skeptical.

@Robert Leonard

What about using a private lender to finance the rehab? If the lender wanted to place a lien on my residence for sense of security, would it affect my credit in any way?

@Robert Leonard Great information. Thanks!

@Robert Leonard That's interesting. I didn't know that! Do you know the interest on the HD project loan? I know they offer similar financing with the HD credit card but the interest rate is out of the roof, like 25%.

This rehab is actually quite a bit bigger, probably around 50k. That's why I was thinking HELOC. But I don't want to inhibit my ability to refinance in a couple of years--or less--once the project is completed.

If I were to purchase a property with seller financing, would I be able to acquire a HELOC to fund the rehab? If so, would that still leave me the option of refinancing with the bank in a few years--effectively paying off the seller?

I've looked at other threads that suggested negotiating the seller financing in a way that payments would begin 6 months after closing, to allow for repairs needed. That may help.

Are there ways to finance the repairs needed that I am overlooking?

I could do it all myself, but it seems more prudent to take care of it all at once and start cash flowing as fast as possible.

I live above my tenants in a triplex, and we just recently finished all of the repairs and inspections necessary. Because our tenants were so accommodating through that process, we bought them each of bottle of $10 wine (Hogue Late Harvest Riesling to be exact) for Christmas. They were both very appreciative. I love having them as tenants and neighbors!

PS: I knew that both tenants drink socially... I doubt I would have gifted wine had I not known that. Being a catholic in the bible belt can be tricky ;) Gift cards to target are always a winner. Movie tickets sound nice as well. Many places offer free items or gift cards with large gift card purchases, like Chili's and Subway. That might be a good route if you have a lot to buy.

Best of luck!

@Austin Bryeans I file my own taxes. It's not as daunting as it may seem. Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide is a book I read cover to cover before I started investing, and it was one of the best investments I've made. I highly recommend it! Best of luck.

We should catch up in Memphis on day!