All Forum Posts by: Jake Aardema

Charis, Just sent you a DM.  Would love to connect and see how I could help.

Hi Philip, I would agree with Derek.  You can make deals in any market hot or not.  Getting deals is a financial decision not emotional, so although the rates have gone up, you may not make as much as your original rentals but the deals are still there.  In my opinion, the current market will be more regular than the anomaly of a record-low interest rate from the past few years.  Just keep pushing through these weird times and take your time analyzing the deals as they are still there, just not as plentiful as they have been.  Hope this helps!

Hey Darryl! Appreciate the contact! I will reach out to them and see what they have to offer. As we get off the ground with our business, we could potentially use an agent to assist with any deals and we will keep you in mind.  We should meet up sometime and connect!

Hello BP! My business partner and I are looking to pivot our strategy into more creative financing with the interest rates going up.  We are looking for references in the GR area for creative finance (specifically seller financing or subject to financing) title companies to partner with.  

Any recommendations would be appreciated! 

@Noah Field Jumping into your first property is definitely the most daunting, but like others have mentioned. Don't overanalyze it, take advantage of the FHA loan with minimal down and ensure your tenant will cover the majority/if not all of your mortgage while living in the property. If you have any questions or need a gut check on a property, I am happy to help! The GR market is still thriving despite the market across the country.

Steve - Like others have stated it comes down to your plans for the property.  You can get a vacation home loan from a bank that will require 10% down, but you then must "use" the property for 14 days to qualify.  If you want it turned over to a management company as an investment, it will be classified as an investment property which different lenders may require up to 20 or even 25% down as a secondary investment home.  

Quote from @Kurt Devlaeminck:

Quote from @Jake Aardema:

Hey Kurt!

How did your first season go for STR? I have mostly focused on long term hold rentals west of GR, but have thought about dipping into STR along Lake Michigan. Would love to hear about your experience and if you self-managed/utilized any management companies. I have mostly self-managed and am always looking for more referrals for any trades or property managers.

Hey Jake! 
Our first season went well. We've been self-managing besides having a cleaner that helps us with the turnaround and laundry. I know there are management companies in the area, but we wanted to see if we could handle it. Honestly, it was not a big deal. I have a good plumbing contact and a good roofer so far, but I handled a couple of faucet leaks and lack of hot water that we just went ahead and replaced the hot water heater. 

We also bought our place from friends that live next door that are a great resource for opening and closing it for the season and they know the place. 

We remodeled the bathroom, put a new roof, replaced the hot water heater, and bought a new refrigerator—so this year will be a loss, but we wanted to get the place to a good spot so we didn't have much to worry about. It should cash flow really good next year since we have all good reviews so far on airbnb and vrbo.

I grew up on the Westside by Richmond Park. Where are you buying places? Would love to know your experiences with LTRs over there. I've thought about looking in that neighborhood, Creston, and close to Cheshire Village on the NE side. How are you funding your projects?

Awesome! knowing the neighbor is extremely helpful and lowers the risk of your renters too!  I live in Grandville and rent in Jenison/Hudsonville.  I have been extremely pleased with the results as there is not many rentals in the area, so there is a high demand to get into the area, and knowing the properties will long term appreciate.  So far I have just been using conventional loans as we would live in the home and live and flip it before moving on to the next one and renting the previous one. This has worked well getting started, but long term I will start looking into more private funding to make it easier to scale.   

Hey Kurt!

How did your first season go for STR? I have mostly focused on long term hold rentals west of GR, but have thought about dipping into STR along Lake Michigan. Would love to hear about your experience and if you self-managed/utilized any management companies. I have mostly self-managed and am always looking for more referrals for any trades or property managers.

Hello BP! I am a new investor that is taking our original personal single-family home and turning it into a rental in suburban GR. Looking to see if it would be wise to seek legal/tax advice prior to listing our house for rent.  Additionally, if any had recommendations in the Grand Rapids area for a real estate lawyer or accountant that could help me in starting this process.