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All Forum Posts by: Jake K.

Jake K. has started 36 posts and replied 191 times.

Post: Best plan of action to invest in real estate with your spouse?

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56
Originally posted by @Jim K.:

Everything is owned together, everything goes into one bank account, both W-2 paychecks go into one account. I fix the houses, manage the rentals, arrange for sales, track all maintenance and rehab expenses. Wife manages all money, tracks all household expenses, pays all bills. We have no children. If marriage breaks down, we have a murder-suicide pact.

My advice is to give up your dreams of an equitable separation of profit between the two of you. First choose correctly. Then do whatever you have to do to keep the wife happy. Swallow your sadness and bitterness every day. Fake it till you make it. It works for us.

I agree. If you (OP) do get married, then that is the definition of marriage. Your in it together,for better or for worse..I think splitting the properties like that is putting a chasm into your relationship before it starts..I dont want this to become a Marriage therapy site, so I will stop the post here:)

Im looking for a tried and true Title company in Baltimore,MD, particularly in the Pikesville area but anywhere in Baltimore is fine as long as they have very good reviews..any ideas? ty!

Post: First 4-Plex Deal Deep Dive!

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56
Originally posted by @Kevin Brenner:

A little less than two weeks ago I secured my first deal and it was a BIG one. Prior to May of 2018, I knew literally NOTHING about REI. That didn't stop me from closing on a 4-Plex (Quad) in Savannah, GA about 5 minutes from my current apartment (it can be done, trust me)! I owe this all to the BP community for providing me a forum to educate myself and network with other like minded individuals. In the spirit of the Podcast's "Deep Dive," I figured I would go ahead and provide a Deep Dive of my own for anyone who has read this far into my post :)

Type: 4-Plex - Savannah, GA 

Units: 4 (2BR/1.5BA, 1200 sq ft Apartments) 

Price: $350,000 

Current Appraisal: $395,000 :) Equity :)

Rehab Estimate: $30,000

ARV Estimate: $460,000

Current Rent Roll: $2950

Projected Rent Roll: $4500

Cash to Close: $2,400 :) :) :) 

So here goes - I found this property by just searching the MLS (mainly Trulia and Zillow). I already had an agent who was referred to me by a friend that specializes in REI clients. I visited the property, spoke with the owner (by chance) and went home to run the numbers (thanks to BP's calculators). After working out the numbers I realized this is a perfect BRRR opportunity! The property was owned by a sweet old lady who had owned it for over 30 years. She was just tired of playing Landlord and wanted to move on to something else. I tried to work out seller financing, but she had already refi'd twice and needed to pay down her loans.

I was able to fund the deal using my VA entitlement (which tops out at 4 units). Also, I ran a market analysis and learned that the current owner was charging half of what she should have been charging in rent. Suffice to say, the property was 100% occupied! Plus, she put on a brand new roof and updated all the HVAC within the last 5 years! Although it was built in 1958, the bones on this Quad were solid and the risk of any major capex was quite low (knock on wood).

So now I'm in the process of applying some much needed TLC.  Last week I had the "swamp" in the backyard graded and turned into a concrete parking pad for much needed offstreet parking.  I also have contractors coming in to provide some much needed exterior updates.  Once the tenants start turning over, I plan to update their bathrooms and pull them out of 1958 and into the 21st century which should definitely add some value to the building.  All in all, I'm projecting approximately $3,000 in rehab per unit ($12,000) plus $6,500 in exterior work plus $5,000 to update the electrical with a $3,000 contingency reserve and a $2,000 management reserve - about $30,000 total.  

In summary, I closed on this Quad with $2,400 cash with 100% LTV (Thank you VA). I will put about $30,000 into it while raising the rents to market value. By May 2019, I expect the building to be 100% rehabbed earning an NOI of $55,200 with a Cash Flow of about $1,600 per month (after PITI, Vacancy, CAPEX, etc.) and a CoC Return of 57%!

You show me how to do that in the stock market and I'll quit my job to be a day trader. By the looks of it, I think I'm gonna stick with REI though :)

Thank you BP for all of your insightful knowledge and showing me the path towards financial freedom!  Maybe I'll be on your Podcast some day (give me like 5-7 years haha)!  On to the next MFH deal :)  

wow! Cool stuff. Congrats, that is really inspiring to me as a newbie REI myself..just curious, how did you find the deal? what kind of marketing?

Post: Starting LLC Legal Issues

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56
Originally posted by @Zachary Cuneo:

Hey everyone. My brother and I want to start our LLC here soon. As we were getting ready to submit everything to the state, he discovered that due to some sort of oversight, his divorce never went through. It was filed, but never finalized. He and his wife have been separated for 2+ years now with very little, if any, contact. They were married and separated in Arizona and she now lives in California. He is going to get the process started again right now and that leads me to my question.

If we were to get our LLC going while he is still technically married, would his "wife" be entitled to any part of the company? Would it be better to start the LLC with just me as the sole owner, and then once he finalizes his divorce, add him to the company? We basically don't want to risk her getting any sort of ownership in our company. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Why risk putting your brother on the LLC if there is even a small chance of that happening?? I think you should leave him off for now, and create a legal ownership and distribution contract so things are clear on the business and money side of things between you, and his not being on the LLC wont be a detrement to his part in the business.

Post: Quit My Job and Plan to Wholesale

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56
Originally posted by @Melanie Hartmann:
Originally posted by @Lesli Watson:

Hey @Melanie Hartmann!!! My husband referred me to this thread b/c he noticed it was getting so much negativity and he thought you might need a little ENCOURAGEMENT!!!!! YOU GO, GIRL!!!! I'm doing the same thing as you and I'm 1 month in and on the precipice of my first deal!!! It can be done and with the right attitude and work ethic you WILL be successful! The key for me is to remember through all the rejections there will be those people that I can truly help out of a distressed time! One really helpful thing that I have done is join my local Real Estate Investors Club. Those are like-minded folks that have a FB group and meet regularly and befriending them has provided me leads and even partners on deals! Best thing I've done for my wholesaling business so far! Hang in there and tell me when you close your first deal!!! It's exciting and fun! YOU CAN DO IT!

That's awesome Leslie! Haha and so kind of your husband too! I really do plan to make this work. I'm excited to hear that, overall, it's going well for you. Now that I no longer have that job, I'll actually have time to go to the my local REIA meetings and such. I've been wanting to for MONTHS! Now, I can. That does seem to be the next Big step for me that I get to take now. I'm pumped! Glad to hear that the REI groups have helped! I was hoping that would be the case.

Melanie -- GO TO A REIA! Its incredible what you can learn there from like mided people as well as potentially meet many great connections in the business. I had to push myself to go to my first REIA because im not great at social events but it was really an eye opener.. look at MAREIA and Baltimore REIA.

Post: Quit My Job and Plan to Wholesale

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56
Originally posted by @Yoni R.:
@Melanie Hartmann I think you are getting the signals that many experienced real eatate investors here are telling you mixed up. Everyone is pretty much telling you that it is a great aspiration and if that is what you want to do then you should do it. But, if you read into what most of the experienced investors are telling you it is to only start doing this with an in depth education in wholesaling, solid game plan, timeline and budget in place prior to setting off on this adventure. Self confidence is great when it is backed by experience and knowledege. But when it is blind confidence due to thinking that you can do anything because you are you it becomes a very dangerous attribute. “A goal without a plan is just a dream”. There is no good reason to quit your job if you are doing it just because you want to wholesale. It is even probably a bad idea if that is the reason. It definitely will not help start your new wholesaling profession.

Im sorry but there is such a thing as overthinking something,there is a difference between jumping in without a paddle and jumping in and swimming for the paddle that you can see

Post: Quit My Job and Plan to Wholesale

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56
Originally posted by @Melanie Hartmann:

Hi All! I had to share. Against all conventional advice and wisdom, I've just quit my job. My fiance's job brings enough for us to cover are needed expenses and I have about a year's worth of savings built up on top of that. I have not done any deals yet but am planning to get into wholesaling ASAP. Just wanted to share. I'm going all in!

Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. Go for it Melanie! Squelch out the detractors and go for it full force. There will ALWAYS be naysayers when making a major decision. Plus you have a really good safety net on top of it, so your risk is definitely minimized..Good Luck from a fellow Baltimorian Wholesaler.

Post: Joe Barletta's course..any experiences with it? is it legit?

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56
Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:
@Jake K.

Generally this isn’t worth it

Why? Is there one that you do recommend? ty

Post: Joe Barletta's course..any experiences with it? is it legit?

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56

Hi,

Anyone buy his course? He offered it for $97/mo after a webinar or its $2,000 on his website..anyone try it and have a review?

But in general, are there any good courses/coaching/mentoring out there that are affordable like in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands? Thank you

Post: Joe Barletta's course..any experiences with it? is it legit?

Jake K.Posted
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 199
  • Votes 56

Hi,

Anyone buy his course? He offered it for $97/mo after a webinar or its $2,000 on his website..anyone try it and have a review?

But in general, are there any good courses/coaching/mentoring out there that are affordable like in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands? Thank you