All Forum Posts by: James Cash

@Keenan Fitzpatrick is the man to go to for MultiFam deals!

I agree with your statement @Lane Smith. If you're going to buy a "deal," you're probably not going to buy it in a hot market (which it is right now), getting that deal from the MLS. You're either going to have to buy off market, or buy a rehab project. That said, there are good deals out there on the MLS numbers wise in rougher areas, but of course, you're going to get all the things you'd expect with it, when you buy in rougher areas.

My typical advice for some one buying a multifamily is buy in shoebox style - AKA - a big rectangular building, with the units being smaller rectangles in them - a fourplex - four shoeboxes within a shoebox. Why? Cost of construction and footprint of land. As opposed to buying "townhouse" style fourplexes, the cost of construction of these and the smaller footprint they take up on a lot means that they will be sold for less, but not necessarily rent for less. One poured foundation, one roof, etc.

Either self manage, or vet your management company super hard. Having a solid property management company here in AK is pretty hard.

You won't regret it! Get serious about it, and come up with a simple plan, and execute! Retire young my friend and good luck!

@Derek Morrison It depends on where you are building and what type of structure you are trying to erect. Are you going more remote, or are you trying to build close to a city? If city, any idea which one?

@Justin Driskell Welcome to BP! 

I would also include any exterior maintenance, unless you plan on doing that yourself (landscaping/mowing and snow removal).

I would highly recommend starting with a fourplex, as they tend to pencil out much better in our market.

@Theo Hicks I understand the terms of the loan, but I am wondering if anyone has first had experience with this issue. 

Thanks!

Hey all, quick question!

Lenders and Agents, have you ever had a client who purchased a fourplex or multi-family property, that didn't owner occupy, for legitimate reasons, hypothetically, and have issues down the road?

Doing another purchase not quite 2 years later and the lender things it will be an issue during a manual underwriter to flag them. Any experience on this?

Tags: FHA, multi-family, owner occupied FHA, fourplex, duplex

Hey @Damian T Heairet, welcome to BP and Alaska!

REX is a solid group for investors. Cassandra Taggert at Real Property Management also is investor friendly.

I would say have a network of other flippers, contractors, and investor friendly agents.

Myself, Keenan Fitzpatrick and Jonathon Rodriguez all work with investors / flippers.

If you ever want to meet up let me know!

Sorry we lost you from Alaska!

@Ryan Rupe Are you going to owner occupy? Obviously if yes, that changes the game a bit due to the fact  you'll have to (or should) have a comfortable commute.

@Account Closed Not really any difficulty, it's pretty steady. Last time I saw a report vacancy rates around 5% FYI. They used to be closer to 2% almost 4 years ago, but we're pretty steady.

I usually just recommend leasing out in the summer, with a year lease, no option for M2M after that. Leasing is slower in the winter (along with sales) as people are less inclined to move when it's snowy and cold.

I would also recommend a fourplex, it's going to cashflow better. Cap rates are all over the place depending on a lot of variable factors around the property, but I usually don't say to pull the trigger unless we're seeing about 8% or so. Not too hard to get that cap rate.

@Account Closed All good info here.

Most things with a "view" in the name, north of the glenn highway tend to be higher crime rates.

If you're looking for something close to the 1% rule, I would stay somewhere in the heart of Anchorage. Not too far south, not too far north. UMED, as stated, is great for students. Some parts of Muldoon and Eastside tend to be great for military. It depends on your strategy though. Are you going 2-4 units, or 5+ units? Are you doing Air B&B, or are you strictly leasing it out to tenants?

Most of the time when you're buying, you'll do a proper due diligence / inspection phase, so I wouldn't sweat the earthquake stuff, just do your part and check it out appropriately.

Most likely, you're going to be buying an 70's-80's build if you want good cash flow. As long as your roof, windows and heating system are in good shape, you won't have too much to worry about. I usually only recommend upgrading/rennovating for resale, and most multi's sold are adequate enough to rent without updating.