All Forum Posts by: James Leach

we’re here! 

@Valerie Leach

Let’s gooooooo !!!

Sorry to hear that, I’ve used Renters warehouse here in Phoenix for the last 5 years and had to cancel them because they were not fitting our requirements. It drove me to self manage and my wife is now getting her real estate license so we can start managing other peoples properties! Self managing has been fun, but we have the time and don’t mind the extra effort it takes.

There’s nothing wrong with shopping around till you find the right PM. There’s quite a few here in the valley, I’m sure you’ll find the right one! Just think of this as a learning opportunity of what you don’t want in a PM. Good luck on your ventures!

Awe man I missed it!!!! I didn't know there was one yesterday! we would have gone... I got to check the site more often. LOL, See you guys next time!

I'd say capital right now. 

I have 3 SFH investment properties that I self manage and am in the process of buying another home to live in for a year before renting it out. I've tapped into the immense equity that my investments have made in the last 2 years to; pay down bad debt, buy some "luxuries" (paid for a vacation to Florida to see our son graduate Navy C-school, etc.) reinvest for diversification purposes and put $ down on our new house. Now it's time for some creative means of acquiring capitol. This is one challenge of real estate investing and for now, I'll keep educating myself and analyzing deals!

 Good evening Eric,

If you have a 3.2% interest rate on your property, I'd treat that as gold! Your mortgage is now the asset! If it is your investment property, there are many tax benefits to having a mortgage on that property. My opinion is not to refinance but to look for a broker or lender that will provide you a good HELOC on your property, or second mort. Not financial advice! :^) 

Then I'd find a great deal that will BRRRR and use that money for the down pmt. and rinse and repeat to financial freedom.

I've gotten HELOCS on 2 of my own investment properties and was able to keep my original interest rate on those properties.

Do some research and don't give up! There are lenders out there that will provide what you are looking for without having to refinance. Happy hunting and good luck!

I'd like to attend with my wife. This is the day after our closing date on our new house though, so I'll have to keep things flexible...

I have done 3 HELOC's on my properties through Credit Union West here in AZ within the last year and a half. 2 of them were on investment properties and 1 on the house that previously was an investment property that I moved into to remodel. I have good credit and good DTI. The credit union provided the HELOC based on an 80% LTV. In other words, if your property appraises at $400k and your existing loan is $200k, they would provide me with a $120K loan. Depending on the value of your properties, I think you shouldn't have an issue finding the right lender for you. I've built a good relationship with this credit union and they understand my goals. I'm not sure if that was the main reason that I obtained the loans pretty easily but they knew if I didn't pay, they can foreclose on my house! They didn't ask if the rent could cover the mortgage pmt and the HELOC, they just used the equity in the property. Maybe this was specific for me, not sure... Do your research and if you know it can work, keep searching for the right lender and you'll find them hopefully adding them as a partner for future deals!

Good luck and happy hunting!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $179,000
Cash invested: $15,000

1566 sq. ft. 4 BD, 2 BA Single Family Home in West Phoenix. Bought and lived in this house till our son graduated high school and rented it out last year!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We were looking for a house to live in until our son graduated high school. We knew it would be a future rental property for us. We bought the house new and kept it clean. It is now a good cash flowing property that we used minimal down and were able to live in. It is in a growing area west of Phoenix.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A local real estate agent helped us find this property.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan that we later refinanced into a conventional loan once we had the equity.

How did you add value to the deal?

We had a 10X12 storage unit that we placed in the back yard that adds value to the property. This added about $100 more to the rents we could get. We kept it clean and looking new.

What was the outcome?

We were able to do a cash out refi on this property to pay off some bad debt and to put some money into other investments. It now cash flows around $600.00 for us at market rents. (Plus Storage unit) :)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This was and is a great property in an increasingly growing area. It was a small subdivision surrounded by farm lands that is now beginning to be developed with housing and stores on every corner. Still growing as of 2023...

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

On the cash out refi, I worked with a broker that was very professional and expedient. The experience was very good as this was the first time working with a broker for lending. His name is Chris Makiri, he is now with Celebrity Home Loans.

I have 3 SFH's that are investment properties. I just started managing my own properties. I use Rentredi and Avail. Rentredi is the main and I use Avail for its rental analysis software.

Good luck on your managing!