All Forum Posts by: James Sloan

I am thinking in terms of the future. 

I have adjoining properties which will eventually have 3-4 separate listings with a valuation over 2 M.

I would only consider this after they developed a strong income history, making my PG irrelevant. 

A contractor is quoting me 7.4 K to remodel two bathtub / showers. 

There is an upper level tub by a window which he would demo and remove and install a walk-in shower in its place using stone textured tile which I purchased. 

There is a lower level bathtub / shower combo; he would replace the old tub with a new one and install tile above it to match the upper level. 

He would also install new faucets for each. 

I am buying most of the material, save the tile trim and window film. 

The job would take 4 days. 

This seems like a good deal to me. 

What do you think? 

Is it possible to refinance a property with a strong income history out of my name and into an LLC with a non-recourse commercial loan?

Has anyone else done this? 

Is it possible to do it with multiple properties that are all under the same LLC?

I am getting quoted almost 3-4 K for 15 acres on the top of a mountain 

I intend to follow both of your advice and use half the balance to refinance existing debt. 

My only concern is that my credit score will be too low (670-680), and then lower still because of the inquiry. 

I'll take my chances and finish the renovation work. 

What is a good credit score threshold which you can say safely meets the minimum requirements of most HELOC lenders?

I am trying to decide whether to use my tax refund to pay off some more debt before applying, or use the cash to finish my bathroom renovation to increase the home value before tapping the equity. 

I know that there is no blanket answer; just curious about a potential rule-of-thumb. 

Is it possible for you to forgo representation as a buyer and negotiate the price down by the 3% commission which would otherwise be owed to my agent? 

I understand that this typically means the sellers agent represents both of you, but commissions are always negotiable. 

Out of curiosity, when investors says "I have X doors", are they including those they are in partnership with? 

I have heard many say things like "I have purchased 15 properties this month", but I am never sure if he means they he did, or "they" did. 

If the sole owner of said properties, that would be quite impressive. 

@Dan Slaughter If you don't mind me asking, how much (roughly) as a percentage do you save by being a contractor for your own projects? 

@Bernard Joseph S. This is the critical point. I actually thrive with the construction and renovation aspects. It energizes me to learn from the ground up. I also prefer dealing with architects, contractors (unlike most RE investors), as opposed to real estate agents, lenders, wholesalers, etc. The former are people I can identify with when the are great at what they do. Something also seems lacking for me when I pluck up a property and throw it onto Airbnb. If I am not realizing some vision of my own, I lose all interest. Then again, this is all subjective.