All Forum Posts by: JD Gunter

Target both! You'll most likely have to contact multiple owners, and the more you contact, the more deals you'll turn up. 

I have found that vacant properties usually work better for me personally, but my current flip was an owner occupant who recently lost her job. You never know what opportunities you'll find, and you'll come across people who genuinely need your help. Be prepared to listen and build relationships, and have fun!

Good luck!

Originally posted by @Ayen Lee:

@JD Gunter Hi JD, I'm trying to get a Home Equity Line of Credit against from investment property in Las Vegas, NV. What makes you say it's better to get a refi? How was your experience with it? I want to avoid closing cost.

Pay any closing cost. pay ant

It's not necessarily better to do a cash out, but getting a HELOC on an investment is not as easy as a primary residence, in my experience.

On my primary HELOC, I have 90% ltv with minimal closing cost. On an investment property, I just got quoted 75% ltv commercial/80% residential plus a half point origination this week.

On a cash out, I have found more traditional options and better terms, but it looks like these other commenters have some good referrals. Hopefully they prove me wrong!

No, it shouldn't be. 

Are you trying to get a HELOC on your primary residence to buy an investment property, or are you trying to get a HELOC against the investment property itself?

A HELOC on your primary residence should be easy if you have equity and decent credit. If you are trying to get a HELOC against an investment property, you don't really want a HELOC.

You would be better served with a line of credit for the purpose of real estate investing with your rental as collateral. You could also do a cash-out refinance. I've done all of the above and they have benefits and drawbacks. My HELOC is with a local credit union and my credit line is with a small local bank.

The smaller the bank, the better luck I seem to have.

Good luck to you!

Joseph - It's a fair question, but please note that it's dangerous to listen to most gurus. They are more interested in selling books and seminars than actually educating people. 

There are several methods for getting into real estate investing for no money down, but having cash in the bank will substantially reduce the risk and enable you to take on more opportunities. A few methods for no cash down are leveraging a HELOC for the down payment, assuming payments on someone else's loan, and buying an investment property you move into with an owner occupant loan. Some owner occupant loans enable you to put very little money down.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

We recently established an investor targeted website with the intent to post individual investment opportunities as I find them. Any feedback on the site would be appreciated. Do you like it? What would you change? Do you find it compelling?

Thanks for your help!

Here is the general investor portion of the site: https://circarealestategroup.com/investors/

And here is the first investment opportunity post: https://circarealestategroup.com/investment-opportunities/townhome-cashflow-opportunity-in-east-colorado-springs/

@Travis Winders Nice creativity! Denver is a tough market to start in, but you figured out a way!

@Keleisha Carter My wife used Real Estate Express and I used Kaplan (now Brightwood). We probably should have reversed those because Kaplan/Brightwood is more video driven and Real Estate Express is more text driven. It depends on what type of learner you are, but I would rather read and my wife would rather watch a lecture, so we got the schools backwards. The content for both was very good. If I had to do it again, I would use Real Estate Express, but it worked out okay because I passed.

I know this is an old thread, but I've been at Stockman, Kast, Ryan for a number of years and they do a great job with real estate. I just attended a free seminar they put on at The Pinery on the new tax laws. Jordan Empey is my contact there. I have heard great things about Wilklow, so that's not a bad way to go either. 

Hey JJ! Great taste in cities! Thanks for reaching out. I'll be in touch!

Andres,

I have used the HELOC strategy and loved it. When you don't need the HELOC for down payments, it's nice to have that ready cash for repairs, etc.

1. Creating a line of credit on which you haven't drawn will not affect your DTI with most companies. For example, if you had a credit card with a $20,000 limit, but no balance, it wouldn't impact your DTI. The HELOC works the same way. It's just a line you can use, but having a balance will hit your DTI. That being said, a local bank may take an open line into consideration, but most won't.

2. I've had the most success with small, local credit unions. I asked a mortgage broker friend and he directed me to a local credit union that will loan up to 90% ltv and paid for the drive-by appraisal and origination. That was one of the best credit lines I've ever gotten. 

I hope this helps. Good luck on your next investment!