All Forum Posts by: Jeff Alwine

@Heidi Johnson Nice place that looks like it’s in the mountains on some land. I’d love to see numbers for the air BNB- how often is it rented? I’m in manassas and currently looking for rental property in Front Royal so your post hit my keyword. 
Thanks for sharing 

@William Jones Welcome to the forums. Good books to start learning what you can. Personally, I've been watching a lot of Meet Kevin on YouTube and recently bought his real estate investment course. I'm out in Manassas and looking at about the same timeframe as you. What area in southern VA have you been looking? Roanoke always seemed like a cool, low-cost place for me to start

@Josh Myrick- welcome and thanks for posting. 
Congrats on the kid!
I’m new myself so please wait for the good comments to come in but I’m concerned about your idea of refinancing. Appraising at 281K means that 80% loan to value would be about 224K which means you wouldn’t be able to take any money out when refinancing. Is it possible that since you bought, the market in your area has gone up considerably? 
Also, already being at a 3.25% rate means you don’t have a lot of room to save, other than the equity you’ve already built being put back into the beginning of a 30-year. 
As far as area, I’m in the same boat as you- my area is way overvalued. However, if you’ve got ins already in a good market to invest, I’d put my money there. Having FAMILY over paid boots on the ground, I feel, would be highly beneficial. 

Any luck picking up that ball and getting it moving? I'm in the same boat in Northern VA- looking to start investing in some rental properties. Feel I have the basics down pretty well just not sure how to throw it in and get the ball rolling

@Asad Muslim did you get an inspection already? I’d guess that if there is lingering damage, it would be caught. 
My first house had flashing around some windows going the wrong way (funneling water INTO the house). We used a 203k loan which covered the windows, flashing and some repairs to damaged wood (along with floors, paint, appliances...). Once the rotten stuff is gone, there’s little to worry about. 

Water damage could have been a situation like mine, a bad roof, a busted pipe or some kind of flooding. It really depends on the cause of the water damage that will give you the best piece of mind. If you have not had an inspector out, I’d advise to let them know to look for anything newly redone that might help you understand what the issue was. 
The fact that insurance was involved leads me to believe that whatever was the cause for the claim, it has probably been properly addressed 

@Patrick Menefee Great question. At first my thought is that I’d like to have more of a hand in the problems that arise with the thought that I could always bring in a pro if needed.  I feel the experience gained would further my understanding of whether or not a PM is needed going forward. 
Also, the extra income definitely wouldn’t hurt as this would be my first deal and allow me to recoup initial investment more quickly as well as just averting some additional risk financially. 
I agree with you on there being a TON of great advice both ways. Totally astonished at the responses my question has garnered and look forward to posing more questions and one day being able to help answer some of them...

This is a great community that I’m happy to be a part of and I thank everyone for their input

@Joshua Klein Most likely Martinsburg, WV or Hagerstown, MD. Possibly Front Royal or Winchester, VA. I still need to look into taxes and such then look, and look until I find the right property for my needs.
I’m still very much at the starting gates- this situation we’re in has afforded me the chance to do a lot of reading and research into all of this

I’m blown away with the speed and quality of responses from my question- thank you all. 
@Calvin Thomas Awesome thought with having other trades be eyes and ears if need be, as well as the electronic locks. I love mine but it can’t create a one-time use over the airwaves. I will check out the Nest. 
I’m grateful for more people that aren’t in the “farm out the management” group. 
Lastly, the idea to network with other “local” landlords to get some help is cool- how would one go about paying them back?

@Ujwal Velagapudi Had to lookup West Bloomfield as it seemed familiar- I’ve stayed there before as I do field work so I value your thoughts on what to do when out of town/ out of the country. I really like your “remote” landlording ideas.  
Also, great ideas on using the pro PM to make your life easier, only when needed- great stuff

@Bjorn Ahlblad Having a well-maintained property clicks and I really appreciate the thought of having a local tenant be a go-to handyman when S hits the fan- makes a lot of sense.