All Forum Posts by: Jeff Kelly

Welcome Mo! I'm up in Lake County. Let's get in touch.

Sorry, I meant to type "how to best use HELOCs" not "how to beat use..."

On BP you can find a few good old discussions about how to beat use HELOCS and for which strategies they are a fit. If you read some of them, you'll find the explanation that using a HELOC for a downpayment on a regular buy and hold property is going to make it difficult to cash flow positively, because you have two loans you have to pay off (the mortgage and your HELOC balance). I'm sure it can work in some cases. But HELOCS seem to make most sense when used as to buy properties with cash and then refinance them (BRRRR), thus being able to pay off the HELOC relatively quickly, and not keep a balance on it for a long time, or for flipping. Again, you'd only take money out of your HELOC for a relatively short period of time if flipping. But I think a HELOC could work for buy and hold if you're, say, using the HELOC to put a downpayment of over 20%. If you put 25% down, Your HELOC balance would be larger than if you put down 20%, but your monthly mortgage payments would be lower, improving your cash flow. I hope that helps! Make sure you search BP discussion boards for terms like BRRRR and HELOC together. Or Flip and HELOC. Or Buy and Hold and HELOC.

You might want to look into the loan product Fannie Mae calls "Homestyle". It offers a rehab/construction and a refinancing-like 30-yr loan all in one product. I think multi unit buildings qualify if owner occupier. Before making any decisions, check out the specifics of that loan product bc it might be exactly what you need to upgrade the entire building nicely, get a low fixed rate long term mortgage, and be able to raise rents bc of how nice it is now, and with a low or very low downpayment. Talk to a mortgage broker who is familiar with the product. Search Fannie Mae Homestyle Mortgage and you'll see the parameters. From what your wrote, and from what I understand about Homestyle, it might be a good fit for your situation. If that concept intrigues you, there's also FHA's "203k" loan product. It's a little different but might also be something you find helpful. Alternatively, you could do something creative with it, like find an experienced investor, sell him half the equity in the place in exchange for paying for the upgrade/rehab, and co-own it with him. It's just an example of thinking creatively.

Bicycle tax? $4,500 relocation fee? Portland landlords, you've gotta fight this stuff with all your might. Such laws only change when lobbying money is spent. I know of (not personally) a landlord in Michigan who helps organize his area's landlords and hires a lobbying firm to keep in touch with the state's representatives and continually engage them on legislation relevant to landlords' businesses. The cost for the lobbying firm isn't as high as one might think, and the landlords in his area chip in to pay for them. I heard him describe lots of bad legislation they've been able to prevent by doing this. Any Portland area landlords, Feel free to PM me and I can give you info on who this Michigan person is and maybe you get some advice from him on how to organize your cities' landlords and fight this nonsense. Sure, it might be an appreciating market, but forcing $4,500 relocation payments reduces the amount of profit a property makes, which thus reduces the value of your property, which is (for commercial buildings over 5 units especially) based on the amount of profit a building can produce.

@Anthony Finger I echo those very positive things @Betty Cruz said about @Anthony Postell.

Thanks to everyone who replied. I have read and thought about each of your replies and have done a bit of research to fill in the gaps. Your thoughts have been very helpful. I am definitely finding some of these markets to be appealing to my goals and situation and strategy, even in this late stage of the cycle. San Antonio seems worth looking into more. And thanks for suggesting College Station. It's also looking appealing and I wouldn't have thought of it on my own. I'll continue narrowing down a list of a few Texas markets to begin networking in and targeting.

@Carter Melvin I'm pursuing properties with an almost identical strategy and identical numbers, too. I'd be happy to share any of my contacts and market info with you, and perhaps we can compare notes and experiences. I only just started looking into Huntsville, myself. I'm glad it appears that you've found a good property there!

As healthy as Dallas's generally very strong RE market is, what other markets in Texas do you consider to be an alternative for investors who might be hesitant to jump into Dallas or Austin at this late stage? I'd love to hear even about smaller cities / sub markets in Texas if that's your answer. Since answers will depend on investing strategy, let's just assume we're talking about single family houses (or even small multi) with a good balance of affordability, cash flow, and a reasonable chance for some appreciation over the mid to long term. Thanks!

You might want to look into Huntsville, Alabama, And possibly some areas of Pittsburgh too. I'm doing a similar search.