All Forum Posts by: Jeff Lezark

Analyze as 2 deals. The mobile homes are technically 'personal property' and the value is in the dirt. Most MHP buyers have -0- interest in owning the homes as the cost of maintaining them can be prohibitive. Not to mention obtaining insurance for them which is also very expensive. 

The property manager is not doing anyone any favors. I'm in full agreement with the others calling for a change there.

Build up as much cash as possible and become a very discriminating buyer. You'll be shocked at the deals you'll be able to get should a real estate recession occur.  You have to be patient though because the impact of any economic news takes months to actually filter into the mind of the populace. Remember, we pay attention to real estate every day but the average person only when they're in the market to buy or sell.

With that said though I'm not in the camp that believes a major downturn is imminent. My own opinion - for what it's worth - is the market is in flux due to the election with prices stabilizing and trending slightly downward in more of a 'correction' fashion than anything else. This is of course regional but I'm seeing evidence of this in the Midwest as well as parts of Connecticut and Florida.

I'm getting several requests for extensions from investors I've done deals for around the country. The loans we made 1 year ago are coming due and properties are not selling as quickly as earlier in the year. This isn't exclusive to South Florida. I have had investors call me from Connecticut, Long Island, Indiana and Illinois with the need to extend my 1 year loans for 3 months. It seems the days of sticking a sign in the yard today and having it sold tomorrow are over for now. 

I get the nail biting thing. I went down to the nubs making my first offer and it was a local deal. Being out of State would be a hard stop for me personally.

You're getting excellent advice and I agree retaining a Realtor makes sense given the circumstances you've presented. Conventional lenders will not have any issues with your physical location as long as the deal and your financials qualify.

I'm a private lender which means it's easier to get approved but you pay for the convenience. If you qualify for a conventional loan that's the approach you should take as the rates are fixed in the 4% range right now.

Best of luck!

That's partially correct. A conventional lender - and this includes FHA/VA - will consider only a portion of the rent received to offset expenses. Typically, but not always, they want to see a 1.25 DSCR to offset the entire payment. This is critical to your plans in Colorado so you'll want this squared away before doing anything else. Your best bet is to call a national lender such as Wells Fargo or Bank of America to nail down what % of rent will be allowed for offset. Some want you to have the place rented for >1 year while

VA loans are a little more lenient than others but they still have standards to meet. For example, if you move to Colorado and become a Realtor you'll have to wait 2 years before that income will be considered for lending purposes. Why? Because it's 100% commission and a track record of earnings must be established. It's better to apply while you're in your current job. The landmine there is that the VA will not allow non-owner occupied financing so you need to be employed in CO before you apply.

Hi Sam

I'm a private lender working in 40 States. Most of us have minimum loan amounts because of the cost to put a loan on our books. We look for loans in excess of $75,000 but will go lower for repeat clients. An alternative you may want to consider is to finance 65% of the projected ARV of the 2nd property. This will create a loan amount of $84,500. Paying off of the existing financing will leave you $49,500 to rehab the the place and leave some reserves for unexpected bumps in the road. This will leave property #1 free and clear and available for lending purposes later.

Our loans are for 1 year and are repaid on an interest only basis. Feel free to private message me for details.

Hi Brian

Should you choose to leverage the purchase, your lender will have their own set of reserve requirements and these are unique from lender to lender. Typically a conventional lender will look for 6 months of total monthly payment (PITI) left over after closing but some seek as much as 24 months.

Whether the reserves are lender imposed or through your own business strategy you're on the right track. There's no better way to withstand market forces than with a boat load of cash.

Best of luck with your B/H strategy!

Hi Kevin

This is a very common tool landlords use to protect their personal assets. There are no tax implications since you are only transferring ownership from yourself to the entity that you are 100% owner of. 

I believe the cost to form an LLC is around $125 in Florida.

Hi Jackson,

You've posed an interesting question. The direct answer is yes, you can do that but you run the risk of having the lender accelerate the loan should they discover you are the occupying party. This would be a violation of the agreement with the lender, not Dodd-Frank, which is more about regulating what lenders can and must do with regards to occupying borrowers.

Refinancing a hard money or private loan is no different than paying off any other loan or mortgage. Some will have pre payment penalties and some won't but, for the most part, they all have similar language. For the most part these lenders do not report to credit bureaus unless there's a problem in collecting so verifying payment history for the new lender will have to be direct. Outside of those wrinkles there's nothing stopping you from refinancing before or at the end of the term.

Hi Tanesha

Yes, the GOREIA group is very well attended and worth the drive from Ocala. You may also consider starting your own group closer to home by reaching out to others on BP in your area. The meeting doesn't have to be in a fancy hotel ballroom or convention center. Some of the most effective meetings I've been to take place weekly at a Denny's restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Good luck!