All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Roberts

@Nicole Pierce I think you have to weigh the expense of an early termination fee against lower payments. The lender is likely telling you the 1% is better because you'll build equity faster. It might be worth considering.

If your property is receiving plenty of inquiries, you'll find someone else qualified.

@Collin Schwartz - I wouldn't mind seeing this every day! This post is part of what makes BP great. I feel like moving to Omaha.

@ Nicole Walley - I agree with @Nathan G. Homeowners see firsthand the benefit of building equity and paying less to live. I bought my first house in 2001 for $86,900. I planned on living in it for five years. By the end of 2005, it was worth $184k. Now, it was a housing bubble and you have to be smart about using the equity to invest, but I moved in 2006 renting out the first house and still own it today. That house was valued around $150k at the low end of market, but is now worth more than $200k. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Buy the first one smart and don't follow the herd. There is a lot of great people on BP sharing and helping show the way. Best of luck!

@George V. - I use mysmartmove.com, but have the tenant fill out an application first for initial screening. This does a few things for me.

1. Gives me the background information I need for due diligence. 

2. Allows me to prescreen the tenants at minimal/No cost to applicant.

3. Gives me information I need to compare to the smart move information. (If they lie about anything, what will the future relationship look like?)

It is a little extra work, but this isn't the part of the process to be lazy about. I've learned from very bad situations that I can only blame my previous weak screening process for.

What I appreciate most about this podcast is the level of knowledge Michael brought to the table...even though it highlighted how little I know. It also called me out regarding the scalability of single family investing. Previously, I've disregarded multi-family investing convincing myself I wasn't interested, but it is more likely mental preparedness. Michael truly did explain things in a way that makes MFR a more viable option. Start smaller and work your way up. Thank you BP for having this guest.

@Anthony O. - I don't, but I would calculate a higher interest rate into the next deal. So, if a deal looks good borrowing the down paymeny at 8%, then 5.375% makes it better. The benefit of the HELOC for me is easy access to lend money to myself for the next deal. Some people disagree with this approach, especially if cash flow is the priority. My current goal is to build my portfolio over the next three years before I retire from the military.

@Anthony O. - I agree with @Harjeet Bhatti. A HELOC won't cost you much for closing and allow you to keep the lower fixed interest rate on the primary. This lets you pull out $16.5k if you can find someone to lend you 80% LTV.

I suppose I've made assumptions I didn't explain in my post. My thought process is I'm securing ownership interest in the property where I'm the only person with the right to sell it. I don't own it yet, by no one else can legally sell it either. Going back to what I stated first, always qualify the source of information and I haven't yet used a lease option and I'm not a wholesaler.