All Forum Posts by: J. Mitchell Bernier

@Dabvis Le Sutton First let me congratulate you on a great deal on Financing!! I do a good bit of investing and financing in Valdosta and getting 30yr money is almost impossible since I'm not living in the home at all. Second, depending on the area in Valdosta your rent is low. If your home is in a decent area and you keep it up you can easily get 825-895 a month in rent. There is just not a lot of 3 bed 2 bath rental homes in the market that are nice. I have 5 that are 3/2's and when one goes vacant we have it filled in less than a week at 850-895. 

So without knowing too much about where your deal is located, I would say that this will be great first deal. 

Good Luck! 

@Mario Cuartas yes there is a niche in this type of investing. Most of our portfolio is comprised of these lower income homes. You are on the right track on how you analyze these deals. You need to allocate more for capex, regular maintenance, but you will able to get a house for cheaper so it all evens out.

We look for brick or concrete homes, that are slab foundations. Under 1100 sqft. 2/1’s or 3/1’s. When we buy them we immediately put down LVP flooring through out and try and update the roof and A/C. We look for rent rule of 1.5%-2% after we add the costs of immediate repairs. So we buy for 30k, spend 10k on repairs, and rent for any where between 600-800 a month.

Hope that helps and good luck!

@Gregory Calloway Then I would say go for it. Another good test is, are there multiple options of property managers that will cover the area you want to invest? If at least two, this shows it has a good rental market, because otherwise they wouldn't be there. 

Good Luck!

Gregory, I invest in strictly rural South GA and have had real good success with it. I do focus on the larger towns, 40K to 80K populations, so it just depends on how rural your are talking. I look for good stable rental market and wide option of property management options. Those two along with major employers within 15 miles and I think it is a good investment. I really like to focus on towns with a small university, a major healthcare provider, and a military base. 

Good luck! 

Mallory, I had this situation happen in Valdosta one time where the tenant did not turn in keys and called the PM that they moved out. Because of that my PM filed an eviction notice and went through the court to formally evict. I know that may be extreme in your case, but our tenant was not returning calls and the PM said it was the best way to make sure we were protected. 

Also in the banking world, if we foreclose on the property we give the former occupant 24hrs in writing to come gather their things, if they do not we place by the road and either they, the city, or someone else takes care of it. 

Hope that helps and Good Luck! 

Will, it will depend on the area you are in but most local banks will do this. I would just ask to speak with a commercial lender of the local bank and ask if they have a "seasoning period". If they don't or its under 6 months you should be in good shape. 

Good Luck! 

@Rebecca Vowels, Call Hunter Bulger with Keller Williams Realty. He has an office there and in Bainbridge Ga. I have worked with Hunter in multiple deals for other customers of mine. Just sent you his contact 

@Heidi Smith so if your just wanting to refinance the balance of the 112k then your Heloc should stay, as long as the bank who has the is ok with it being a 2nd lien position. If the same bank has both loans then it won't be a problem at all. Just talk with your local lender, but you should have enough equity to keep the HELOC open.

Hope that helps,

Good Luck!

Absolutely, don't hide anything. I was once told by a great customer of mine, "You need to be as honest with your banker as you are with your lawyer." Just tell them that you ex was wanting to buy the house but she could not get financing, so she has been renting and show them a lease and most should be good with it. This is of course without knowing any other details regarding your finances. It would be even better if you could show where she has been paying you to live there, copies of checks, bank statements, etc. This is not required by it wouldn't hurt. 

Based off the information you provided here is the route I would go. 

Refinance the primary residence on its own for 30yrs fixed at current rates. Current primary refinance rates I have seen have been in the sub 2.8% rates so that would get you the best rate possible on that deal. 

Then do a second commercial loan on all three investment properties. Rates for commercial are in 4-4.5% which would be lower as well. Also, by putting all three still on the note it would protect you from a legal perspective, not an attorney but that is my understanding as well. Because, if you find yourself in a situation on a lawsuit they will pull the court records and see that the bank has a lien on all three for the full balance. So there wouldn't be much equity. 

Also you could slap a line of credit on the commercial as well to max out the LTV to 80%. You don't have to actually have a balance on the line, but county records would still show you had a lien on the properties up to the original loan balance and line of credit amount.

Hope that helps, Good Luck!