All Forum Posts by: Joe Kern

Hey All! Been searching the market (NJ) for the past 2-3 months, have been putting offers down, even getting to attorney review just to be told the seller is going with another offer "way" over asking price AND with the inspection/appraisal contingencies being waived...My question is how are these people casually waiving inspections like this?? Assuming at this point i'll need to start driving around or searching off market deals...MLS just isn't realistic in NJ.

Hello ! Currently in process of purchasing a multi family , seeking a licensed contractor( s) for initial scoping , rehab estimation and eventual execution of the rehab itself ..any references are much appreciated ! This is for north NJ area , Hudson/Bergen/Passaic county’s.

thanks!

Hello All, soon to be a first time home buyer and would like to know how soon one should consider reaching out to a real estate attorney? immediately? when it's time to sign the purchase contract? Also- seeking a NJ attorney reference.

Thank You!

JK

After you purchase using a FHA, are there hard requirements prior to qualifying for conventional refinance ? I.e you need to have atleast 20% equity ? What if you don't have the 20% , how can you still refinance into conventional to free up the FHA?

thanks for the insight @Kyle Mccaw, I was looking at a 203k option given it provides the ability to roll the rehab cost into the total, I guess the downfall is the FHA aspect of it requiring me to live on site for atleast the 1 year for example. I'll need to research hard money options, as this seems to be the best option although a bit risky!

Hey @Matthew Porcaro - Hope all is well! just wanted to revisit this discussion after reading and re-reading into your responses posted, more specifically from the following expert (listed below). The 203k process makes sense, all in for 350K (73% ARV), then you refinanced into a conventional. My questions are : when you refinanced, I'm assuming you refinanced for the new appraisal (ARV = $480,000 conventional loan) thus paying off the 203k loan + rehab at a better rate PLUS the 27%equity cash out? You mentioned you didn't choose the cash out option..so can you dive into that decision further? Did you refinance for the total ARV amount of $480K ? could you have done a cash out refi and paid off the 203K /rehab AND taken the 27% cash to continue investing elsewhere? Again, thanks in advance for sharing your story !!!!

1. I purchased the house for $270,000 with a 203k loan, that allowed me to wrap an additional $80,000 of rehab costs into the mortgage. My all in cost was ~$350,000. After I finished the rehab, the property was reappraised for $480,000, which meant I was in for 73% of ARV, and had 27% equity in the property.

From there, I refinanced into conventional, to get rid of the PMI and the FHA loan off my name. I also got a slightly better interest rate (4.45). I didn't use a cash out refinance for the equity, instead, I use a HELOC that I opened up about a year later after I initially refinanced.

Hello All!

Starting out the investment journey, after some research it appears the typical approach to the BRRR method is to use cash or some form of hard money to purchase the property and kick off the BRRRR process. My question is , can you still BRRRR with a 203K FHA, conventional , or really any form of obtaining a loan initially instead of having a large some of cash up front ?

Hey All - looking to invest in some Multi-Family or SFR, but lets say you find a SFR or even Mutli - Family deal and don't plan to use an FHA loan so the one year residence isn't a requirement. Aside from "house hacking" , where does everyone typically reside/live during this process 1. if you do not own your own home yet or 2. are currently just renting..do you continue to just rent in the interim while you build your investment portfolio? Do you use an FHA for your own home AND use conventional in parallel for investing?

Thanks in Advance BP community !!!!

Hey @Matthew Porcaro- thanks for the feedback, great summary thus far ! Couple questions if I may:

1. when you say you refinanced out, did you start off purchasing the home +rehab with a 203K loan? If so, did you refinance cash-out option at 70% ARV? Did the loan require a specific % down payment i.e 3.5%?

2. What was the rehab process like? You mentioned it took 8 months, was that all financed through the loan ? How did you identify a good contractor? 8 months seems like a lengthy rehab but I could be mistaken, were you expected to pay monthly expenses during the 8months? 

Again, thanks for the response and congrats to you and your wife !

Cheers,

JK

Hey All !

Planning to move into my first residence utilizing a variation of FHA or FHA 203k ! My question is, after meeting the primary residence requirement (1 year for example), what is the best process for transitioning to rental investment property? i.e contact real estate agent to list for rent? just looking for some advice, best practice after the minimum residence stay is over with, thanks !