All Forum Posts by: Joe S.

Hey there --

Here's the general situation. We are preparing to buy a property that is mid-reno. We are taking over after the demo stage and because the house is gutted and not "habitable" and no bank will finance it -- the seller has offered a short term land contract with a balloon at 60 days.

The issue is, now all the typical banks we would use are telling us we cannot refi a land contract that is under 12 months. We are purchasing for 475k with 100k down. We are paying cash for the reno work (approx 100k) and the ARV is 625-650k.

We ideally want to refi for 475k and get our 100k back and hold the property for renting. 

Any ideas?
Can we buy initially as an individual and then re-buy as an LLC in 30 days if refinancing isn't an option (though not sure how we'll get our 100k this route)? Are their private lenders that will help us refi?

I’ve been seeing more interest lately in sober living homes (also called recovery residences) as a niche within real estate investing. They look a little different from traditional rentals: higher occupancy, often leased by an operator, and sometimes connected to certification programs or nonprofits.

From what I’ve seen, the demand is strong, but the model comes with unique considerations: zoning, compliance, community relations, and specialized tenant management.

I’m curious: Has anyone here explored sober living as part of their investing strategy? What have your experiences been — positive or challenging?

I’d love to hear different perspectives from the BP community.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $150,000
Cash invested: $20,000

BRRRR simple rental needed cosmetic work and was able to pull 100% of my capital back out via DSCR while leaving 25% equity in the deal.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

location, this property is located in the most desirable city in the county and total project cost was 1/2 of the surrounding homes.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found Via facebook marketplace

How did you finance this deal?

private lender and personal capital

How did you add value to the deal?

home needed new roof and causemetics as well as it was technically land locked when we bought it. We were able to work with a neighbor to get a legal easement

What was the outcome?

great little rental with good equity

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This was a routine Brrrr but the added easement negotiation was new challenge talking the the neighbors matters

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I was the Real Estate agent on the deal.

I'm late to the party, but I won't do LTO or contract for deed in Texas.

Due on sales discussion is missing a lot of Fannie loans that have an explicit regulation exempting a transfer to an LLC. But other loans do get called, more so in an increasing interest rate and smaller lenders who keep them on the books

Do you want cash flow or appreciation? That's the difference...

In lower Alabama my Company does about 5 BRRRR deals a month for other clients. We are consistently getting .8-1% rule on middle class houses with our clients stepping into $20k to $25 of equity per house. The better the asset, the lower the ratio that becomes. We stay AWAY from C class houses. In today's world, to beat the 1% on B class and above you basically have to be direct to seller and get a screaming BRRRR deal. We advise our clients to invest for wealth and equity, in homeowner areas that are likely to see good appreciation and stability.

Just DM me if you want to chat further, I've been doing BRRRR for 15 years myself and 6 for other clients as a licensed homebuilder and broker. I know there's been a ton on talk on BP about how risky it is for out of state BRRRR's and I agree. I've fired two PM's before starting my own, and no lie, fired over 100 contractors easily before getting a system down that works and controlling the process, not letting any contractors tell me the price or timeline. Good luck out there and I'm around if needed! 
 

Attached is my $2.4M+ portfolio consisting of 27 properties. 

I received dozens of DM's about investing in Detroit. Many are trying to purchase their first investment homes. 

Here's the truth. I probably wouldn't do this again. Knowing what I know now...this is an extremely long game towards wealth building. There's faster ways. 

I honestly thought I'd be riding lambo's and private jets. The reality is this portfolio is equity rich and cash poor. I took the path of using leverage to build a sizable portfolio. 

I'm not 100% sure that's actually the best option. I met someone recently who owns 90 doors. All 100% paid for. Makes stupid money. Spent the last 9 years growing his portfolio and would only add a new house when he could buy it in cash. 

For the amount of equity he owns, he could easily have 500 doors... but that's 500 more expenses... 

The reality here is I have 27 doors...leveraged. In 30 years...my tenants will have paid them off and I'll finally be able to buy myself the Lamborghini. 

Or... What if I just kept 12 doors with $1M invested? Immediately earning $12k with no mortgage....fewer expenses... Would I be happier? 

The reality of this strategy is that it's a LONG game. I'm equity rich but cash poor. The other thing here is these homes are cheap. I have no better way to describe the Detroit properties other than "cheap" 

Cheap homes have problems. Many of the people DM'ing me are asking about buying their first property and can only afford 1 with a 20% down payment. 

I will tell you this right now -- The Detroit market requires economy of scale. If you can't leverage 10 homes -- I don't know that I would touch these sub $100k properties. (now all $100k properties) 

They have problems. Water tanks go out. Furnaces go out. Basements leak. Plumbing issues and electrical. Foundation issues can be more common in this market. 

I've received dozens of request to view inspection reports for people...The NORM in Detroit is that you can expect a 70 page inspection report lol 

I advise working with a trusted contractor and PM company who can help you navigate the acquisition of properties in Detroit. There are things you can live with and things you can't. A trusted PM will help you identify that. 

Ultimately -- I don't know that I would do this again. Right now -- I feel like I'm just sitting on equity and it's increasing well because the Detroit market is still on a bull run -- but I'm far from living the dream of some of those YouTube/tik Tok influencers we've all seen. 

I mostly made this post to help beginners understand this market better. If you can't leverage 10 homes, I wouldn't touch these type of markets. That means you would need capital in the realm of: $225,000 or so.

Anything less than that -- I would probably not touch Detroit. (can only speak on these markets) 

I've used the BRRRR method nearly 40 times, and it's still my favorite way to grow a rental portfolio that pays for itself. I hunt for ugly houses with good bones, rehab them for function over flash, rent for steady cash flow, refinance to pull out my initial money, then do it again. The momentum is the magic—you build equity and cash flow at the same time. How have you used BRRRR in today's market, or are you sticking with flips instead?

Charles — great question. Notes are definitely a different lane than rentals or flips, but they can be powerful if you understand the mechanics.

A couple of “aha” moments I’ve seen with investors:

• You’re buying the borrower, not just the paper. The performance of the note depends heavily on the borrower’s ability and willingness to pay, not just the underlying collateral. That shift in mindset changes how you underwrite.

• The collateral still matters. Even though you’re not buying the property, you need to think like you are. Exit value, location, and condition all matter if you ever have to take the property back.

• Leverage looks different. Instead of traditional mortgages, many investors use note-on-note financing — borrowing against the note itself to recycle capital and scale faster. It’s a way to treat notes as a repeatable business instead of one-off deals.

On my side, I work with investors who buy non-performing loans secured by real estate, and we help them use short-term bridge capital to scale. That way, they’re not tying up all their cash in one note but can build a portfolio.

Curious — are you more interested in performing notes for passive income, or are you leaning toward non-performing where you can buy at a bigger discount and work the asset?

AI is sure getting spooky..

I'm working on a AI Agent for inbound and outbound

follow ups and it sure does sound exactly like a person.

Got the breathing, the "umms" and "ahhhs"

and it can be programmed to say and respond to anything

you want.

I may record a demo of it.

But this is the future and people are already used to

automation and calling their doctor's office

only to hear a virtual receptionist prompt.

But those automations suck. Point blank.

It's not the automation, it's the QUALITY of the automation.

I'm very concerned for all ISA's in real estate.

I don't know if I'll be the one responsible for job losses,

but I sure do know ya'll as ISA's don't have much time.