All Forum Posts by: John Ford

@Nathan Norway we rent the entire unit garage and all for 1100 per month with heat included (doesn't cost much to heat). We just had the property turn over and we advertised it on Facebook marketplace. Within an hour we had 19 people wanting the property. The demand is surprising! We are looking for more now!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Newburgh.

Residential Garage with 2 Bedroom Rental Above.

How did you add value to the deal?

We have recently updated the property with a new metal roof, windows, and vinyl siding.

What was the outcome?

We have no trouble keeping this rented as it is a great location and close to I-95. It easily produces positive cash flow.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Abbot.

Waterfront property on Piper Pond. House has a double lot with 180' of water frontage. 3 Bedrooms, 3 Baths, Finished basement with Wet Bar, gas fireplace, and game room. The property also hosts a double sized garage. Our motivation was to find a property that we can enjoy and that we can do short term rentals to hopefully make it self supportive.

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

We enjoy the Moosehead Lake region here in Maine all year round. We like to hike, Kayak, ATV and Snowmobile. We purchased this property to enjoy ourselves and felt that we would be able to offset the cost with short term rentals.

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

We found this deal while Kayaking the pond after we had looked at a different property there. The sellers were motivated and we were able to purchase the home with all of it's contents including a boat, canoe, kayak and much more.

How did you finance this deal?

We were able to get 90% financing as a second home mortgage.

How did you add value to the deal?

The basement had experienced some water damage in the past and was not repaired well. We replaced all of the flooring, remodeled the bathroom, added a wet bar, and installed a modern industrial looking wainscoting.

What was the outcome?

We are enjoying the property and have already booked a full week rental on VRBO.

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

Stephanie Boone from Realty of Maine was the relltor we used on this purchase. She was very professional and helpful. Jordan Franklin from Camden National Bank was our mortgage officer. He was helpful and willing to be as flexible as possible.

My feasibility  study was years of watching people build these and watching them fill up quickly.  This is my first development project and I did act as the GC.  Even though I survived the project just fine, I learned that there is a lot more moving parts than expected.  Getting power to the site was my biggest challenge.  There was a lot of paperwork, permits and processes for the electricity.  Overall the project went smoothly though.  I am approved by the town for 2 more buildings and I don't think it will be long before I start another.  The cost per square foot ended up around $37.  That included an extensive amount of earthwork as the land that we had was not most ideal.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Jackson.

Purchase price: $100,000

This is a unique property that I purchased at a foreclosure auction with 105 acres and an old farmhouse. I completely renovated the house from jacking, replacing sills, new floor system, insulation, wiring, drywall, flooring and more.

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

After a divorce in 2016, I needed a place to live and a project to occupy my mind.

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

It was an auction,

How did you finance this deal?

Local bank - Damariscotta Bank and Trust. Used credit cards and lines of credit for renovations and then refinanced at the end- BRRR

How did you add value to the deal?

Sweat Equity... Also the land itself was valued at almost what I paid for the whole property to begin with.

What was the outcome?

I am currently leasing the property and it is one of my best cash flows!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I don't want to take on that big of a renovation any time soon!

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

Ed Varney at Damariscotta Bank and Trust was great to work with on this!

Investment Info:

Other commercial investment investment in Newburgh.

Carmel North Storage - Self Storage Facility

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

Looking for something to build future income with minimal impact on my free time.

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

I used a piece of land that we already owned and completed the project from scratch.

How did you finance this deal?

Commercial Mortgage with Camden National Bank

How did you add value to the deal?

We already had equity in the land, so we were able to compete the project without any cash of our own.

What was the outcome?

We quickly obtained 63% occupancy with minimal effort. Only advertising was facebook and our own website.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Everything took twice as long as expected!

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

Paul Doody from Camden National Bank was excellent to work with!