All Forum Posts by: John Guinta

In an effort to automate and optimize I have discovered a program called LexisNexis that appears to be a limitless well of information when it comes to real estate and real estate law (as well as MANY other tools and topics). I haven't purchased the program so I'm speaking from 2nd and 3rd party reviews.

Are there any research sources anyone likes to use beside the MLS, their agent or Google to evaluate a deal?

I have just under half of my VA benefit still available to me which is plenty to invest with.

I will be off active duty at the end of July so the VA benefit will no longer be a viable option as I just used it a little over a year ago for my current residence back home. That being said if I wait it out either I will just need to use more money down as opposed to 0-5%.

Conversely, a "boots on the ground" approach would play a huge role in making a wise decision. I have done facetime showings before and have used the same 2 realtors who I trust very much. 

The objective behind this post is to develop a strategy through general discussion in order to take my next deal head on.

I am currently deployed overseas and return back to the US in the June-July time frame.

I currently have a three flat and a two flat, both of which were house hacks.

The three flat is entirely rented out and the two flat has the recently rehabbed first floor rented out and the top floor acting as my "safe house" when I am home. Just requires new paint, appliances and minor touch up work in order to make it rentable. 2-4 weeks of solid work, if that.

Option 1: Return home, fix up the safe house, continue living there and turn the basement of the building into a unit and rezone the two flat into a 3 flat.

Option 2: Hire some people now to fix up the top floor and get it cleared out, cleaned up and rented. Then begin searching for a new multi unit to get into and close on while still on active duty orders so I can take and use my VA benefits again.

Option 3: Seek advisement from the brain workshop here at BiggerPockets.

Thank you for your time and for reading this!

Excited for this discussion.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $246,000

Cash invested: $20,000

2 flat on the South Side of Chicago.

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

This is a property I purchased about a year ago while I was searching for an investment to give me more experience in house hacking and rehabbing.

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

MLS.

How did you finance this deal?

VA benefit.

How did you add value to the deal?

I took a building that had no work done to it in the last nineteen or twenty years and fixed many issues right away. I had the intention to remodel the first floor that I was living on while the top floor remained rented out. The goal was to bring the unit up to top dollar for the area and have it look as such.
I first did a deep clean of all floors and walls, repainted all walls, cleaned and sanitized all air ducts and did a full kitchen and bathroom remodel myself while living in the unit.

What was the outcome?

After having every hiccup in the book and watching lots of youtube videos, having to kick out my top floor tenant and move upstairs near the end of the remodel...the unit had at least one showing a day and rented out a month after it was finished.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

DO NOT SKIMP ON SEEMINGLY MINUTE DISCREPANCIES. After a top of the line, full kitchen and bathroom remodel the biggest complaint from rental applicants were minor scratches on one of the bedroom floors and a missing piece of quarter round on the baseboards.
Small details that were purposely overlooked while trying to accomplish the large goals ended up halting the rental process for a month rather than the anticipated days.

YES! Of course!

@Nicole A.@Ihe O.

Well she paid! Let's just see if these funds clear.

Deposit came directly from her bank..

Also, I'm not apprised to evicting a tenant WHATSOEVER. I was just pretty shocked because this tenant has very good reports and really great credentials. 

it was a pretty interesting juxtaposition this month because the routines flip flopped with tenants. my tenant who always pays on the cusp of late actually paid early. And my tenant who always pays on time ended up having all these issues 

@Ihe O. great read! 

@Ihe O. @Nicole A.

In the event that she is evicted the costs won't be so high. She's not a malicious person and there were a lot of extra things done to the apartment to protect it against damage; or at least make for easy repairs or a simple cleaning.

My true viewpoint: I was a homeless veteran when I got into real-estate (yeah...long long story) and I wanted to be a veteran business owner in the business of providing housing and better quality of life for our vets and veteran families. 

If she leaves it opens up an opportunity to get a HUD VASH client in there and put my business more in line with what I dreamt it to be..

....yeah it's a long shot and a lot of red tape and hard work.

Either which way it goes I will find a way to outweigh the cost with benefit.

@Nicole A.

I agree with you.

My tenant has the notice and I'm letting that do my talking for me. 

She's aware I'm willing to work with her within the realms of the system that's in place.