All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Roveto

Hey all! I have 4 SFHs and hope to get a couple more in the next year or so. I'm a buy/hold investor that generally gets a $350/month cash flow from properties (mainly saying this as to note that I don't invest based solely on appreciation). With that said, what is everyone's thoughts on hedging against market downturns? I suspect one good thing to do is simply to have reserves setup in T-bonds, and if a market downturn hits, sell the bonds and put the proceeds to (all of a sudden) significantly cheaper properties. I think that my cash flow and the fact that I have an actual day job should keep me in good shape in case of vacancies or having to lower rents for a few years. What other strategies do people use to ensure that you maintain good returns in the grand scheme of things when/if the market corrects?

@Account Closed How could I get sued by reporting their violations to the county?

I purchased it 3 months ago, went out of town, came back, and the place seemed twice as bad. Maybe I'm remembering wrong? I left them a note, and we shall see if they try to get in touch.

@Colleen F.

They are considered townhomes, 4 attached to each other. Based on deed searches, I'm thinking they are owned occupied. No HOAs, although the county has an ordinance against storing stuff on your front yard, and this is what I've cited in my complaint to code enforcement. And this is all definitely crap that has been sitting there for a while as far as I can tell.

Ahh, talk about conflicting opinions. I'm already having prospective applicants say that they drove by and didn't like the neighbors and would thus not want to view the property.

I recently purchased another attached SFH, and I have run into a problem. I purchased the property, and the neighborhood seemed decent enough. I go out of state for a few weeks only to come back to see the neighbors have piled up crap on their porches and generally aren't keeping their exteriors up very well. I'm just starting to try to rent the property out, and I'm fully expecting the neighbors to scare some good tenants off. How does everyone handle unsightly neighbors? I am guessing sending a complain to code enforcement, but that probably won't work I bet.

Heck, if I had more money, I'd offer to buy their properties.

I've been thinking that, within maybe a couple of years and maybe with the help of some investments from friends/family, I'd like to obtain a small, maybe 8-unit apartment building. I have a couple of questions. Where/how do people find such properties? I occasionally see duplex/triplex's on my realtor's listings, but I never see apartment buildings (I'm not even sure Remax's system can show that). What are the prospects of building? I tend not to have my investments rely on appreciation, so when I heard a figure of $100-$150/sq ft being tossed around, and considering I wasn't wanting to build in an area that can support the higher end of that cost through rents, I was a bit concerned about that route. 

Also, how does financing work? How do rates/terms compare on such buildings vs. SFH rentals? I have heard that they are actually fairly similar but would love some further insight. Thanks!

Thanks for the info guys! I actually happened to be near my bank today and sat down with someone who does loans. We went over my properties, and basically, it sounded like a HELOC would be the best path, except that they only loan to 75%, and since they just did the BPO, I knew the value wouldn't stand much of a chance of being high. He said I would be looking at a $15K HELOC as the best option and that, as you guys said, a cash-out refi wasn't a path worth traveling.

Hi all! I was wondering what is typical for banks when it comes to cash-out refis on rental properties (if possible). I have a property that I would bet could appraise for $130k and has about $82k left on the mortgage. It's with a big bank and is a rental SFH. Do banks tend to allow refis on rentals? What do they tend to let you refinance up to? If >80% LTV, do they require PMI? Thanks for the info!

Hey all! I've purchased my first 4 properties in the past 2 years, and I want to start looking down the road at further investments once my capital builds up some more or I find some partners to invest with. With that in mind, I feel like multiplex/small apartments (4-12 units) seem like a good way to go, as they are still manageable by myself on the lower end (I think I would call in professional management at the higher end of 10-12 units) and benefit from reduced/simplified maintenance and capital exp. per unit (although with obvious tradeoffs).

So, I am curious, where do people tend to find such properties? I have seen at the most a triplex through my realtor's listings, and a broker I talked to said that their company doesn't really see many properties that I'm looking for (although they specialize in SFHs). Does anyone have tips on how people go about getting this kind of property? Are they simply built more often than sold/purchased? Thanks for the info!