All Forum Posts by: Jordan Baker

Hey Y'all, 

I have been spinning my wheels trying to find a down payment assistance program or grant program for first time home buyers in Florida that can be used by third party originators/ Mortgage brokers. 

I am a third party originator so it would have to be able to be used on the wholesale channel and most lenders I work with will not allow a silent second on their loans. This cuts out a bulk of programs.

If any fellow MLOs know of a down payment assistance program or grant program available to third party originators please DM me and let me know as I am really trying to come up with a solution to this. Most buyers that are needing this would be FHA or conventional, and from all my research the grants and DPA programs seemed almost designed to exclude third party origination from using them for their clients.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and any possible solutions/guidance. Or if you know of any lenders that have a solid DPA program available for their wholesale channel to use please let me know. 

Hey Y'all thank you for the guidance and assistance. I think moving forward both are going to work nicely for building my business as an MLO and also opening up other oppertunites and streams of revenue as a realtor esepcially with the reffereal commision. Thank you all for the input and your time. 

Hey everyone just to give an update on the game plan for this rehab now that it has actually started: 

Rightnow paint for cabinets and the unit is running around $300

For the new countertop I decided to use pop and peel tile the high quality type to put over the existing tile and it worked out very well and looks nice including trim: $100

*side bar about the pop and peel tile the have a very sheek black marble one that went great with the color scheme of the kitchen and I went ahead because it saved me about $500 on a new countertop* 

New vinyl plank flooring required me to cut some carpet to do it but the cost was not terrible at $700

Electrician had to come in and put in a designated outlet for the dishwasher and the tankless hot water heater for the bathroom vanity since it did not have hot water. $350

Dishwasher and installation: $650

two ceiling fans: $200

New Vanity: $200

Total cost: 2,500 

Increase in rent from $925 to $1200

@Zack Karp I appreciate the feedback! Right now I work with a 5 person mortgage brokerage but we do a lot of work for one Realestate team in particular. My thought being I could originate for them and then the other clients I meet outside of that office I could refer to them already pre-approved to one help them out with their business and give them solid clients while still getting a referral commission. Right now my focus is mainly the origination side of things but I think down the line this would be a solid way to build a pipeline, grow business, and have two streams of income. Thank you for the feedback 👍

Hey Scott, 

Thank you for your insight, I definitely want my focus to be the loan origination. However, if I could make both happen whether or not that looks like me just doing one or the other on each deal, then I think it could be a solid way to open up some dual streams of income. 

Hey Bigger Pockets Family, 

I am recently transitioning out of a W2 based job to become an MLO full time as it being my part time gig was making me more money most months then my full time job. 

However, I like having two streams of income at all times. 

I am wondering if it is possible to have your realtor license and your MLO license at the same time and do both. Now before I get all the people telling me to focus on one, I know doing both at the start is not feasible and it is better to focus on one. However, what I am trying to figure out is can I be an MLO and lets say that I get someone pre-approved and refer them to a realtor, that realtor then goes and helps them find their dream home and gets under contract, once the deal closes could I, as now a licensed realtor as well, get a referral commission from the real estate agent I referred them to. From what I read this seems like it is an acceptable to do both the originating and the referral as long as it is not a government (FHA, USDA, VA) loan. Even if i didn't do the loan for that client because it had to go FHA, I think it could be a good way to open up networking, a larger pipeline, and have a back up source or income. Please let me know your thoughts, concerns, advice, and experience in the matter.

Thank you Kindly. 

-Jordan 

Hey Y'all, 

Thank you for this input. I will do just about all the labor involved on it except for the wiring of the garbage disposal. That is a good point to the investment of time, but the way I look at it if I am trying to do this longterm the better I get at doing these rehab projects, the more eficient I can be and the beter decisions I can make with future investment properties. 

Also I am full time teacher and a mortgage loan officer so truthfully I have the summer off and paid for and when I am working as a mortgage loan officer I do most of that work from home. I also do not mind doing this work as it is good learning experience for the future invetment properties

Here is the scope of work I am considering to move the rents from 925 to 12-1300. 

1.the paint is only in the living room as there is a bit of a smokey smell now so I am going to hit that with Shellac primer, and air purifying paint ($350 + my time)

2. I was going to get the life proof flooring and cover the bathroom and the kitchen with it ($600 + my time)

3. I like the idea of painting the cabinets as well to save some money there and looks like again the cost of doing so is going to be ($200 + time) 

4. new vanity and fixtures in the bathroom ($300) 

5. install ceiling fans in both bedrooms as there is only lights in there now and the ari flow is not great ($220)

6. Install garbabge disposal (300)

7. Instal that higher end laminate granite counter top that malcomb recommended or a similair one ($500-750)

8. margin of error $500+/-

total rehab cost would be around 2,500-3000. 

At this rate I believe the ROI would be around 12-15 months if i am not including my time within that costwhich I am okay with at this point.

Hey Bigger Pockets Family, 

I have a duplex in a B/C neighborhood in Jacksonville FL. I bought the property as a primary using my FHA loan and have been doing some updates to my side but have a tennant moving out soon and want to update the other rental side of my property. I currently get 950 in rent for the 2br/1Ba side of my property and I am looking to do about $2,000-$4,000 worth of work to the otherside to bump the rent up to 1200-1300 (this is what the upper rents are going for in this area).

Nothing is majorly wrong with the house at this time it is mainly doing some cosmetic updates becuase it looks really ugly and I know I can get more for it with this rental market. Mainly updating counter tops, new flooring, paint, ceiling fans, updated cabinetry, adding a garbarge disposal and possibly dishwasher. Most of this I will do my self except for the dishwasher and garbage disposal because i need to call in an electrician to wire it. 

My big questions is what are some renovations y'all have made that have gotten you a good return on investment and gotten you solid tennants willing to pay a bit more in these middle of the road neighborhoods? is it worth it to get granite countertops? Is it neccesary to put in the dishwasher for this small of a unit? 

Any input about the renovations worth doing that will make the biggest bang for your buck in this type of neighborhood would be greatly appreciated!

@Brian Lenzer

Hey Brian there are some loans where if you have the assets and the property can show a high enough net you can get 100% financing.

Not sure what state you are in but I am a licensed mortgage loan originator in FL. We work with many different lenders that see similar situations such as yours and I would be happy to help you see what we can qualify you for. Feel free to DM with any other questions you have.

@Wayne Felton

Hey Wayne! Congrats on become an agent, Jacksonville is an awesome housing market to be in and is super hot right now. I am a mortgage loan officer out of Jacksonville with an office in St. John’s county. I would love to connect to discuss possibly doing some dual branding and marketing ideas. Please feel free to message me and congrats again on passing your exam!