All Forum Posts by: Josh Adams

Everyone here has shared great stories that I've enjoyed reading from some really experienced investors. If I may share my RE journey in Podcasts it went something like this:

Dave Ramsey then

BiggerPockets then

Ken Coleman then

Mr. Money Mustache / Mad Fientist 

The only thing I would change is I wish I had been introduced to the concept of Financial Independence when I was 17 or 18. Just keep grinding out those paychecks and save 50% of your income. If you think you can't save that much - truly reassess your values and priorities and find ways to cut back your spending. It shouldn't be too hard to get into a fourplex with 3.5% down in the Cleveland area for around 100k. I am also in OH. 

Good luck! 

@Josue Vargas off the top - don’t do it. If you would like take some of your income from investing in 401k and start saving towards property that may be a good plan. The market is really hot right now in most parts of the country (even the Midwest where I am) so maybe you will save up your first down payment in time for the next correction. My advice? Get a second job to bankroll that down payment sooner.

If you are really interested - don’t listen to anybody. Get your spreadsheets out and run an analysis of pulling money out to invest in real estate vs letting it stay in the 401k and saving for your down payment outside of that.

@Michal Kolenda you should definitely talk to a couple of HVAC technicians and have them do an annual maintenance. Have them walk you through the different components of the boiler system while they are doing it. Preferably get referrals and also ask them how often the technician has worked on boilers before they come out. Boilers can last a long, long time. They were designed to. And even if a boiler “goes out” it may not need to be completely replaced. It may be some component of the boiler system.

I think the specific numbers Brandon mentions in his book are examples which can vary by location. The fundamentals of his book are solid and during different market cycles you will get better or worse deals. Also, I personally think that the market is hotter now than it was 3, 5, or 7 years ago. I call this the "BiggerPockets Effect" of which I am for better or worse a part of. I am a new investor focusing on four-units so I can only speak to my market but a 10 cap and 18 COC is about what you can find. I am conservative with my maintenance and vacancy rates so my projected COC is lower than some. Keep in mind too that I self manage. One thing that I'm still trying to figure out is that he mentions putting 20% down on a fourplex which from my research with numerous bankers is not possible. You have to put 25% down. Someone might say we could have negotiated better but I've run the numbers on about 100 four family listings in my market over the past 10 months and I can tell you that these properties are rarely if ever getting sold at 80% asking price. Could you find better with a great off-market listing or value-add property that you cash out 12 months later? Yes I'm sure you could. Brandon also made the point in his book that these deals are hard to find but if you are looking across the entire United States you could find it. Which I believe him on. I did not nor do I think I would want to deal with long-distance rentals unless it was a larger complex - just me.

It's all about your business. The other thing is if you have a solid property that you think will conservatively make between $125-$200 per door just go for it. Once you get it up and running you will find ways to make money and now you will be moving towards your goal instead of idling. 

@Chase Binnie I agree. Based on our limited experience buying one Investment property your agent should represent what you think is appropriate. Additionally as you said you did the numbers on why you valued the property at the amount you did. Finding agents that know how to and are willing to work with Investemnt properties is hard, at least in my experience. Most realtors don’t work with investment properties. So one question I have is your agent experienced working with investment properties and making the kind of offers you would make based on a flip project?

Thank you to everyone for the feedback. We fought our bank lender pretty hard and eventually the appraiser relented and didn't force the shared driveway easement. I still don't understand how an appraiser could simply say something is shared and be taken as gospel without any history of easement issues or a survey. At least this way we don't have the encumbrance of an easement should we go to sell or refi. 

Cheers, 

Josh

@Eric Worral thank you

@John Underwood thank you

Could someone please recommend a good online tenant background/credit check provider for a tenant that do not require tenant email? All the ones I'm finding require the tenant to have an email. I have a prospective tenant that is a little older that does not have email/internet access and I would need to enter their info and run it myself. 

@Wayne Brooks thank you. According to the bank, the appraiser doesn’t dispute the property line. His assertion is that by virtue of the fact the driveways touch they are shared.