All Forum Posts by: Josh Schaap

I keep hearing podcasts referencing people using OPM (other people's money) to buy real estate. In most of these cases they are referring to private money lenders. I keep hearing people say that they are plenty of people out there with cash that don't necessarily know what to do with it or don't want to spend the time to find a property and manage it etc. Well.....where are these people at?!?! I personally don't know anyone in this position (or at least don't believe I do). 

If anyone has any connections to potential private money lenders in the Twin Cities (or someone elsewhere willing to invest here) I would very much appreciate an introduction. Or any tips on where to find these people.

Specifically, I'm looking for a primary residence for myself in the area and I'm looking for someone who would want to take a significant equity position in the property.

Thank you all in advance!

Hi James! Welcome to the game!

Sorry to hear about your past rental property experience. I bet you learned some things from the experience that you wouldn't do again though. Sometimes those type of situations can be the best teachers.

I'd recommend connecting with either an agent in the area who either works with a lot of investors (I would ask for specific numbers on how many investor deals they've done) or an agent who is an investor themselves and has taken on 3+ properties.

If you end up working with an agent to find a property I would just ask A LOT of questions. Soak up as much knowledge from their experience as you can. Even ask them a lot about the paperwork and the entire process. Help them get you setup to buy deals in the future w/o an agent.

Good luck!

Hi Nicholle, Congrats on your duplex!

Sounds like a sticky situation with the upper tenants. Unfortunately I don't have any advice on that one. If you have an agent, they should be able to help troubleshoot that issue. If not, try posting in other areas on this forum and I'm sure you will get great advice. I'm sure you're not the first person to encounter a situation like this and I'm sure you won't be the last.

As far as post closing items, if you didn't have this done as part of your inspection or as a contingency for your offer, I would highly recommend getting a sewer scope done. Most of the duplexes in St Paul are 100+ year old homes and depending on the topography of the property and many other factors there's plenty of opportunity for there to be issues there.

Good luck with your new property!

Hello all,

Looking for some referrals for a website designer. My preferences include at least 50 projects completed. Has experience working with clients in real estate. I would prefer someone who is local to the Twin Cities, but I am open to names from anywhere in the country. If you respond to this, I’d like you also to include what you liked about working with this person and if there were any negatives to your experience working with them.

Thank you!

@Annette Weber welcome to the BP forum! I'm also a local investor and I just got connected into BP and the world of real estate investing in January of this year. This forum has been a very helpful and insightful place and resource. Some other great resources mentioned above. I also really like the Real Estate Rookie podcast that BP puts on. They really do a great job of breaking down what seems like complex ideas and topics and make sure even the most novice among us understand what the conversation is about. 

I've also connected with a handful of helpful locals in this forum and enjoyed making those connections. I'm happy to be a resource (as much as I can at this point).

Hi @Ross Westendorf! Welcome to BP. I'm a local investor that just joined the community here about 2 months ago. I'm also very new on my real estate investing journey. Hoping you find as much support and help here as you need.

Feel free to reach out anytime. I would be happy to connect.

Hi Karen, 

I know this is not apples to apples, but I'm on the board of an HOA in the south metro. And our insurance provider for 83 townhouses backed out on us. We were in a scramble and facing being uninsured. Ended up going with a provider that meant around a 50% increase in the annual premium. Our homeowners didn't like that too much as everyone is pitching in via HOA dues to foot the bill.

As far as local referrals, I can’t recommend Pinnacle Insurance Agency of MN enough. They are based in Coon Rapids. They have a commercial division that is top notch. I also have my personal home & auto with them. Great service and saving me a lot of money.

Hey @Tysson Dykes there will be no messenger shooting on this thread. I always appreciate hearing other’s perspectives. Honestly I’m just encouraged that we have similar stories and it’s nice to know I’m not the only person that’s ever been in this situation or similar.

Since my initial post I've done more local research and met with some folks who offered valuable insight. I've decided to hold on to the house as a rental. At going market rate, there is a significant cash flow opportunity and even with the home equity loan I'm roughly around 83% LTV on the property. So there's a decent amount of equity. And I do see long-term appreciation in the location it's in. In fact it's appreciated by roughly 75k since I bought it in 2018.

Thanks again for offering your insight and sharing your story. Really appreciate it!

@Eliott Elias I’m curious what your experience was if you have done this before (which is an assumption from your post). If you haven’t done a direct mail campaign I’m curious to hear some of the nightmares you’ve heard about from others. 

From a cost perspective it appears that it’s really reasonable. But I’m doing everything myself (gathering addresses and names, creating letter, printing, stuffing and mailing). Looking to do around 100 for the my first campaign.

@Phillip Austin

Hi Phillip! I appreciate your input on these 2 questions. I actually saw your response the other day and started doing some digging for standardized lease contracts and I found something for free that looks comprehensive, but also not 100 pages long.