All Forum Posts by: Joshua Top

@Kuba F. In my local market, I think the time for BRRRR ended a few years ago. Prices on the entry level homes have doubled and rents haven't followed fast enough. I will probably just keep flipping until the market changes and I am better served with buy and hold.

@Eric Adobo my other thought would be to roll the funds into a duplex, I could get one for about $300k, and both sides would rent for a total of ~$2,600.  

@Anthony Wick I have a great relationship with a mortgage lender, that combined with my W2 income will get me the refi.  I just don't think breaking even is worth it when I could clear $70k ($50k after tax) and use it for the next flip.  5 years ago, you could get a decent rental house in my market for $150k, now it is $275k.

We are finishing a couple flips in the next 60 days. Time to decide what to do with the houses. I am open to the BRRRR method, but I don't think it works very well in my current market. Here are the rough numbers on one of the houses, both are similar:

Total investment (acquisition, remodel, carrying costs) - $200,000

Current value (after netting out selling costs) - $270,000

Potential Rent - $1,500/month

I can do a refi and get my $200K back out of the project, that leaves me with a mortgage payment of $1,400 including taxes and insurance (assuming 30 yrs. at 5.5%).  Even though the houses are both completely remodeled, I would still set aside the extra $100/month for maint/repair.  After accounting for vacancy, I would lose money every month.  

I would love to hold on to these houses but all signs point to selling and taking the tax hit.  i'm not complaining, paying taxes means that I made money.  Any insight from forum members would be appreciated.       

Berkshire Hathaway is a good option if you are not doing any structural work.  They can also include $1M premises liability coverage with the structure coverage.

Hello everyone, new member here from Sedro Woolley, Washington.   I am located about 90 minutes north of Seattle.  My wife and I have been doing a bit of real estate investing for the past 10 years.  We have been ramping up our fix and flip operation and have 5 projects currently in the works.  My day job is partner in an insurance and tax accounting firm. 

I am slowly learning that I can't do it all and am hiring out more work on each project we do.  I am looking forward to learning and contributing here on the forums.  The Bigger Pockets Podcast is great and I have listened to over 200 of them so far.

We use Berkshire Hathaway.  They allow you to have multiple homes on one policy and also can include $1M premises liability on the properties.  We just keep one policy in force and add/subtract properties as needed.

I have sold 2 homes through Savvy Lane.  They were wonderful to deal with and are a great way to save money if you are willing to put in the work.  I chose the $495 package.

@Derek Meehan  This is what we like to see!  Too often I have people ask me to "teach" them how to invest in properties - but none of them want to do actual work.  The best way to learn is to shadow someone and get your hands dirty.  Nothing good comes easy.  I have a few flips going on in Burlington and Sedro Woolley, send me a message if you want to check one out.

I agree, find another agent. A policy to insure a tri-plex is not that hard to obtain, assuming that the property is in good shape.