All Forum Posts by: Juan Zabala

Thank you for the information, Buddy. I had an issue with my current lender. They were using my debt, but not the income that was generating from the properties. I have never seen that before. The income from the properties should offset the debt. Do you have any mortgage brokers that you would recommend? 

Good morning Bigger Pockets team. I am currently having an issue as I go to refinance some of my properties. When I initially started investing I invested in my own name. The lenders that I was working with at the time weren't as receptive to refinancing under an LLC name. I got three home equity lines of credit on my properties and a loan from a local CDFI for my commercial property. All of that debt is under my own personal name. I have learned the impact of having things in your name the hard way. Since the properties are under my personal name they count against my Debt to Income ratio. Properties under the LLC name do not count against your personal DTI the same way. I am trying to move the properties from my personal name into my LLC's name. Has anyone run into this issue? If so, what strategies have you taken to put the properties in your LLC's name? Are there any specific lenders that you would recommend to work with? Thank you in advance for your help!

Thank you for this response. I am curious to know how long it has taken you to close a TOPA deal. We've been on this for month. We were delayed in part because of the eviction moratorium that DC government had in place last year. On average, how long has the TOPA process taken you? 

I was wondering if anyone has had any issues with the TOPA laws in DC. For those who don't know, TOPA stands for the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. This law gives the tenants of properties in Washington DC the first right of refusal to purchase the property. So let's say a seller puts their multi-family property on the market for $500,000, the tenants have the right to purchase it. The tenant can forfeit their rights to purchase the property or they can assign their rights to a third party who can purchase on their behalf. Here's the dilemma, the person who gets those rights assigned to them can hold back the process up to 6 months without ever purchasing the property. What these folks who get assigned the TOPA rights do is try to negotiate the leases for the current tenants and/or negotiate a buyout. They'll say, "pay me $20,000 and don't increase the rents on the tenants for the next 2 years". The seller will then have to agree to these terms in order to sell the property or wait nearly 6 months to sell the property. I have been working on a deal for a buyer in DC and we have been unable to get a clear title because of the TOPA laws and the clearances. Has anyone had to deal with these type of issues in DC or anywhere else around the country? If so, how did the transaction turn out for you?  Also, please feel free to correct me if I am misinterpreting how the TOPA system works. I appreciate y'all! 

Thanks for the information. I turned up the heat in the building and it started to work so I think you may be right. I mentioned it to my plumber and we will be evaluating the heating much more closely. I will keep you posted. Thank you Johann! 

I own a mixed use 3 unit building that has a gas steam boiler in it. The property is 3,000+ Square feet and 3 floors. I am having a hard time heating the back units because the steam is not reaching those radiators. My tenants are complaining because the space heaters that I gave them as back up heating are costing them too much. I've been trying everything to try to solve this heating issue. I pay heat as the landlord, and the heat can range anywhere from $300-$600 a month. I want to be fair to my tenants while at the same time trying to curb cost of the building for myself. Has anyone experienced this issue with their property? What did you do? What can be done? Should I switch to baseboard electric heat in the building? Should I add another boiler in the building? What alternatives are there to make a more cost efficient heating system? And help to stop my clients from being left in the cold. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've been trying to wrap my head around this because I'm paying a lot of money in gas for an inefficient heating system. Thanks in advance!   

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Reading.

Purchase price: $22,000
Cash invested: $12,000

I purchased this home that was located across the street from my house in foreclosure. The owner had fallen on hard times and was about to lose there home. I was able to secure private money and purchase the home from the bank. The owner didn't want to leave the house and actually became my tenant. I was able to put a new roof in the home, converted the boiler to a new gas boiler, and gave them a better quality of life. My goal is to get their credit in order and sell the property back to them in a few years.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This property was right across the street from my Primary Residence.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A fellow agent was able to represent me in the transaction and helped me to negotiate the price.

How did you finance this deal?

I used Private Money to purchase the property.

How did you add value to the deal?

I was able to refinance quickly because the home already had the tenant living there and I was able to get in it quickly to work on it.

What was the outcome?

I was able to purchase and refinance in a 45 day period and get the private money lender their money.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Appraisals can be tough. Even though the house was repaired and I invested money into the home. The appraisal kept coming back lower and the LTV was being thrown off. We had to come out of pocket a little more than we wanted to, but in the end it worked out.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I worked with Navid Moosa on this deal and I would recommend him to anyone.