All Forum Posts by: Justin Dyer

Sounds like a plan. Let's meet this weekend--bring the Frenchies... My wife went to VCU so she knows the area.

Is there a list/link of financing options? I have a handful of options as ideas, but I would appreciate alternatives!

(Familiar with IRAs, 401Ks, friends/fam, hard$, traditional, VA)

- Current VA loan that I could refi into a conventional to free up my VA cert. 350 on 500.

- Married; earn solid W2; DTI in the teens; great credit.

- Aiming for SFH in Richmond, VA and I have a starter spreadsheet of insurance agents, realtors, home inspectors, mortgage brokers, and contractors that work in the area.

- Ingesting as many BP podcasts as I can!!!!

Thank you for the advice. We are working on it daily with audio books or podcasts during our commutes and watching videos when we get home. I actually just established our LLC a few minutes ago. I am going to work on knocking out some of the Agreements that all LLCs should have on hand, starting with the Operating Agreement. Couldn't get a FEIN due to the IRS system being down, given the date, not surprising. Just because you aren't ready to buy today, doesn't mean you should sit on the sidelines!

I just set up an LLC in about 10 minutes for $100 fee paid to Virginia. Virginia only requires you fill out a single page web form with name, address, phone, etc., then you pay via CC on the next page and it gives you your Articles of Organization. LLC started!

Next, set up a FEIN, which you can get from the www.irs.gov website in a matter of a few minutes. At this point, you should do some research on the various documents every LLC should have and start knocking them out.

It's a helluva lot easier than most people think. Here's a great starting point:

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/form-llc-how-to-organize-llc-30287.html

My wife and I have been paying her college as she went, until she transferred to her 4-yr and that was no longer possible. We decided to use cash for tuition and basically putting overages on a 10% CC. We chose this over conventional student loans due to the speed we are paying the debt down and was about equal to student loans. We recently caught the REI bug and our CC debt has been paid down by just over 50% over the past 9 months. We've also curbed our spending.

We feel a lot better having the CC debt wiped and a few grand in the bank for our first deal. We are taking this time to turn the unknown into known before we jump in. We've made our first connection, for insurance, and plan on attending REI meets in the NoVA area and will invest in RVA.

Congrats!

Thanks for the warm welcome! 

I am looking to build relationships with people that are willing teach and share their experiences. I chose 40 questions for effect. I will get answers for these questions with further research which will generate additional questions, which I will again post in these forums.

This morning I went to a Cars and Coffee event and met an insurance agent that deals with real estate and builder policies. He has a friend with an entire team in place in my area he is going to put me in touch with. I went out and got some answers to my insurance questions and added a contact.

Hi, Justin here. I will be purchasing my first property 1st quarter '20. Have some CC debt that needs to be cleared in the next few months before I am in my comfort zone to purchase. I understand I have options available to speed up the process, but I feel better starting with some cash instead of purely leveraged funds. I've watched around 100+ hours of BP, GaryV, and even Morris Inv., and have learned a great deal. Enough about me, here are my questions!

1. How do you vet contractors?

2. Anyone got a link to 203K discussions/experience?

3. Local DMV area (DC/MD/VA) people: what areas are you investing in?

4. Where are the meets for local DMV investors?

5. Do you brand? If so, at which point?

6. Does anyone have a link to their first buy, like a roadmap?

7. Insurance companies: know of any good ones that set up accounts without actually having any money in there so they are ready to go when you need them?

8. What is the example/definition of a good deal in the DMV area that you are buying in?

9. What is the average length of a tenant in your area?

10. How long have you held on to your 1st investment home?

11. Do you have multiple LLCs set up to protect your investment properties? If so, do you have an average amount of units per LLC?

12. What was your first rehab budget? And how much did you go over?

13. How long did it take you to buy your 2nd property after doing your first? 

14. How much better was your experience with your 2nd property?

15. What were the most expensive unforeseen expenses you've been hit by?

16. Fannie: I buy 4 houses, wife buys 4 houses; does that affect purchasing houses with an LLC in either of our names?

17. Insurance. If I invest in scandalous areas, what options do I have against material theft and vandalism? Cost?

18. What is the best method to put your own money into your business, assuming LLC? Cash? 401K loans?

19. Is it better to buy your first property in your name/spouse's name, or your company?

20. How to your choose lenders, specifically banks/CUs? (not looking at hard money yet)

21. When should a beginning real estate investor meet/hire an accountant?

22. What are the differences between cash purchase or financed? I realize you can avoid realtor fees if you buy direct, but is there something else not as obvious?

23. When you buy from the courthouse steps, what are the most important things you should know? 

24. Can someone go over utilities and the cons of renter-based payment of utilities?

25. What is YOUR recommended cash reserves for an investor purchasing a house that needs an estimated $30K rehab, bought for $25K? (Also, assume I totally whiffed on the $30K rehab number and it ends up being $__K...)

26. Got a bad deal? Rent, or take the L and punt ASAP? I feel like I would be better off punting...

27. Hidden costs. What? Where? Why? HOW? Who?

28. What taxes related to the property do I need to be aware of?

29. Would you recommend flipping an IRA into a self-managed IRA to purchase the 1st, maybe even 2nd property? Why?

30. How much of a percentage is it a must for you to lay eyes on that first property?

31. How much value do you put on being very involved in the renovation on the first property? Is it invaluable experience, or would you just sub it out and keep on keepin' on?

32. What are your most recommended starter finance options? (Current mortgage is a VA loan that I could refinance to conventional)

33. Did you keep too much equity in your first investment properties that, NOW, you feel you should have pulled out and used for the next property?

34. Do you ever pull money out of CAPEX to fund new purchases? If so, do you wait until your account can handle a certain amount while leaving a cushion?

35. How do you pay contractors?

36. What are the most common red flags when interviewing contractors?

37. How do you find a good home inspector?

38. What is the average cost of a home inspection, and for what level of detail?

39. Has anyone made a list/chart/whatever of states that are good or bad investment states? CA being worse than TX for landlords, etc. Link?

40. Are icemakers a bad idea for a rental? I feel it is a selling point, but I also have a nagging liability worry...