All Forum Posts by: Justin Sheley

I currently have 2 lines of credit through Holcomb State Bank. One is on one of my investment rentals, and the other is on the live in flip we are doing. We are waiting the 2 years to avoid capital gains, but were able to use 75% of our equity in the property.

@Nicholas Lawson

I ended up getting cards from US Bank, Chase, and American Express. I never did see the applications that were submitted on my behalf, and personally did find it a bit confusing about how exactly I was being represented after the fact. I already had a 25,000 personal credit card from Chase, so I was able to use that along side of the 29,000 I received through Fund and Grow. 

I was supposed to remove the credit inquiries and do another round with Fund and Grow, but I never followed through with it. 

Bottom line for me was that Fund and Grow supplied the money I needed for my first couple major BRRRR deals, but then things started to snowball after that. My banking and personal connections began to improve and I've been using lines of credit from the equity in the homes I've BRRRR'd. I pay a little more in interest but I've found it's a lot easier to access the funds for the purchasing of property.

I don’t think I used F&G to it’s full potential but it was great to get things rolling, and then I moved on.

Thank you Marcia, ideally I would be plugged into a local rental association, but I guess this is a good time to start! Thanks for your insight.

Today we were notified that a great fire occurred at one of our rental properties around midnight last night. The tenant put the fire out, but it has destroyed the stove and cabinets above it, and coated the entire house with smoke damage. Since today is a Saturday I’ve called my insurance agent and left a message, but am curious if anyone has experience in a situation like this. Since the fire was due to negligence by the tenant what is their responsibility to pay for damages? I do have a clause in my lease that allows me to terminate the lease if the property becomes inhabitable, so I plan on doing that, but am unsure the timing involved in cutting ties with the tenant.

@Joe Splitrock excellent point, I really thought I was doing the right thing by the school by letting them know early, but obviously that didn’t turn out in my favor. Although it’s hard to say that, because I’m glad that I was basically forced to go full time early. But definitely a good tip.

@Craig Wilcox now that I’m not essentially working two full time jobs we should be able to make it out to meet up now. 

@Jason Wear I feel the exact same way, I’ve never cared more about learning new things as I have in the last few years in real estate. My wife and I started by house hacking a duplex, so your off your to a great start. Things can seem a little slow at first, but then it’s starts to snowball.

@Anna Buffkin Our story to very similar to yours, I was head coaching the boys basketball team and was the school’s AD. This last year I stepped out of my coaching position to have more time with my son and to focus on our business. It’s always tough to walk away from something, but we can only give our attention to so many things effectively.

Well my fellow BP’ers it’s official, as of this week I am a full time real estate investor! I thought I’d take a second and relay the events the led to this transition, and hopefully it can help anyone going through something similar.

My wife and I started investing just over two years ago, and at the moment we have 15 units. A couple properties ago we passed our very frugal freedom number, and decided that my very demanding job as an athletic director was ultimately slowing our progress down in real estate. So since we truly believe real estate is our future, I let the school I work for know that I wouldn’t be coming back next year, but would finish my current contract through July. We felt pretty comfortable with our projections for July as far as our saving and number of units.

However, in a twist of fate, the school decided to just let me go a week after I told them. They claimed they needed to let someone go due to a budget restriction, and it may as well be me because I’m moving on anyway and clearly have something to move into. This was hard to swallow and a bit of a punch in the gut after working there for 5 years, but it’s already turned out to be the biggest blessing I could’ve asked for. I was able to buy our 15th property the day after they let me go, and I am able to put 100% focus into rehabbing the house and working on our business systems.

So goodbye W-2! I hope I never see you again, and although things will be tight for a bit, I am so grateful for real estate and the life it affords for my family and I. If your an investor around Rockford, IL and want to get together and talk real estate let me know. And at the core of all this, be encouraged if you are going down the path of real estate, or if you haven’t bought your first property, jump on in! Because you never know what life is going to throw your way, and real estate is the only investment vehicle that I’m aware of that can actually replace your monthly income while providing hope for the future. I know I’m singing to the choir here at BP, but I’m excited to join the full time ranks, and we’ll see what the next year and beyond holds for us.

@Philip Williams Congrats on your success this year so far! Not even two months in and you've already almost hit your goal for the year, time to 10x that goal. I do buy and hold investing in Rockford and would love to connect with you at some point if your up for coffee or lunch. Currently I am transitioning from my W-2 income to go full time into real estate by August, and I'm always up for connecting with someone who like to talk real estate. I'm also about to list my first live in flip, so I'd be curious about any lessons you've learned in selling your flips.

It's always crazy how fast things can move once your in the game. We've had a similar experience as you this year. We bought 3 houses last year, and the goal was to buy 5 more this year. Next week we'll close on our 5th house, which is just crazy to me, time to 10x my goals as well.

@Josiah Wilson The fact that I have the 29k still is really on me. I have not proactively gone after a second round. I have had some changes as far as private investors, and haven't been as motivated to go after the credit. I was carrying some debt that I have since refinanced out of when I first applied with Fund and Grow, so I think that really affected the amount I was able to qualify for. I also can do a round under my wife's name, but just have not done that yet.

@Account Closed Thank you for the recommendation, I’m actually in the process of compiling a lost of books for my Christmas present, so I’ll add that to the list.

@Eric H. I used a commercial loan for the original 30k purchase price. So I did have money tied up in the down payment and then the rehab until I was able to refinance.