All Forum Posts by: Keenan Fitzpatrick

@Alaska Wagoner You should be able to call the utility companies and ask to get the high/low/avg utility charges. You'll also want to look at the listing first to see if there is a common heating system or A/C unit for the building or if there are separate utilities for each unit. I highly recommend buying a 4plex first and I if you can get one with separate utilities then do it. You will want to make sure you aren't purchasing a property with 4 furnaces that are 25 years old. The benefit of the separate utilities is that you don't have to pay for anything once you move out. So if you have a tenant that likes to keep the door open and the A/C on in July or the heater on and the window open in January then they pay the expense. After looking for a bit you should be able to get a pretty good feel for what is typical for the area and vintage of property. Let me know if you have any more questions or want to talk more about SFH vs 4plex.

@Sean Davis congratulations on your first investment! I have an idea of the property you may have just purchased. Looks like you’re probably off to the right start but it’s hard to say for sure with the info provided.

@Mitch MacDonald Welcome to BP! It's a great place to be. 

I've been living in AK for 17+ years and investing for over 6. I'm actually looking to move to Texas in the next 1-2 years. I'd love to link up with you on one of my trips down there or one of your trips up here.

@Timothy Chi there's lots of good investor lenders in AK and lot's of good lenders that aren't investors as well. Slavik Lund is an investor and lender at Mortgage Brokers of Alaska, Sveta Cross at Guaranteed Rate, and pretty much everyone at First Rate Financial. I'd talk to a few of them and ask them about investing and strategies and it should become clear which is best for you. 

I use all of those as well as the FB marketplace and groups. You will get a lot of "Is this available?" messages but that's just part of the game. I like that you can see some stuff on their profile sometimes. I put all of my requirements in the listing and spend time vetting them as much as I legally can over the phone prior to setting an appointment. 

@Ryan Santiago just let me know. This one is fully gutted right now. Lot's of lessons have been learned so far and lot's more to come. 

I agree with Shaun 100%. I have a 4plex I'm going to convert to STR units this summer. I haven't done it yet myself but I have a bunch of investor friends that have. Typically, I see rents about double annually. In the summer it's about triple and the winter is usually about the same as what a LTR would normally bring in. There's an argument to be made that you'll see less wear and tear from a short term tenant coming and going and spending most of their time out and about versus a long term tenant living in a unit so there's that possible advantage too. I think it's worth it. I would have done it in 2020 but... well, you know. LOL

I just finished a flip, have another one I'm in the middle of, have rentals, wholesale, do creative financing, purchase value ad rentals, etc. What would you like to know? I'm local here in Anchorage if you want to grab coffee or lunch sometime and talk more. 

@Account Closed are spot on. Both are great strategies. I have a 4plex and a 5plex I'm fixing up over time as well as the two BRRR 4plex buildings. I think you'll find more deals to fix up over time but they will take a lot of money and effort over time. A BRRR property is usually all financed in but not always. The deal Valerie mentioned was right at 20% equity. Usually, you're looking for 25% equity if it will be a non-owner occupied rental. Her's just penciled out to owner occupy without mortgage insurance which is awesome. Feel free to clarify any details Valerie but in addition to getting the equity you needed, you also avoided capital gains tax by owner occupying and probably made a real nice profit when you sold, yeah? Tommy, the point of going into detail of the deal is that a lot of deals are similar to this. A rehab of over $100k on a $450,000 house is not uncommon. A deal just working out without a lot of excess "meat on the bone" is typical. There's deals to be had but, IMO, this isn't an easy thing to do to in our market if your goal is to make a ton of money fast without doing a ton of work or having a unique angle. It can be done but it's a long game and important to have a good team.

Have you ever thought about using a renovation loan product? They have great terms and I highly recommend them.

@Tommy Hopp

I've acquired two 4-plex properties this way and am working on a duplex. It's a great strategy and my preferred method. The deals aren't the easiest to find but they're there if you look hard. My suggestions to you are to get your strategy together. You're going to need to have different strategies for funding unless you'll be paying cash yourself. You're going to need a good contractor that doesn't overcharge or change order you to death. And you'll probably need help finding good deal at first and not just being set up on a search for foreclosures. Our market is not one where offers of 50% of list price gets accepted. If you're dealing with someone who really knows this market then they'll be able to tell you where an offer needs to be to get accepted and where your rehab cost needs to be to be profitable enough to BRRR.