All Forum Posts by: Kenneth Garrett

When projects are involved in a multiple unit building it really depends on what you are doing.  A new C.O. is not always required.  Provided the common areas are free and clear and the life safety issues are compliant then approving individual units one at a time is perfectly acceptable.  They may ask for individual permits for each unit to allow occupancy in each unit.  Unfortunately this is very subjective.  I have issued building permits for many multi-unit buildings and if the owner explains what the plan is upfront than I will try to work with them.      

Nich,

I use commercial loans no seasoning required.  I invest in buy n holds.  If you buy a fannie or freddie it might have a 90 day period.  Otherwise I have not had any issues.

Short sales are time consuming. It takes patience.  I had one take 15 months.  Its a long process but you can get good deals by getting them under contract.  I currently have two under contract, time frame is 12 and 8 weeks respectively.  I continue to purchase properties and when the bank is ready I will take them.  If others are scared off by them that's just fine by me, less competition. 

Absolutely.  I didn't  share with my family and friend due to the negativity.  Now that I have a number of properties under my belt they now ask me how I did it.  Isn't that interesting. 

Believe in yourself, they will come around unfortunately, it will after you have succeeded. 

Prove them wrong.   

Hard Money can be a great tool but they generally will only loan up to 65%.  Private lending can fund 100% of the project.

Thoughts?   

Welcome Mike.

Educate yourself. I listen to a number of podcast including BP. You can learn a lot from them and you can take out the pieces that fit into your Investor Identity. Develop to be an expert in a market. Could be your current neighborhood. Attend local REIA's but be careful some of them always want to sell you a program. Learn and network.

Figure out your strategy; flips, buy n hold, wholesale.  It might take a while.  I spent my first year as a sponge learning from others. 

Good Luck.

You can create a Limited Liability Partnership or General Partnership. The partnership will be listed as the mortgage and note holder. Each member is part of the partnership and the agreement lays out the responsibilities of each party. Use a LLC as the participants versus you personally. I use commercial loans to avoid the limit on the number of mortgages.

The LLC for each property is for asset protection. It is based on the amount of equity as far as determining whether you want multiple LLC's. There is no limit on the number of properties in an LLC. It is up to you. I would limit it to three as a rule of thumb.

Hope this helps.

Good points John.  Networking is critical and build your own credentials.  I couldn't agree more.  I pay 12% and up.  They always come back.

Sam you can select the depth of the background.  I have very happy with it and it gives me a comfort level s I can make an informed decision.  They do a lot of background checks for employers as well.

When it comes to funding projects I use Private Funding. It took a lot of networking and proving that I know what I am talking about. I went to a lot of education programs and REIA meetings.

I now fund all my buy n hold projects and rehabs with private funding.  I put in about 5% of the money so I have something invested in the project. The funds are protected by a Joint Venture Agreement and at the end of the day the investors are investing in me.  I will protect there money as if it were my grand mothers.

I purchase, rehab, put a tenant in the property and refi the property. Its about a 120 day process. I use commercial loans for residential properties mostly single family. It keeps me from putting up 20-25% of my money. The refi is usually at 80% LTV because I make sure the Debt service Ratio is around 1.70 - 2.0.

I hope this will encourage some people to be creative in your deals and to become successful in your real estate investing.

Good Luck.