All Forum Posts by: Kenny Smith

@Rashmi Chanduraj

Have him start getting active on BiggerPockets for sure!  I think starting off he can get way more value here in a much shorter time span.

1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts

2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS

3. Attend a Meetup in his area/virtual meet ups

4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy

5. Peruse the forums! Ask questions! Answer questions! If he is consistent with learning real estate over the next 4-6 months, he'll be ready to purchase his first (or next) property in NO TIME!

Good Luck,

@Timothy Jamar

I believe David Greene wrote a book on long distance real estate investing, I'd check it out!

best of luck

@Adam Odom

I'd call your local building department and speak with someone there about it.  They are going to be able to give you the most accurate number is my guess.

Best of luck!

@Bryant Sala

ahh, sorry!  I read your post too quickly!  You are correct then..15% down would be needed with a conventional loan for a duplex.

Could always look into doing a single family home (duplex conversion), where you could look for a finished basement with a kitchen or kitchenette, and live in the top floor and rent out the basement.  Not sure if your market has homes that cater to that, but that is how I built my portfolio here in Denver.

@Bryant Sala

I'd definitely agree with Devin you should definitely not re-fi right now into a higher rate.  Protect that interest rate you currently have.  

If you want to use the FHA loan again, I'm assuming it is because you only have to put 3.5% down? If that's the case, a conventional loan, you can put as low as 5% down. Yes, it's an additional 1.5%. But, look at it this way, you'd be paying almost double the interest rate if you re-fied right now. Off the cusp, I'd say it will only take 1-2 years to pay the equivalent of that 1.5% additional down, in a higher interest rate. So if you're doing a buy and hold, I wouldn't touch the rate.

If you want to pull equity out, I'd take a look at a HELOC.

As far as I know, most lenders will charge for a re-fi, but you'd to double check with some lenders on that.  Typically what they do is wrap the re-fi costs back into your loan, so you're not paying for anything out of pocket up front.  Besides paying for the re-appraisal on your home, that will come out of pocket.

Best of luck!

@Jacob Miles

I think most folks already touched on this, but the seller typically negotiates what the buyers agent will get with the listing agent.  For my clients, I don't care if it's 1% or 5%, whatever it says on the listing, is what I'll accept because I am working on behalf of my client and would never jeopardize a deal for them because I felt I wasn't getting paid enough.  That commission has already been pre-determined by the seller of what they are willing to pay me. 

Not sure if you mean you'd want to just take the additional 1% for yourself.  Regardless, if you are concerned about the commission they're getting, you aren't working with the right agent.  A great agent can provide market knowledge, investor knowledge, municipality law knowledge, contractor connections, management company connections, negotiation tactics, and more all for the price of something you're technically not paying for anyways.  I'd recommend reaching out to some other agents, and find one that provides tremendous value.  

Also, if that same agent drops their commission 1% because you asked, would you trust that same person in negotiating 10's of thousands of dollars for you on a price of a home?  I personally would not.

A great agent is worth their weight in gold.  Someone else touched on it, but the folks who are happy to use me and never ask about my commission, are the ones that go straight to the top of my list when it comes to off market or other deals I discover myself that others don't have access to.  What comes around goes around.

Best of luck to you!

@Evelyn Wangai

Welcome to BiggerPockets! You have hit the JACKPOT of resources for real estate investors. You can literally find answers to all of your questions within the confines of this site. What’s the best way to get started using BiggerPockets?

1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts

2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS

3. Attend a Meetup in your area/virtual meet ups

4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy

5. Peruse the forums! Ask questions! Answer questions! If you are consistent with learning real estate over the next 4-6 months, you’ll be ready to purchase your first (or next) property in NO TIME!

Good Luck,

Kenny

@Eric Stewart

Welcome to BiggerPockets! You have hit the JACKPOT of resources for real estate investors. You can literally find answers to all of your questions within the confines of this site. What’s the best way to get started using BiggerPockets?

1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts

2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS

3. Attend a Meetup in your area/virtual meet ups

4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy

5. Peruse the forums! Ask questions! Answer questions! If you are consistent with learning real estate over the next 4-6 months, you’ll be ready to purchase your first (or next) property in NO TIME!

Good Luck,

Kenny

@Lee Hunt

Welcome to BiggerPockets! You have hit the JACKPOT of resources for real estate investors. You can literally find answers to all of your questions within the confines of this site. What’s the best way to get started using BiggerPockets?

1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts

2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS

3. Attend a Meetup in your area/virtual meet ups

4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy

5. Peruse the forums! Ask questions! Answer questions! If you are consistent with learning real estate over the next 4-6 months, you’ll be ready to purchase your first (or next) property in NO TIME!

Good Luck,

Kenny

@Brandon Spurlock

Furnished Finder, in my opinion, is the best advertising platform for medium term rentals.  We get 80% of our medium term rentals through that vs airbnb.  

So, something to think about, the guests will be paying airbnb's taxes/fees etc.  So it will actually cost you both more money to use airbnb.  So a booking on airbnb where a tenant is paying $2500 a month after airbnb fees is most likely closer $2000 in your pocket after airbnb's cut on the booking.

Vs, paying the $99 for furnished finder, paying for someone to manage the application process, is going to be a lot more money to you over the course of the year while also potentially being able to offer the tenant a better deal (no taxes or fees).  Sure, you don't get the air cover, but any good landlord should have the proper landlord insurance anyways on your property to cover you.

Best of luck!