All Forum Posts by: Kris Wong

Where in the world did you find a duplex in Austin for $260K that only needed $10K worth of work?

@Paul Sian I am sure the folks who completed it originally would appreciate your help to update it!

If Mt. Adams is your style, then you may also be interested in Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park, Oakley, Rookwood, E. Walnut Hills, or OTR.

This question has of course been asked a thousand times for every city. Fortunately for Cincinnati we have:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/417526-ultimate-guide---cincinnati-neighborhood-grades

https://www.prominenttitleagency.com/

https://www.gfh-law.com/

We have used both, they're both good.

A couple additional points to mention:

• There are many rules in the legislation that operators need to follow and/or satisfy. It's crucial for passives to understand the rules at a high level so that they can be confident in the outcome they are expecting.
• The final date to get the maximum tax benefit from an OZ investment was 12/31/19. See https://opportunitydb.com/2019/11/key-dates-deadlines-for-opportunity-zone-investing/ for more information on important dates. This does not mean that this is no longer a good investment strategy.
• As @Evan Polaski states, OZs are of course, often is less desirable areas for investment (that's the whole point). That being said, there are definitely OZ areas that are in the path of progress in many metros (Austin included). 

It comes down to comparing the up front and ongoing costs/time of forming a new LLC, which would likely be more expensive due to needing to draft a new operating agreement, vs. registering as a foreign entity, as @Pamela Sandberg points out. I can recommend an attorney in Cincinnati, if that's where your property is located.

Check out meetup.com. There are a few groups around town that focus on commercial real estate from both the active and the passive side.

It sounds like you want to live here, not purchase this as an investment, so I will make that assumption. Otherwise, it sounds like a poor "investment" (actually a liability).

Unless you are bad with money, and need your capital locked up as equity in your own home, to prevent you from spending it on frivolous things, then going with a 15 year mortgage is a bad investment decision. Equity in your home is illiquid. You can't invest it for a return unless you go through a refinance, or take out a HELOC (in which case you're paying interest on it). Cash is king and liquidity is expensive. Go with the lower monthly payment and invest the difference in something productive. Finding a return on your money that beats the tax-adjusted interest rate you would avoid paying is easy.

It's pretty common to be able to access 75% of the reappraised value when refinancing.