All Forum Posts by: Kyle Blake

For those in Colorado you know how insane this market is right now, especially Fort Collins.  

My plans were to hunt out a multifamily, but those are unicorns in this market and the only one I found was way overpriced (in my opinion), yet it sold quickly. My backup plan was to go BRRRR, but again in this market they are hard to find, and when you do, the bidding wars begin. I have gone after a few places that in a single day had 20 offers and I was middle of the pack at $15k over asking.

Determined to figure out a solution I expanded my search into north Loveland. Found a few places, but again bidding wars tend to take place and houses aren't on the market for more than a day or two. Saw one on Saturday as soon as it was available and didn't hesitate to put in an offer right away. Thanks to a good agent and a lot of negotiating, I finally have my first property under contract, it's a 3/2/2 in a really nice neighborhood. Only 15 minutes from CSU, and have some connections to getting onto the rental list posted in some of the departments for housing vet and grad students. They tend to be more focused on studying over partying at that point. Still had to pay over asking but feel I got a good deal and it will rent well after a few minor changes.  

After a lot of stress and lost bids, it's nice to finally have my first deal. Owe this site thanks, I am on here daily reading and learning. Which played a part in my constantly adapting to the market, and looking at alternate strategies instead of giving up after not finding the type of property I had in mind.

When you say you have a zero balance does that show on your credit report? I also keep mine at zero, but there's about a week between the due date and the date it reports to the big three. So I always zero mine out, however I used it a couple days later and that balance reported. So I have to wait for the next refresh to keep that balance being figured into my DTI. Talk about a ridiculous issue...

To build on what Jeff said, be sure to be specific on your profiles listed on real estate sites such Zillow. My market is extremely hot right now and very few are investor friendly agents since there are bidding wars on nearly all properties, so most agents have no interest in hunting out investment properties, foreclosures, etc. 

I did a few different searches for an investment friendly realtor and actually located mine on Zillow since he was one of the few that had investment, foreclosure, and short sale listed under specialties. So wherever you list your info, be sure to cover everything you specialize in. 

Your local REIA clubs are a good place to network as well. My agent said he gets a good chunk of his customers from referrals of previous clients.

This is really wild, and would get a laugh at pictures if you happened to take any, haha. Reminds me of a guy years ago that built a car in his basement then realized it was in a basement, had to have a hole cut in the wall to get it out.

 Okay, that helps clear up some of the confusion. So there are some work around options, but generally two years landlord experience is required to get the rent income added into the loan figures. 

I was hoping to jump into a duplex or something similar from the start, but looking like I may need to start small with a SFH and build from there.

I wanted to get clarification on some of the loan details for FHA. Asking here since I was given wrong information by a loan officer when I was first looking last summer. Once he told me I absolutely could not use FHA for a multi, I stopped all potential dealing with him since I knew he was wrong. I even verified by calling FHA. I have found a new mortgage company but I still feel the need to get some input from here, on one thing.

So the question is:

For a multi-family loan. Does it follow the same loan values as a standard single family loan. By that, I mean if I qualify for say a max of $300k for a house, is that the same max for a multi as well? I thought for a multi the added income would increase the options for loan maximum but wanted to ask here. A lot of information (and mis-information) I have gotten from lenders seems to be a result of their own rules and not actually loan guidelines. 

I ask since, I am in a college town and even "cheap" duplexes are in the $400k range to start, so if there are lenders that loan higher and take the added income into account it would be more ideal. 

Up here it's standard for the tenant to supply the mower and not the landlord. It may vary by area, but I think if anything it lessens some responsibility if they provide their own. Last thing you want is for them to lose a hand with a defective mower you provided. 

Mentioned similar in the new member thread, but wanted to post in here too since it sees a lot of traffic. New to REI and been reading up on the do's and don't for getting started with multifamily units (owner occupied to start) .

Wanted to post in here to keep learning and maybe meet some other locals that might be up for teaching the new guy.

 House hacking is my plan for getting started. In this city. you pay out the nose to rent, so it's time to be on the other side of that scenario. Earlier today I was listening to your podcast on how to analyze, and finance a rental opportunity. 

Funny you mention checking out neighborhoods and the podcast. I'm subscribed to the BP YouTube channel and have been listening to them the last few days. Also detoured a few times when running errands through neighborhoods checking out areas.