All Forum Posts by: Larry H.

Thank you for the info. Just to be sure I understand correctly, Fannie Mae backed loans will also allow up to 10 mortgages, correct?

All of your properties are in Lafayette, or do you have some in BR?

Didn't realize it was an option to get a mortgage that wasn't backed by Fannie Mae, so I'll look into that. Is Fannie Mae the regulator for the 4 mortgage rule? I read about the ability for up to 10 mortgages, but one of the requirements was rental income for 2 years, which we don't meet.

I came across a deal on 3 duplexes owned by the same person. They are 3/2 and rent for $700/month, so $1400 per duplex. The list price is $80k, but they need work so I would try to get them for less.

I have 3 mortgages already, 2 in the same neighborhood as the duplexes, so I can't do conventional because Fannie Mae doesn't allow more than 2 loans in the same neighborhood. I could probably get the cash for the down payment out of a HELOC, but otherwise I do not have the cash on hand for the down payment.

I am considering calling the agent and asking about seller financing. I have zero experience with this so I'm trying to figure out how I would structure it prior to calling and asking for it.

Another option I am considering is asking an individual to loan me cash for the total purchase price. I was thinking about offering a 7% return on the total investment and making monthly payments to him.

My third, and least desirable option would be to seek out a commercial loan, but again I don't have the cash on hand so I would have to take out a HELOC for the down payment.

I would really want to be into all three for around $180k. Cash flow on that with a commercial loan at 5% for 20 years with 25% down would be around $600 a month, so it's a deal I definitely want to do.

Here is what I'm estimating. All of the expenses are based on actual expenses we've incurred on our 2 four plexes in the same neighborhood. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  My wife manages the properties, but we are out of state so we pay my father-in-law to be our boots on the ground person.  That is why the mgmt. expense is only at 5%.

I came across a deal on 3 duplexes owned by the same person.  They are 3/2 and rent for $700/month, so $1400 per duplex.  The list price is $80k, but they need work so I would try to get them for less.

I have 3 mortgages already, 2 in the same neighborhood as the duplexes, so I can't do conventional because Fannie Mae doesn't allow more than 2 loans in the same neighborhood. I could probably get the cash for the down payment out of a HELOC, but otherwise I do not have the cash on hand for the down payment.

I am considering calling the agent and asking about seller financing.  I have zero experience with this so I'm trying to figure out how I would structure it prior to calling and asking for it.

Another option I am considering is asking an individual to loan me cash for the total purchase price.  I was thinking about offering a 7% return on the total investment and making monthly payments to him.

My third, and least desirable option would be to seek out a commercial loan, but again I don't have the cash on hand so I would have to take out a HELOC for the down payment.

I would really want to be into all three for around $180k.  Cash flow on that with a commercial loan at 5% for 20 years with 25% down would be around $600, so it's a deal I definitely want to do.

Here is what I'm estimating.  The all of the expenses are based on actual expenses we've incurred on our 2 four plexes in the same neighborhood.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would recommend trying to get the house cheaper and trying to use as little of your cash as possible. If you buy for $95k, pay $20k for rehab, and sell for $150k, that only gives you a gross profit of $35k. That doesn't even return the $44k cash that you started with.

Prime Lending on Bluebonnet beat everyone by far on our two quad plexes last October. We dealt with Brittany Boudreaux.

Personally, I don't like the way it sounds. What kind of military commander would have such a requirement? I would recommend doing some follow up to ensure he is actually in the military and talk to his commander directly by calling a base number, not a cell phone. If everything checks out good I would love to have a military person committed to a lease for 4 years.

Thanks for all the good info. Y'all gave me some different options to consider. We are at 100% occupancy now with the soonest lease renewal in 6 months, so we can't change anything just yet, but we will surely be changing our leases for the renewals. I like the idea of requiring it, however, our tenants are low income and making them take on another expense that they don't feel necessary may create issues, to include having to enforce the requirement. I'm thinking putting the strong recommendation and disclaimer that we won't cover anything may cover us. We went from 0 to 8 units at one closing 6 months ago and it's been quite the learning curve. I feel like I'm constantly finding out different things and modifying our leases.

We are about 450 miles from our rental properties (8hr drive). We manage the tenants, maintenance requests, and leases from our home. My father in law handles everything that needs to be done there (repairs, move in/out, evictions, etc.). By handling it I mean he just does the physical work. We arrange everything. We only accept cash or money order for rent and he collects that also, and my mother in law deposits into our account. We pay them $300 a month for 8 units. You definitely need someone you can trust and rely on.