All Forum Posts by: Lauren C.

@Michael W.D. Yes- the purchase was through an LLC. I also wanted to see how the commercial lending process worked as well. So I tried it with a relatively low dollar amount property first.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Aiken.

Purchase price: $60,000

I purchased a three bed, one and a half bath single family house in North East Aiken from its original owner. It had a good amount of deferred maintnence. It is located in an established owner occupied neighborhood. Good opportunity for long term rental, or minimal updates and resell in the future.

Already looking for my next purchase!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This type of cash flowing, low debt investment property gets me closer to my goal of eventually covering my own expenses from investment property income.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS listing. Offered well below asking due to condition, neighborhood and time on the market.

How did you finance this deal?

Commercial loan from a community bank.

How did you add value to the deal?

I am completing cosmetic renovations and replaced the roof, a few windows and moving the water heater.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I have found that I enjoy finding, negotiating and financing deals. The renovations are less enjoyable for me. I will be looking for partners or general contractors to help with that aspect in the future.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Stephanie Lombardo from Keller Williams was an asset during my search for property in the Aiken area. She knows the local area, and invests in property herself.

I would keep calling smaller local banks and credit unions.  Talk to both their mortgage department and commercial lenders.  I have had success with commercial loans and portfolio loans for lower dollar properties.  I would exhaust those options before putting equity from my personal home into business.   

Sent you a DM

I was looking into a larger multi family earlier in the year and found the best options were Commercial Loans from my local small banks.  They were generally 20-30% down, with 15-20 year loans and a 30 year amortization schedule.  

I would like to hear more about how you are meeting this housing need locally.  I sent you a PM.

BP does have some great tools.  I'm very excited about their new BPInsights data.  I am focusing locally, but it is really helpful details when looking into other markets. 

Keep an eye out for local meetups.  Obviously with COVID, most meetups have been on hiatus, but once they start back up, those are a great way to learn and get to know people.

Hi Jasmine!  Welcome to BP.  Augusta is a great area with lots of investing locally.  

What brought you to BP?

I have heard fantastic things about Kilz from a couple investors in my area.  It would be worth a try before replacing walls or floors.  

https://www.kilz.com/primer/ki...

Also look into duration limits for residential leases.  Many states have an 18 month upper limit.