All Forum Posts by: Paul Bird

Did you ever find anyone you'd recommend?

Thanks for your thoughtful advice.

I am about to complete the construction of a new ADU in southern California. As part of the lease, we are providing all utilities for the unit. I two questions to help work through:

1) Do we provide internet service by providing a CAT6 cable for connecting the tenants own Wi-Fi router or let them get their own service but mandate the provider?  (We currently have cable internet and want to maintain only this service for internet service.)

2) Do you allow whatever satellite service for TV or is that something of the past with everything streaming?

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful responses.

Great Stuff! I am building an ADU attached to my garage in Upland, CA. The cost will end up being around $165/ft. for the new construction. It's a 2/1 875 square feet with the use of the garage as it is off the alley and we park in front of the house on the street. We plan on doing a cash out refi when the project is done. I will post in here when we complete the whole process.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Independence.

Purchase price: $150,000
Cash invested: $42,000

Contributors:
Marc Edwards

This is a duplex with side by side 2/1 with garages.

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

The numbers penned out to provide cash flow that made sense for me.

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

This was a wholesale deal brought to me by my agent Marc Edwards.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a conventional 30 year loan with 25% down payment.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Working with wholesellers can be a challenge because there is a gap between the ultimate seller and me the buyer.

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

I worked with Marc Edwards as my agent. He was amazing and worked hard on my behalf. I used Security National Mortgage. I used Seventh Wave Insurance.

Thanks Bonnie.

I am a rookie looking to close my first deal.  I am so stoked to have found something that I feel I can handle.  I am confident that the team I have in place is the best for this deal.  The lender I have lined up with is a large national lender.  They are great but they have some procedures that that require additional costs that maybe others don't charge.  I have reached out to other smaller lenders and have been solicited by some that seem to be scams and it is really hard to tell who is trying to take advantage of my novice position.  What are some of your best practices that have helped you find the right fit for money lending?  What are your strategies for finding smaller, more nimble lenders?  Should I just stick with the safety of the large lender?  Thanks in advance for your thoughtful responses.  

My recent experience with contractors has been crappy at best. The residential building market is so busy with work that almost every contractor is overpriced for investment work or too busy to get things done quickly. I am in need of an investor friendly contractor to build an ADU that I already have the plans, permit, and money to complete. Just need the right person to do the work. Reach out and I can give details. Thanks for your insight into this frustrating local challenge.

@Chris Reyes

Unlike my parents and their parents, I want to leave a financial legacy of financial responsibility and prosperity for my children and their children. I don’t want them to be entitled but I want them to be empowered to control their personal financial path. I want them to have intent and not reaction to life’s challenges.

I believe I have an opportunity on a deal where if I offer all cash the seller will obviously be more motivated to accept my offer.  I have the capital to offer cash, but I need to keep some of the cash liquid.  If I have a hard money lender lined up, can I make an all cash offer, if I then use the hard money lender to fund the deal?  My realtor is obligated to put on the offer sheet hard money if that is what I am doing.  Anyone ever had this experience?