All Forum Posts by: Lien Vuong

No as they all require different licenses and very different areas of expertise. Typically they work alongside with one another and have mutual connections but where the interest of the clients are far and wide, it is very difficult to have an agency that services all of those needs under one house. 

I cannot comment on your BRRR strategy bc I'm not exactly sure what state offers properties in those price points but I'll talk about Boston:

For your investment HELOC - have you tried commercial lenders? Lenders are still offering 70-75% LTV on those properties as long as DSCR is met. Given your equity amount you should be able to hit that LTV without issue.

Best things for Boston area DSCR (commercial loans) are through local banks as they have the most competitive rates right now. What you have been offered is well aligned with market though, typically at 75% LTV.

I sold a property that was adjacent to the scenario you described and it was overall a negative experience from seeing strangers in the lobby area 'hunched over' and walking by some zombie like people. This area was adjacent to South End zip code but lost its luster given its proximity to the crime. All in all, you'll likely get a discount on the property because of the zip code but be prepared for high needy calls and installing some extra safety measures to protect yourself and your guest. 

STR in Boston (and metro) are mainly for owner occupied residents only which means you can rent your bedroom or an adjacent unit. It is not for strictly landlords. There are other suburbs that you may be able to do it in but its not going to have the booking rate you're looking for. The alternative to that is going to the Cape, Western MA, as well as adjacent states with coastal/lakeside properties where many of us New Englanders vacation.

Congrats on your househack. Likely given your commute and distance to your home/work you can write a Hardship Letter and househack again with 5% down. These are extenuating circumstances but you fit the bill in having to drive that distance each day. 

Those rents are definitely going to make you bleed as they're low for anywhere in the state. Make sure you have a good plan on raising rents when you enter at Day 1. With the inspection - you can negotiate for a seller credit so that you can take care of that at closing. In my experience, seller repairs are half done because they're just trying to check the box before giving you the keys so having those funds are going to be more valuable for you. Otherwise, its a no go given the large repair (were not talking about small light switches here). 

Overall if you found a good property for 626k thats a 3 fam, I would say that's a pretty good price given the Boston metro market. 

Yes thats no problem as long as you plan on residing there. FWIW, your husband also would qualify for that program. First time buyer program is a misnomer and is avail for people even if they own another property. 

Unfortunately you're not paying him enough (and he's not charging himself enough) to stay on your project all the time so he has to create supplemental income. If you tell him to quit you can find someone else but it would certainly be more as contractors dont like to start mid project like that and finish someone elses' work but its best that you have a more constructive conversation with him about his absence. You can consider paying him more for his exclusive time and give you a bonus for completing ahead of schedule. 

Commercial financing and private money lenders are typically very OK with this so you should not have issues with it. You will need the funds in an account already to show liquidity so get your investors on board.