All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Open up a checking account online like Capital360, most banks allow scanning of checks into a checking so someone could help him to get that deposited, but they will still put a hold on it for 10 days or so, depending on the bank.  Always ask if your title company has electronic deposit (EFT or ACH).  I won't use a title company that doesn't.

@Lesley Ray  I don't know if this will help or not, but since you haven't gotten while lot of response here, I thought I would try to help you.

I'm from Ohio (about an hour south of Cleveland) and I am wondering where you got your ARV on the Clifton Blvd deal? I would check that ARV to make sure it is correct. It seems high to me for Cleveland and the value history of that property. It has never been valued that high, even when property values were at their highest. That probably doesn't seem unreasonable to you, being from SF, but being from Ohio, I have to question it.

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/201...

If the house goes up that much in value and you refinance, the taxes will raise as well, but you are using the same number in both examples.  See link above,  it may help to figure out future taxes.

You have to be careful how far out you go with comps in Cleveland, make sure your comps are coming from a small radius, I would go out a half mile - a mile max.  

It looks to me like she may have inherited this property and it was originally bought for $61k.  I would try to get that price down, there is lots of room to move down.  If she won't go down in price, then have her pay some of your closing because it appears you are paying market price according to the auditor's site.

Also, your rent should go up with up with that much repair.  Are they currently rented?   That could be why you are ending in the negative as well.  

Why hard money, just curious? 

@Brian Foote It seems like your misc number is high considering you have accounted for a lot of expenses you will encounter.  I would increase your vacancy percentage a bit (3% is kind of low), and lower the misc. deduction as that seems kind of high.  Is there anyway you can put less money down?  You'll have a lot of cash wrapped into this deal that could be used to get other deals.  

Have you had an inspection?  I highly recommend it.  I use the inspection to get a price reduction as well as to uncover issues that may not be immediately apparent.  It is well worth the money to get a home inspection, it can pay for itself and save you money if you use it to your advantage.

There is always risk in investing, but there is more risk if you are going in blindly.  Learn, learn, learn.  Read everything you can get on the subject.  Run your numbers, and don't get emotionally attached to any property.  Make your decisions on the numbers.  You will never eliminate risk but you can reduce it.  Good luck!

Yes it does.  I am unfamiliar with that area, but have heard its pricey and they have rental caps? Are you purchasing this first one in another state then?  

Check with the bank on their policies.  Some use the rental income as proof of income for the loan, some do not.  If you use one that does, and apply for a house loan when it is fully rented, it shouldn't affect you much.  

Ever thought about buying a multi and living in it and have the other units pay the mortgage?  What they call house hacking?  That would enable you to save up for your house quicker.

Just a thought.

Welcome John!  I just joined too.  We have done 9 flips, now  we need to set up retirement with buy and holds. We are in Ohio where homes can be very inexpensive compared to some other states.  

You will find a lot of info on here; I love the calculators!  

Couldn't you just get rid of the mailbox and electric meter when you are ready to sell?  

We bought a flip in a rougher end of town, not realizing how rough that area was. The house was broke into twice, one of which was the week of closing on Christmas Eve. The first time they broke in, they stole all my husband's tools (was an inside job but we never recovered the tools). Don't ever leave your tools on the job, lesson #1.  

The second time was the week of closing during the holidays.   Someone broke two windows and smashed the finished ceiling in the basement to steal all the copper piping. Worst part was, we had an alarm system, but wasn't instructed properly on how to arm the motion sensors, so the thief waltzed right past the armed alarm when he left with all our copper.  He probably thought it was funny, it was salt in our wounds.  

He left via the door, which is what finally initiated the alarm system.  This happened at 4 p.m. and Christmas Eve dinner with the family was scheduled at 6 p.m.  I live in Ohio, so it was snowing heavily and bitter cold.  The windows had to be boarded up and secured against the weather, and Christmas Eve was a little cold by the time we got there.

We had to find new windows or get these fixed by January 2nd.  Everywhere was closed.    To say it was a nightmare is putting it lightly.  We didn't make any profit on the house but we did gain valuable experiences.  

I'm in the exact same boat.  Flipped when real estate crashed, now getting into buy and holds.  I also just signed up, so welcome from another newbie!