All Forum Posts by: Logan Lambert

So after 1.5 years of searching, putting in offers, losing deals after inspections, yesterday I finally closed on my first investment property.

I put together a document of all the lessons I learned that I did not know prior, despite countless hours of investigation on my end. 

This is meant fo the newbie out there who is in my situation and is just thirsty for any info to help them make a good decision. These are the data I wish I knew beforehand.

Hope it helps.

1. Add  50% (yes, 5 0) above what the contractor quotes you for underwriting purposes. Best case scenario - it goes as originally planned, but at least you did your underwriting based on the worst case scenario

2. There is a very different cost to insurance if the house cannot rent within 30 days. Make sure to find out and plan accordingly

3.   Get insurance quotes on similar houses to what you are looking to buy BEFORE you even put in offers. The state i bought in apparently had many companies bail in the last 2 years and insurance was way higher than expected

4. Make sure you know the EXACT age of the roof from the seller and if not, you might have a problem even getting the house insured for roofs older than 15 years old in some states

5. When I did underwriting, since a portion of the insurance costs and property taxes are collected at closing, I reduced those from the first year of expenses. What I didn´t understand is that you pay 1 year of insurance in advance, plus 3 months insurance for escrow, plus every month from the first month you will still pay insurance. Same with prop taxes

6. Unless it´s a screaming deal, do not buy a house from someone going through bankruptcy.

7.  See if there is a way to get a police report to see if there are any criminals, or sex offenders on that street.

8. In certain states where termites are an issue, you should include $150-$200 yearly for renewing your termite report in your underwriting.

While some may read these points and say "duh, you didn´t know that", this is meant for those who want to gather as much info as possible before deciding on a deal.

Happy investing to you all.

Hi All. First post. First investment property. 

Just getting my financial house in order and talking to some lenders. 

Most of them are quoting me: 
An origination fee - $2500

A processing fee - $1000

An Underwriting fee - $1000

Some misc. fee ("Admin") - $500

The numbers change, but ultimately the bottom line is just for the loan, it's $4700-$5500 in fees. 

Is this normal for this type of loan? I assume so since that's what everyone is quoting me. 

I appreciate the help. 

Hello to the BiggerPockets community. I'm Karl Szymanski from Pittsburgh PA and I am new to real estate investing. I have owned my own homes in CA and in PA. I am looking to get started with real estate investing right now. Any place in the US would work. I am thinking I would like to start with a duplex/triplex/quadplex but I am open to your suggestions.

I really enjoy making money and have been in technical sales for more than 30 years. I have a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona and spent 4 years in the military prior to that. I was married for 31 years but lost my wife to cancer in August of 2024. I enjoy getting together with people with similar interests for dinner or even just coffee.

I am excited to see what I can do with this new endeavor and excited to meet new and interesting real estate investment colleagues.

What are common loan options when looking to purchase an out-of-state rental property under an LLC? This will likely be a long term buy & hold, either SFH or a 2-4 unit building.

Is a 30 year-fixed loan with 20% down possible?

Or is an LLC limited to different, more strict options?

Cheers!

Hey everyone we are excited to join the Bigger Pockets Forums. My wife and I have completed 3 rehabs, and are working on our fourth. We have turned two of the rehabs into long term rentals. We are primarily looking for Single Family Homes in need of rehab. We would love to connect with Real Estate agents, Investors/Financing, and Contractors to build out our team.

We are located in NE Kansas and primarily are working in the Kansas City, Topeka, Saint Joseph, areas.

what is the best way to fund renovations on a flip project (other than cash)

hard money lender, line of credits, credit cards?

@Virginia VanOeveren

Well said Virginia. Even though we do run credit and background, I refer to us as private money lenders rather than hard money lenders based primarily on the cost of capital. True asset based hard money lenders that do not consider the borrower's creditworthiness typically are a lot more expensive than we are.

So, to me, I usually tell people that the primary difference between PML's and HML's is cost of capital. Hope that helps.

Hi all, 

Over the past year I have been gathering knowledge on various different types of real estate investing. In particular, I am interested in flipping homes. That being said, I have never flipped a home before, so just hoping to collect some information for anything I might have overlook or need to know before I make the jump. In particular, is there any software/tooling which is typically used to analyze & find tenants, analyze deals, and used to find a local realtor who specializes in real estate investing?

As of now, my general plan is to find a local realtor online who is experienced with real estate investing (and has investment properties of their own) to help me find a good local deal (goal is 20-25% return on ARV), get a hard money loan, aiming to rehab/repair/extend the property with my father (both have construction experience) within 4-5 months, and as for the loan exit strategy either sell or rent (depending on the deal). Lastly, hoping to do all this under an LLC. Thoughts on this approach?

Last point I would like to mention is that I am current renting, and I plan to purchase a primary residence within the next 2-3 years. Is there anything I need to consider for how my plan may impact the future (not qualify for first time home buyer incentives?, etc.).

Thank you all so so much in advance! 

I want to start wholesaling real estate in my area, South Texas, but I need help calculating the rehab, do you all have any methods?

Hello everyone, 

I am completing my second BRRRR and looking to do a cash-out refi. Searching to see if any lenders are doing a cash-out with no seasoning period.

Thank You