All Forum Posts by: Lucian Guadagnoli

Welcome @Ryan Maxon

I have two book suggestions you may find useful (and have likely heard):

1. "How to Win Friends and Influence People", by Dale Carnegie.  He teaches a few principles on how to improve conversational skills.

2. Another book that has some interesting insight in this is "The 4-Hour Workweek", by Tim Ferriss.  He poses a few 'challenges' to the reader in each section.  Some have to do with cold-calling several famous people and he points out his approach to doing this.

Hope this helps!

@E. C. "Stony" Stonebraker, @Bjorn Ahlblad, @Michael Le

Thanks for your feedback!  Yeah it might've been a little bit of a reach but the ranges sound like a good starting point.  I'll tweak those to my market once I get more experience.

Good Afternoon BP forum!  

Is there a rule of thumb for how much square footage is 'typical' for a Xbr/Yba unit in a residential multi-family?  I realize this is highly subjective with a lot of variance, but there must be some average square footage per living unit that one could baseline 'cramped' units against 'spacious' units in an area.

Local building code? 600sqft/unit minimum?  Let me know your thoughts!

@Bjorn Ahlblad @Greg M. @Scott M.

Thanks for your feedback! Makes sense, first come, first serve and treating the garage space as a separate amenity; not tied to any particular unit(s).

Suppose you purchased a vacant triplex with a 1-bay or 2-bay garage.  How would you figure which unit(s) get the bays, assuming every tenant would be interested in using the space?

@Jacob Wiltshire

I believe you must still have the home appraised again for the refinance down the road, at which point the bank measures that appraisal against your position in the house (among other criteria) to determine the new loan.

Hi @Jacob Wiltshire!

From what I understand, the banks use the appraised value of the property, not the purchase price of the house, as the 'value' in their LTV. If the bank appraised the property at $90k, and is willing to loan up to 70% LTV, then they will offer up to $63k.

I'd be interested to know, however, if there is a best practice around how much time you should give yourself before the balloon payment comes due to refinance.

Originally posted by @Jody Sperling:

Once you have the HELOC, move all of your "emergency funds" into it. The money is still available, but now it's parked in the HELOC, pushing the payment on your primary property lower, instantly improving your cash flow situation.

So when you say 'parking your funds in the HELOC', is that in the form of paying down the principal on the home the HELOC is against? And the improved cash flow comes from the reduced interest that comes from said principal paydown?

If so, is your risk then prolonged draw from the HELOC (and dealing with that interest)?

Hi @Geren Knight III.  Was the seller listing it at market value when you first approached him?  If so, negotiating down to 27% market value sounds like a significant win.

I was wondering what your opinion is on the value added by bringing an older multifamily up to 200-amp service.  Do tenants value 200 amp service in a multifamily? 

Hello BP forum!  I have heard this market's narrative from the demand-side and have a question for you:

How do you think the low inventory will be answered on the supply-side of the market equation?

The question comes from my (admittedly limited) perception that 'for sale' signs now seem to be everywhere here in CT. Homes that aren't for sale are having their exteriors refreshed and additions installed (preparing to go on the market?). It makes me wonder: are initially hesitant sellers are now eager to pull the trigger before a 'supposed' crash comes along, introducing a wave of supply?  Are builders/developers too far behind the curve to make an impact on the market as it stands?  Or is summer simply the time to refresh your home and see what the market will pay for it?

I'm a newcomer to real estate and its market cycles, and I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Regards,

Lucian