All Forum Posts by: Douglas Larson

I recommend @Jordy Clark and his Benchmark Team. He has been great with buying and selling my flips and rentals over the past 5 years. He really knows the markets along the Wasatch front. He will help you get the best price on a sale or purchase and he will always tell it straight. 

I don't give advice, but you do have some options. At this very moment, one good option could be the use of your cousin's credit to buy and flip a couple properties, just to build some cash. 

Another option would be to use your cousin's credit to buy a home that can function like a duplex. You pay your cousin a monthly rent which more than covers his mortgage and you "house hack" by living in the basement and renting out the upstairs for a good chunk of your monthly payment. If you pay rent through a service like Rentler (which reports to the credit bureaus), it will begin to build your credit again. If you sock away several hundred bucks a month you can eventually buy the home or perhaps another rental. 

One more option would be to find a lease-option right now and do the same thing, just without your cousin. 

Finally, you could start playing the lottery. That's never worked for me but I've heard stories...;-)

Hi Kali. Welcome to BP and to Utah. I'm from San Diego and I lived in hawaii for several years so I know a bit about those expensive markets. I've been living and investing in Utah now for over 13 years. It's been good to me and I expect more good years in real estate to come. Demand for homes is high, rents are pretty good and inventory is low. I like smaller SFR rentals in West Valley and Kearns. I've got great tenants because many A and B tenants are getting priced out of the A and B areas and into the C neighborhoods, as long as you can create a B+ rental.

I also do a few flips each year and I buy some vacant land when I find value. Until about 2 years ago I could still find rental properties that met the 1% rule but now, from Spanish Fork to Layton, it's more like .7% at best. Ogden will still meet the 1% rule or better but the homes can be OLD and the tenants can be very sketchy. Buy carefully and screen well! 

If you are still in town, I would recommend this meetup tomorrow night: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/55...

I use a few local wholesalers for deals and I can recommend a really good agent for the MLS stuff. He's very knowledgeable and investor savvy. PM me.

Above all, Have Fun!!!

A common saying in RE investing is, "The easiest way to make a million bucks is to borrow a million bucks and let other people pay it back." It looks like that's your strategy with these kinds of rentals but little to no cashflow can be very precarious.

Great deals are few and far these days. The best deals for instant equity and cashflow are wholesaler deals that need to close quickly and with cash. Those homes also usually need 10-20K just to get them rent-ready.  I bought 2 more of those in December in Kearns. House #1, (3 bed, 1 Bath) All in at 172K and rents for $1350/mo. House #2 (also 3 bed, 1 Bath) will be all in at 160K and rent for $1300/mo. You can find better numbers up in the Ogden area (right at the 1% rule) but the wrong house or druggie tenants can kill you. 

Whatever you do, have fun out there!

We recently got two 80%LTV 1st position HELOCS at 5% through America First Cred Union on a couple rentals. Payments are much higher than a standard mortgage as they are based on a 10 year pay-off. Total origination fees were under $300 per loan. Way better terms than using hard money.

Weber State Univ. Credit Union also has some great loan products for non-owner occupied homes.

Have fun!!!

Hi @Saul Moreno Welcome to BP!

I like your ambition, and you are welcome to come take a look at a couple homes I have in Kearns. One just got renovated and tenants will move in next week. The other is being renovated for a flip. I don't know what skills you have but there's always a few odd jobs that need doing and I can tell you how and why we do what we do. Message me.

Hi Stephen. Welcome to BP!

Your title seems to ask the question: Is the property a "good buy?"

However, you didn't mention any of the details that could help the community tell you if it's actually a good buy. What is the price and the projected rent? 

As a general rule, new construction and homes over about 225K don't work great for cash-flow. They may have nice appreciation but that's a bit of a gamble. Most buy and hold investors will stick to the older, smaller homes along the wasatch front.  Leverage and appreciation can make you rich but cash-flow is the safest and usually the fastest path to financial freedom.

Like @Ryan E., I am very bullish on Utah residential real estate (under 500K) because of job growth, housing demand and supply limitations. Projections anticipate 8-12% per year price appreciation from Ogden to Santaquin for the next 2-3 years. It should be awesome . . . but cheap homes that cash-flow well are safer.

Hi Nicolette! Welcome to BP!

I recommend attending investor meetups through UVREIA and SLREIA. Networking is a great way to find those deals. I get emails on 5-10 wholesale deals per week. I might only see one each month that will work for a flip but about a 3rd of them can work for good, B&H rentals. I bought 2 good deals in December. 

Are you looking in Utah County? Salt Lake? Anywhere else?

Hi Cameron. 

Too many variables to know if that's a good deal. The exact location and what the city wants to see there are huge factors. Putting it under contract is a great way to start!

 I'm an investor and I buy wholesales. Send me a message if you want to collaborate.  Above all, have fun out there!

Hi Keith, That's a big question but I can see you've thought about it. This is an exciting step but I think there are some important details about you that will factor in. 

You didn't say anything about a spouse or kids or a job or handyman skills. You also didn't mention if you like Herriman or would prefer another location. Herriman is a good area with new schools, great parks and lots of growth. I have a 4 bed, 3 bath home there that rents for $2100 per month.

Most newbies with a good, full-time job and a great VA loan could certainly do well with an SFR in the south end of the valley that could rent as a duplex. If you can, live in the basement and rent out most of the home. With the right place, you could get nearly $2000 per month and almost cover a $350K mortgage. SFRs with a basement apartment are fairly easy to find or create, and very easy to sell.

If you've got some handyman skills and bought a Fixer-upper "duplex" home, you might be able to create some equity pretty quick and pull a HELOC within 6 months or so and use that as a down-payment on another rental.

That's my 2 cents. Have fun out there!