All Forum Posts by: Luke Bauer

I am coming to the end of my first brrrr deal on a duplex in Athens, GA. Both sides have been rented now for a couple months and are cash flowing nicely.  Currently the loan for the property is sitting with a private lender and I am paying 10% interest-only with a balloon at 2 years. The note was set up so that I have the option to refi and pay back the loan prior to the 2 year balloon, however the lender must receive at least 1 years worth of accrued interest. Basically the lender needs to make at least 10% on his investment when all is said and done. 

I have spoken with a loan officer who can lock me into a 30 year fixed at 5.75%. However, with the amount of equity I built in on the rehab, I will only be able to pull out the purchase price of the home and the associated closing costs. This means that the remainder of the interest I owe my investor would have to come out of my pocket.   

My question is, should I refi now after only a few months or should I wait until the end of the first year when the 10% has been paid in monthly installments? The pros for the early refi are locking in the rate while rates are low and property value is high. It also frees up my investor's capital so that I can look at doing more deals using his money. The con is that I am essentially paying double interest for the remainder of the first year. The 10% to my investor is guaranteed and after the refi, I would be paying 5.75% to the bank. 

@Brian Seelos I would recommend talking to @Georgui Kasaev. He is located in the Athens area as well and may have some good recommendations. 

@Georgui Kasaev I am available to meet that Thursday. I am good with anytime after 5pm.

@Georgui Kasaev thank you for the support. A lot of people from the REIA meeting have reached out which is great for an aspiring investor like myself! I will be sure to ask around when I have questions which I'm sure will be often.

@Filipe Pereira I'm looking to do something similar to your second deal, buying a 3 or 4 br SFR and getting a few house mates. How did you find people to rent rooms for you? Were these people you knew before hand or did you turn to something like craigslist? And how are these house mates working out for you so far? I've heard plenty of people on biggerpockets talk about getting a duplex and living in one unit, renting the other. But I haven't seen many people talking about a single family with rented rooms.

I'm also new to the Athens area and would love to get involved in the next meet up!

Hi BiggerPockets community!

My name is Luke Bauer and I'm brand new to real estate. I'm still in the early stages of educating myself mostly through the BP podcasts/blogs. I figured it was time to reach out and start networking. 

I recently graduated from Clemson University and got a job as an engineer just outside of Athens, GA. I'm currently renting an apartment and putting some money away each month in hopes to buy a place of my own when my lease expires in April. I've heard the suggestion on several podcasts that a great way to get started would be to buy a small multifamily and live in one unit and rent the other units. I think this would serve me well as I will not have a large amount of cash for a down payment and would be using an FHA loan to finance this first deal. My other option would be to buy a 2 or 3 bedroom single family and rent the additional bedrooms. Because Athens is a college town and I myself am less than a year out of college, I think this is something that I could make work as well.

Either way, I would be looking to have the rent at least cover the mortgage payments, allowing me to save up for my next buy and hold (of course after paying for taxes/insurance/ repairs etc.) Is this a realistic goal? I have been evaluating properties on sites like Zillow but I'm not sure how accurate my estimates are on things like property tax or more importantly rent.

Let me know if anyone has comments, concerns, or just general tips for getting started. I'd love to get in touch with those of you investing in the Athens area and I'll be sure to keep my eyes on the Athens REIA website to catch the next meeting. I'm excited to jump in!