All Forum Posts by: Luke Swab

Both ways could be good or bad.  Here is how I would look at it.  If you do 10% down would you be able to do two deals?  In other words if you did the 20% down, would that keep you from acquiring another deal because you have no cash left?

I'd prefer two 10% down deals as opposed to one 20% down deal, but I'm also only 31.  I don't know how old you are.  

If that is not part of the equation, then I'd do 20% down because I'm assuming you wouldn't have to pay PMI, Also you interest rate may be less, And, you instantly have that much more equity giving you more options if you run into problems.

-Luke

Hey Bigger Pockets, LONG time podcast listener who finally signed up for the forums after Josh and Brandon's pleading.  

I'm 31, I have 12 years of Commercial fishing experience, 10 years of construction, 6 years of College "stuff" and after 3 years I have acquired 6 rentals in Lansing Michigan.  I went into this Real Estate game blind going off of instinct and the I think this will work mindset.  I've learned lots of lessons, but it's going well and now I want to tighten down the reigns and improve the business.  

If you are from the Lansing area, feel free to connect with me.  I'd love to talk and share stories of this adventure and maybe work together in the future.  

-Luke 

Welcome to the site @Novia Rodea I am also new to Bigger Pockets and the whole networking thing in general.  I have been a loan wolf for the last 3 years and have 6 rentals in Lansing.  I'd be happy to give you the little insight that I have acquired. I just sent you a colleague request.  

-Luke

@BOB E. Thanks for the reference.  I checked out her site and FAQ and she looks quite promising.  I'm not quite ready to let go of my properties yet, but this is a better start to the process.  

-Luke

In your above scenario I don't see you mentioning property tax.  That is a HUGE part of the equation.  I think you might want to dive in deeper past the initial head-math, and get some real hard numbers.  With real numbers then we can work on something creative that might work for everyone, but without the hard numbers it's all guessing.

I love the creativity with this deal.  I have not done anything that complex yet, but look forward to as my traditional route is drying up.  It all sounds good in theory.  Go keep your head up and look around for the next opportunity.  We can't get every deal closed.  

For anyone else interested in this, I would be asking the questions about the water and septic and power.  I love this idea, and think you would need to start with a conversation with the city.  You would be pretty much developing the lot with hook-ups like an RV park.  I think this may be a big trend in the coming years, but who knows how long it would last and what's the exit strategy on a mini-RV park in the middle of a city???

I'm assuming your property manager can't get anyone else in this property?  If that is the case, maybe this is a good opportunity to "Buy some time" for the "real" tenant to come. You says this is a tough unit to get good renters into.   I've noticed that good renters usually plan their lives ahead of time so maybe you could rent this out now if you believe it's a good tenant and then have 4-5 months to market for the particular person to fill the space when the other leaves.  It's hard to say as I personally need to "feel out" my tenants vs just going off of paper.  

Old thread, but I'll give my 2 cents.  I haven't been able to find any.  There are a LOT of rentals in this town, but not a reputable management company to work for us.  I see a huge need in this town.  Good luck, I hope someone else from Lansing finds this thread and pitches in.

I'm new to this site, but have gone to the Trippers Real Estate thing twice now.  Did this ever end up happening?  I'm a buy and hold guy that would love to make connections.