All Forum Posts by: Masha Rizzi

Does anyone have any tips on rehoming an older dog that was left behind?

I purchased a 3-plex a few months back and was waiting on all the tenant leases to end before starting the Renovations. One of them left a dog behind! Turns out the dog doesn't actually belong to any of them, but a past tenant who had passed away at some point. They all just took turns taking care of it.

So now there's an older black lab that is left behind... I've called some shelters and they're all full. I'm a big pet person so would really like to do the best thing for this dog and avoid dropping it off somewhere it would be put down or turned away. 

If properties are going that quickly then I would definitely recommend getting your financing pre-approval sorted out now. The 90 day window can be a bit scary if it's your first time, but if you're already familiar with your market and dedicated to really finding that deal then you'll get something before the 90 days is up! 

That being said, make sure you *do* understand the market in your area ahead of time. Just because properties are only staying listed for 24-48 hours *does not* mean they are actually good deals. In fact, it may be quite the opposite! They could be great deals for the average homebuyer, but may not actually have the cashflow required for an investor. 

37 duplexes! Wow that's amazing!! Congrats - that's already quite a large portfolio but I understand being ready to scale up. 

I think many would say you're in a good place to start scaling. I'd start by talking to your lender about what options there are (since you have a great one already they should be able to help go through some options with you). 

While larger units might require a larger downpayment, they should also have a higher cash flow (in theory - of course depends on all the expenses etc). So the first one or two properties might slow you down as you build up that down payment, but in the long run it shouldn't slow you down too much. What is the cashflow like on your 37 duplexes? Hopefully that can quickly generate a good downpayment starting point. If not, you may want to consider selling a few of the under-performing ones to start moving towards larger units. 

Also as far as the downpayment, it may be worth finding alternate means of financing. There are ways to get properties with little or no money down depending on your scenario. For everything I've read on BP, it also seems the larger your property (more units) the more likely sellers will be willing to do seller financing. You could negotiate a lower downpayment with them in that scenario. 

I actually just purchased a home that also has knob and tube wiring!! It was pretty frustrating finding coverage and in the end I only found one provider that would cover it (Tower Hill Prime Insurance Co.). The policy isn't particularly great so I plan on getting a new one once I get all the Knob & tube out during reno. 

I see a lot of conversations around whether or not investors should get their Realtor license, but was wondering if anyone has other licenses that have been worth getting? Maybe interior design, home inspector, appraiser, or something else I'm not thinking of? 

I'm looking at properties in NOLA for STR (airbnb).

does anyone who currently owns Airbnbs in NOLA have any tips that may be different from owning STR in other markets ?

I think it depends on your goals and business plan. There's tons of investors out there that swear by having their agent license, and plenty more who have never had a need to get one. 

Before asking whether you should get licensed, you should ask yourself what roles you plan to play in your business. For example, I can find deals I like and manage my properties, but I know for a fact that my personality is not suited to all the work an agent needs to do during a deal. It's way more beneficial to my business, mental health, and time to find a great agent that's a part of my team instead. 

I just closed on a property with a 5.5% rate which was such a hard thing to do after a low 2% I got in the same area, almost same property, exactly a year before. 

That being said, I don't plan to let me business/investments slow down because of a rate increase. Instead I just adjust my calculations and continue to make sure the numbers work. 

If the numbers work out, I'd rather get the property with the higher interest rate to start cash-flowing today and refi in the future when rates drop than pass up the deal in an attempt to wait for lower rates (which will be who knows when and would make me miss out on a lot of deals in the meantime) 

Up to this point I've found my own tenants so I'm not sure what the "norm" would be. I assume it would vary by agent and area. 

Regardless of what the "norm" is, you should ask questions up front with any agent or property manager you're using to place tenants. There should be no surprises with their percentages when it comes time to get a tenant placed. If you've been using them for a while and they did not inform you of their price/policy changes then I would let them know this and try to have a discussion with them about what options there are. 

The market may has changed but the general information and processes still hold up in the book! 

My tips would be to have a good idea of your area's market and having an understanding of the numbers you'd need to know in order to make a good BRRRR deal.

I recently closed on a multi-family for right at 300K. This was a little above my expected price but still a reasonable one in this market. I expect to put around $50k into it and then refi at around 450-500K based on comps in the area. Plus it is currently fully rented and I expect rents to at least double once the reno is completed. 
So definitely do your research and don't go into a deal blind! Try running several properties through the BP calculators and see what the numbers look like. 

As far as adding value, it depends on the property and conditions. A good place to add value can be the kitchen and bathrooms. If you can add a unit (the property I just purchased has that going for it), then that can add significant value. Even just a general face-lift can add value depending on the property and location!