All Forum Posts by: Matt Lyons

There a few things that you can consider:

1. Portfolio loan... basically rolling all the loans up. This would be more of a commercial loan BUT it also should allow you to do a HELOC (or line of credit) off the equity in the portfolio which would give you access to more equity than 10 loans and trying to HELOC each..so win win by doing a portfolio loan

2. I dont think you are LIMITED on number of loans you can have, just number of loans you can have based on what types of loans they are...meaning you are limited (I think) to 10 conventional residential loan (or maybe 10 FDA insured loans)...but you are not limited on 10 loans just types ( I think the type you have now is 30 year fixed loans which may be limited to 10)...but there are tons of other types of loans from hard money lending to ARMs to 20 year fixed commercial loans

3. FIND THE RIGHT BANK...in the end banks are like shoes, some fit and some dont. FIND the bank that fits for what you want to do and keep in mind you may need to work with more than one bank. For example: I found a great small town bank that is HAPPY to loan for any type of property in smaller communities within their state (mixed use, SFR, multi unit)...they do 25 year loans that adjust every 5 years and I have no limit. I have another bank that will do loans in ANY town but must be over 6 units for them to lend on it. And finally, I have a bank that will do 30 year fixed, limit me to 10 loans but only up to 4 units

SHOP BANKS and SEARCH for solutions, dont assume you have ANY true limits because you dont

ABSOLUTELY!  In any market, at anytime, there are deals to be made.  I do not invest for quick home runs, but for slow and steady singles and doubles.  If your plan is a Real Estate investing long term strategy then there really is no time to PAUSE or STOP, simply times to PIVOT as needed.

RATES: When 30 year fixed were at 3%, I was paying 4.7% for 5/1 ARM for investment property...not great loans but it forced me to find deals that cash flow...so even though rates are going up, you can still find cash flowing deals, just need to look harder

Weird Properties: Look for properties others are passing on and figure out why and if you can create a different solution...example: I bought a 10 unit motel for $100k. Originally listed for $225k, was on the market for over a year and appraised at $250k as is today. Most investors saw work needed and also not knowing or wanting a MOTEL and simply passed on it...I dove in and figured out what it would take to make it work and figured it can easily rent as 10 long term studio apartments, once done my revenue should be $5k a month and my all in should be about $140k...no one looked at this property and it will be profitable and cash flow...the ARV was appraised at $350k as well so even has hidden equity

Look to new areas: I live near Chicago and TONS of investors are driving prices up and up in the regular chicago market (ever hear of Naperville or downtown)....I needed cash flow and starting looking ANYWHERE I could drive to that offered me cash flow. Ever hear of Troy Grove, IL...no one has, it has about 700 people and is the birthplace if Wild Bill Hickock ...I also own a 3 unit there that I paid $108k for and it generates $2100 a month in revenue..also I was the ONLY person to ever look at this property when it was for sale...the ONLY ONE! Also bought a HUD home that sat for sale for over a year, drove by it every month when I went to pick up rent from the 3 flat. I made an offer $25k under the HUD listing price (that had gone down by almost $30k while it sat), it was rejected one day and accepted the next day..again no one looked there

None of the above means I am GREAT or SPECIAL or UNIQUE....I am hoping it simply shows people that if you increase your ACTIVITY and EFFORT and FOCUS on solutions and profit, the actual timing and the market DOES NOT MATTER

I primarily invest for CASH FLOW and have been doing so in Western IL and Eastern IA over the past 5 years. I am up to 85 rental doors and enjoying the real estate investing lifestyle.  My family and I have decided to move to the Lake Murray/Columbia area of South Carolina and have put money down on a home (so this is happening).

Can anyone offer me suggestions/thoughts/feedback on areas of South Carolina that work best (or worst) for CASH FLOW investing.  I am very unfamiliar with the market (other than it was super hard to find our home and things moved quick) and looking for any feedback, good and bad, that can tell me what is going on up to 4 hours away from the columbia area, especially as it relates to cash flow

Thanks

My opinion is ABSOLUTELY! (please keep in mind that I am NOT an accountant and do not work for the IRS) The day is full of 24 hours and ANY Real Estate activity works toward the 750 hours and regardless of how many you CURRENTLY own she can be be putting in TONS of hours to BUILD that portfolio.

If she tracks what she spends her Real Estate time, and Real Estate is her true passion, you will be surprised as to how much time she spends on Real Estate activity...how much time (door to door) does she spend driving to see places, driving neighborhoods in different markets she is in, reading Real Estate investing articles/books, trolling zillow and realtor, talking with other Real Estate people, talking with property owners, listening to podcasts and so forth... Real Estate investing and being a real estate professional is not a career that you punch a clock, but if you track your time most of us quickly see we spend a TON of time on real estate and that counts!

Every week has 168 hours.... she spends 36 at her job...so she has 132 hours left...how she spends those 132 hours is HER business and something no one on the planet can prove, the world cannot make ASSUMPTIONS and apply them to a specific person...she might sleep 14 hours a day or 2 hours a day

First off, CONGRATS on the 10 unit!  Second, I would offer the same advise for most everything:  Worry about things you CAN CONTROL: Your EFFORT, Your ATTITUDE and Your FOCUS!  You cannot control anything else so control those things.

EFFORT: do the right things and work harder (or have your team work harder) to create the proper place for this investment level...make it as good as you can within the market and trust that by putting in that effort it will be rewarded

ATTITUDE:  Stay positive, people rent and need to live somewhere, that will always be the case, you will find good tenants and bad ones, that will always be the case and the investment (as long as you buy right) will always be a win..some big wins and some small wins but you have to buy really bad to lose

FOCUS: it appears you are starting off focusing on the wrong things...What If PROBLEMS...instead FOCUS on What If WINS:  Instead of "what if no tenant every pays me" switch to "what if I am approached by a buyer who wants to buy it within 3 months of me buying it for $100k more and now I have to deal with capital gains or a 1031 exchange"

And finally, I have rented through Section 8 and also not through Section 8...benefit is that you get paid direct from the government EVERY month....downside is the tenant pool is NO DIFFERENT than what you find on your own and can be even worse PLUS you have the added requirements meeting the section 8 standards and inspections...and finally sometimes it is a worse tenant: some feel entitled because they government (and you) owe them...I have had good and bad section 8 tenants, you can also mix your tenants...rent 5 units to section 8 and 5 on your own and see what works out best

@David Li

Not sure of where you are and so forth, but tearing down and rebuilding seems a bit pricey and starting with an 8 cap seems like you would not be profitable and would be throwing good money after bad.

Consider speaking with a lawyer and suing to get your down payment back. Basically come out close to clean by taking seller to court and settling to give back for return of down payment (or a portion)…. Or go to the city and fight to get it rezoned, even into a 4 unit and spend money combining units fro 7 to 4, any tweak to existing building would be cheaper than tear down…. Try to work with city maybe a vet home or assisted living home might be allowed

Did this ever happen?

I own some land and want to put up a shipping container multifamily building and am looking for a builder and curious if you have any recommendations on who to call.  My location would be Iowa near the quad cities

Many of us struggle with handling issues and problems and challenges throughout the day and I wanted to share my general philosophy that I feel has helped me and may help you:

In life we control only TWO things. Literally, TWO things is all we have any control over.

We cannot control the weather, a profit, a vendor, a contractor, our kids, our spouse or our job!  We can leave a job and take another, but neither of those jobs did we control. In short, our days are filled with tons of crap that we have literally no control over at all.  Our frustrations come from trying to fix and change all these things we do not control.

Instead, shift your focus to the TWO THINGS in life you can control:

Your attitude and your effort!

If you focus on the effort you put forth and the attitude you employ things will most likely work out in your favor, and if they dont then there is truly nothing you could have done so why get upset about it.

Use your job as an example:

Your boss is a jackass, you did not get the promotion, you dont make enough money and your cubicle smells... all of this can lead to depression and allow the negative thoughts to snowball.  But if you shift your focus to your attitude and your effort then you will immediately figure out solutions to all of these problems and be in a much better place.  Having a great attitude will attract others to you and allow you to be seen as someone others want to work with, it will help in getting that next promotion (or at least not hurt you in your chances)... in the end people want to be around and work with positive people...be that positive person, control YOUR ATTITUDE!  In the same thought process, your EFFORT dictates so much in your life.  If you constantly out effort your competitors you are more likely to win where they lose

Some say "work hard and be positive" is the same advice, and it is a little bit, but this is more than that...plus I hate the word "work", thats not fun for anyone... If you have a great attitude and put in the effort more things will fall into place and your life will be better, and in the end, whether its investing or its a career, having a better, happier life is what we all want...CONTROL AND FOCUS ON YOUR ATTITUDE AND YOUR EFFORT....they are the only things you can do and remain sane!

I own 2 acres in Clinton IA that is zoned multi-family. I can build pretty much any size building as long as I go far enough away from street on all sides, so likely about 24 units.  I own the land outright but need to find a builder that can take this project from raw land to finished product.

Also feel it might be a great location and town for a large container multifamily project (if that saves me money and builds it easier)

Any suggestions on builders that can take this on, either a normal site built project or a container home project

Thanks and have a great day

@Mindy Jensen

Is the conference still a go? New Orleans is under water with no power and I am curious how this is effecting a large conference just a few weeks away… any update or plan?