All Forum Posts by: Michael Enriquez

@Jinal Parekh No. I actively scout; Zillow, Trulia and Redfin. My realtor down there also placed me on an auto-search that e-mails me the minute something that fits my criteria hits the market. 

@Account Closed awesome!! Congratulations! I'll be down in Philly next week. Let's do lunch. 

@Vina Real I used a conventional mortgage. 25% down plus applicable closing costs. I wish I had closed on something when I first got my pre-approval letter, I was quoted a 4.125% interest rate then. This deal was closed with a 4.875% rate. 

@Chris Ayers I'd say that the neighborhood is in transition. This block in particular is good and quiet, it's actually mostly owner occupants so there is pride of homeownership. 

@Account Closed I am so glad that you asked me this question as it forced me to pull out a pad and a pen and actually write down my road map (I have a bad habit of not writing down my goals and just keeping them in hindsight which sometimes, they end up getting lost; in hindsight).  When I say 100 units I don't mean 100 homes. I've narrowed down my focus to multifamily homes. 

Fortunately, I've managed to build an excellent credit profile and have a decent and secure W2 job, which banks love. I'm now on my second mortgage and I intend to make sure that the rest of the mortgages I get will be cash out refinances where I can snowball that equity I force into other properties. I'm still reading through the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac selling guides to thoroughly understand the requirements and restrictions associated with loans that are originated and sold off to them. 

Long story short, my game plan from now will be BRRRR unless I find a great deal on the MLS. When I am no longer favored by the banks due to the high DTI, I will explore the realm of seller financing and commercial mortgages. Nearing the end of the 10 year mark I would like to scale up to a handful of larger multifamily properties. To do so, I will liquidate a good chunk of my holdings and 1031 those gains into maybe 3-30 unit complexes.

@Rob Hayes I do! It's very important to have a trusted individual down there with access and can give you their input on what work may cost.  We're in an expensive market and it doesn't compare to PA and OH, so it's imperative to have third party input on the numbers someone throws at you for work, mostly due in part to the fact that what seems cheap to us may be out of the norm in that area.

Thank you all!

Here are some pics of how the floor refinishing came out. What a difference!!

Definetely reach out to the smaller community banks, you'll find that many of them won't even have a seasoning period. You've set yourself up to snowball your way up to a hefty portfolio. 

What are your real estate goals? Maybe that'll help others chime in with applicable advice. 

@Sung Park It's worth looking into.  I personally haven't attempted to find an alternative.  Thanks for the idea!

@Shell W. Thank you all, so much!

@Chris Eaker @John G. Thank you!

@Brendon Grover The NY market is extremely cost prohibitive right now, it's nearly impossible to cash flow with debt service in place.  I own a co-op as my primary residence and have toyed with the idea of house hacking but I really like where I live and would have to move to a little rough area to make the numbers work, which I decided against.  

There are cheaper markets here in NY (upstate) but I just don't see the potential and growth that a metropolitan area (like Philadelphia) has to offer. The area I invested in is no Fishtown or Northern Liberties but it's literally blocks from University City's expansion so it's only a matter of time. The appreciation aspect is nice and all but I made this decision based on the fact that it will cash flow above all else. 

Looking at the appraisal, it appears that there may be an opportunity to add value as some of the comps were adjusted downward. I will perform further due diligence to reaffirm those findings and explore the idea of pulling my cash back out if I can find more than the 2 renovated comps that sold for 85k. 

Long story short, if I would have waited until I could pull the trigger in my own market I would have been waiting forever. Expanding my horizon a bit I was able to start now.