All Forum Posts by: Melissa Uppelschoten

Hi Curt! The Atlanta City Council passed the ordinance in Feb2020. Here is a link to details. 

https://www.cbs46.com/news/atl...

@Greg Dickerson Thank you! I was able to speak with a retired sewer expert yesterday who suggested a low pressure system. I have a call into an engineering firm right now. I am breathing a bit easier now. 

I just reached out to my mortgage broker to let him know I am buying a property cash and after reno will be refinancing it. He told me that Fannie Mae has decided to reduce their portfolio of investment properties to 7%, due to the riskier nature of these transactions and the current market. He said I am going to be paying a higher rate due to this change. But it will still be possible. Maybe reach out to a broker? 

Congrats, Bryce! I would focus on the interior. That way you can start advertising it right away and then move on to the exterior. Potential tenants won't care much if the exterior is still being worked on while they are looking. But the interior has to be done. Typical order is rough plumbing, electrical, etc. Then drywall, painting. And then floors. Ideal is to complete all painting before you install floors. Always hire a cleaner that is familiar with construction cleaning. I also recommend having professional photos taken. It doesn't cost much extra but I feel they make the place look so much better! One thing I always do is get fun light fixtures. They again don't cost much, but can make a big impact. Wishing you tons of success!

I am about to close on a 1.2 acre lot in Atlanta that I would like to ideally build affordable housing on. My builder and I have sketched out a 12 unit building (three stories high, 4 units per floor). The main drawback I have is that there isn't city sewer. I am going to contact my city council and lobby for sewer to be installed (I realize this is a LONG process) but I also was curious of alternatives to sewer. Is anyone aware of a septic tank system that can handle 12 units? Or another eco-friendly approach? Thanks in advance...Melissa

@Brandon Shaffer I used the HELOC to fund 100% of the first house, then a mix of things after that. My second house I found while the first was still being renovated. So I used my remaining HELOC as my down payment and a Hard Money Loan. When the first house was REFId I put the money back into the HELOC and waited to find my third house. I did FLIP one house just to test that whole process and realized there wasn't enough profit margin for my liking. Then for the fourth house I used the HELOC again to purchase. And got a small construction loan to help me complete the reno. We then REFId and it went back to the HELOC. I close on my 5th house next week - using my HELOC for everything, including reno. It is a dance!

Hi Peter - 

@Jingru Sui kindly answered your question for me! And @Matthew Paul made a great point too re: credit score. 

@Erica Garvin Sorry, I misunderstood. When you mentioned Line of Credit, I assumed it was on your primary residence. I only have experience with a HELOC on my primary residence.

Hi Peter - Here in Atlanta you cannot refuse any applicant the right to apply to live in your rental property, even if you aren't part of the Section 8 program. For my next rental I do not intend to go section 8. I have another that is Section 8 (which I love my guaranteed check on!). My plan for dealing with the issue that you are facing is that I have strict criteria that I am use when reviewing candidates. And of course you want to use the same criteria for everyone due to the Fair Housing Laws. But I give Section 8 applicants have a 1% chance of meeting my criteria because of my 3x the rent income requirement. Hopefully when you explain your criteria, they will understand. It is a tough situation all over, because affordable housing is in such demand. Thanks for trying to be considerate about your approach. Best of luck...Melissa

Hi Brandon - My husband and I used a HELOC on our primary residence 5 years ago to fund my first BRRRR. My husband is risk averse and would only support the idea if I got our financial advisor's buy in. Thankfully, she approved!

Since then we have done one BRRRR a year and my husband is totally on board now! I am currently working on one, and woke up in the middle of the night concerned if the interest rates go up significantly. I then did the math - looking at my worst-case scenario until I can refi with a fixed rate loan. And I was just fine! Wishing you and your wife tons of success!