All Forum Posts by: Michael Lewis

Thank you, Basit. So an LLC that owns real estate in a certain state should also be registered in that particular state? My understanding is that, for certain reasons, having Delaware and/or New York-based LLC's were the most popular/common and that you can use those corporate entities to "house" real estate in other states?

I live in MA & have 2 NY based S-corps. I own 3 buildings in Buffalo, NY: 2 properties are in one LLC, and the 3rd building is in the other LLC. For purposes of cashing out, I am going to sweep the 1 property into the LLC with the other 2, leaving the 2nd LLC "blank", so to speak. Instead of dissolving the empty LLC, I am looking to purchase other investment properties - likely in other states - and house them in this empty LLC. I am pretty sure this is perfectly legal to do, but is there any reason not to? Thank you.

@Timothy Hero actually did secure financing with Mike Woods at Upstate Bank out of Buffalo. Process was somewhat arduous, but Mike and his team are great to work with. LTV came in quite a bit lower than expected, but in this environment I was happy to get the deal done. Looking to do the same with another property I own in Buffalo.

Thanks again to the Bigger Pockets community for all the wonderful advice, guidance, and support on here - legit the best online real estate investing site I've discovered.

I live in Boston and own two mixed use buildings in Buffalo, NY. Each building has 5 units (one commercial unit and four apartments in each building). Currently no mortgage on either (I own them free and clear) and both in great shape (we were fortunate to be the beneficiaries to substantial grants that allowed for new roofs, furnaces, upgrades, etc, in 2017). They cash flow very well with one property taking in $2,425 a month ($29,100 annually) and the other $2,245 a month ($26,940).

I'm actually surprised at the hurdles I'm encountering trying to get someone to loan against these properties, even at a 50% LTV (conservative estimates are each building is worth $225k - $250k).

Some of the more common objections I’ve heard are:

“We don’t loan to out-of-state owners.”

“We only loan on owner occupied properties.”

“We don’t loan against properties over 4 units.”

“We don’t loan on mixed use buildings.”

I would think in this absurdly low interest rate environment that it would be easier than in the past to secure reasonable loan terms if I wanted to borrow against the properties.

Curious to hear if anyone can offer feedback and/or possible lending solutions. I don’t have a particular property or project that I’m looking to buy right now so there’s no rush, per se, but I’m always looking and would love to have access to capital should an attractive deal present itself.

Thank you in advance to the Bigger Pockets community – this is the best real estate investing resource I’ve come across. –Mike

I live in Boston and own two mixed use buildings in Buffalo, NY. Each building has 5 units (one commercial unit and four apartments in each building). Currently no mortgage on either (I own them free and clear) and both in great shape (we were fortunate to be the beneficiaries to substantial grants that allowed for new roofs, furnaces, upgrades, etc, in 2017). They cash flow very well with one property taking in $2,425 a month ($29,100 annually) and the other $2,245 a month ($26,940).

I'm actually surprised at the hurdles I'm encountering trying to get someone to loan against these properties, even at a 50% LTV (conservative estimates are each building is worth $225k - $250k).

Some of the more common objections I’ve heard are:

“We don’t loan to out-of-state owners.”

“We only loan on owner occupied properties.”

“We don’t loan against properties over 4 units.”

“We don’t loan on mixed use buildings.”

I would think in this absurdly low interest rate environment that it would be easier than in the past to secure reasonable loan terms if I wanted to borrow against the properties.

Curious to hear if anyone can offer feedback and/or possible lending solutions. I don’t have a particular property or project that I’m looking to buy right now so there’s no rush, per se, but I’m always looking and would love to have access to capital should an attractive deal present itself.

Thank you in advance to the Bigger Pockets community – this is the best real estate investing resource I’ve come across. –Mike

I'm of the belief that there are always good deals to found regardless of what may be going on "out there". That being said, I'm hitting some speed bumps regarding financing.

I live in Boston and own two mixed use buildings in Buffalo, NY. Each building has 5 units (one commercial unit and four apartments in each building). Currently no mortgage on either (I own them free and clear) and both in great shape (we were fortunate to be the beneficiaries to substantial grants that allowed for new roofs, furnaces, upgrades, etc, in 2017). They cash flow very well with one property taking in $2,425 a month ($29,100 annually) and the other $2,245 a month ($26,940).

I'm actually surprised at the hurdles I'm encountering trying to get someone to loan against these properties, even at a 50% LTV (conservative estimates are each building is worth $225k - $250k).

Some of the more common objections I’ve heard are:

“We don’t loan to out-of-state owners.”

“We only loan on owner occupied properties.”

“We don’t loan against properties over 4 units.”

“We don’t loan on mixed use buildings.”

I would think in this absurdly low interest rate environment that it would be easier than in the past to secure reasonable loan terms if I wanted to borrow against the properties.

Curious to hear if anyone can offer feedback and/or possible lending solutions. I don’t have a particular property or project that I’m looking to buy right now so there’s no rush, per se, but I’m always looking and would love to have access to capital should an attractive deal present itself.

Thank you in advance to the Bigger Pockets community – this is the best real estate investing resource I’ve come across. –Mike

Thank you, Ivor. Very interested in learning more about this as well.

I've been reading quite a bit about negative interest rates in many countries (Japan, Netherlands, etc). Do U.S. citizens have access to any programs like this? If so, why wouldn't someone in Japan borrow at -1%, make a low cost loan to a U.S. citizen for, say, 5%, and make money on both sides of that?  Clearly it's nowhere near that easy or we would be hearing more about people doing this, but I'm curious as to how this could be done?  Thank you.

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment.

Property consists of a commercial/retail space on the first floor (currently occupied by a cafe), a large garage that's being rented for storage space, and three apartments units. Currently 100% occupied.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Property was priced extremely low and owner agreed to hold paper.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Spotted a small For Sale sign in the window when I was driving around looking at properties.

How did you finance this deal?

Down payment and an owner hold.

How did you add value to the deal?

Put a LOT of $ into the property and was also able to take advantage of grant $ that came into the neighborhood.

What was the outcome?

After two bad property managers, lots of poor repairs, and a host of terrible tenants, it's working great.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Never make friends with your property manager - be polite, be nice, but keep it professional. And track your expenses!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I would recommend my current property manager but no else I've met during my experience.