All Forum Posts by: Michael Morikawa

@Theresa Harris There's a couple homes that we looked at that that were under market value and had a ton of value add opportunity, but the rehabs were going to be around 75-100k, something my wife didn't want to get into. Another one the layout was not good for our family as our daughter (who's 9 months old) would be on a separate floor as us, something we could not compromise on for health and safety reasons. We're not giving up, but it is much more difficult with a child as there are other considerations we have to take into account. We can do cosmetic stuff, but finding a place that's affordable for us is the hard part. 

@George Azita Actually I ALWAYS crunch the numbers. I enjoy doing the numbers actually, but the amount of money I can invest is not a lot. I know this will answer my own question for this post, but the short answer is no if I put money 20% or more over the asking it will not cash flow. Not even close. The cost of living on the west coast is too high and the price of rent isn't enough to offset the balance. I keep my emotions out of it as much as possible, but I have a family so the decision is not only mine to make. 

It's true that I don't have a business model as I don't even have one home yet to base anything off of yet. I'm just getting started. Doubling your investment every 1-2 years is awesome and I do hope to get there some day! Even if I find a home under market value or a home that I can do some kind of value add, it is unaffordable for my family currently so I'm searching out other ways that I can break into this world. Thanks for you input!

REIA meet ups are a good place to start whether that's in person or over zoom. I also used social media out of all things. Another good app I used is called next door. It's like facebook for your specific neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods. I asked for people's recommendations on there and boom, tons of potential people to put on your team. Obviously interview them and make sure that both of your goals line up and would be beneficial for the both of you. Hope this helps!

Are you going to be living in that property, renting, or something else? Hard money would be difficult because even with decent cashflow, paying back the HML would be hard. You could try and find a partner and go 50/50 for the down payment (or have the partner bring all the money) and split evenly the cashflow or equity or both. BRRRRing the property would be a good option also as long as the numbers work. That way you could get your partners or HML money out of the deal. So I think it depends on what you plan to do with the deal that will determine what avenue to take for the downpayment.

Also ask family/friends. They may give you the "family/friends discount" and charge low or no interest as long as you can lay out a plan to pay them back. 

This is definitely possible. In my area there were two houses that were for sale and were owned by the housing authority. Then again these were listed on the MLS which is how I ended up finding it. Here's where the issue lies. There are a lot of rules and regulations with housing authority homes in terms of upkeep and the type of tenants they attract. The homes that were for sale in my area were apparently in "disrepair" even though there were still tenants in the homes. Because of this, the only way you could buy it was in cash. You could not finance the home. If you have the cash and the resources to flip or BRRRR the home, totally try and get it. If not, it might be a rough go.

@Theresa Harris unfortunately I'm already at the lowest price points in my market and that's part of the issue because even the lowest priced homes that need a good amount of cosmetic rehab (10-15k) are still going way over the asking price. The escalation clause is a good point though, I've only just recently heard of what that is. Thanks!

@Michael Dumler I might have to look slightly out of my desired area honestly. I know some people who've bought homes outside of where they want for the very reason of homes going over. I have thought about trying to get off market deals, but you're right that it's going to take a lot more time and up front work in order to get leads. I appreciate your input!

Aloha everybody! I'm a first time homebuyer trying to get a SFH or any home honestly for my family to owner occupy. The issue is that every time we put an offer on a house, it goes for 40k+ over asking price! All the houses we put in offers for need around 10-15k in rehab that are mostly cosmetic. Anything more than 10k in asking though ruins the whole deal. The goal would be a live-in flip, but instead of selling we'd rent and do a cash out refinance or HELOC to purchase another place. Is anyone else running into the issue of people asking 20% or more over asking price??? I've tried pitching seller financing, but competing with the highest offer, unlikely the sellers would take it. I'm located in Oregon, specifically in Yamhill county but from what I hear, lots of people around the country are running into this. If so, any ideas for getting around this or should we wait? (Don't want to wait though)