All Forum Posts by: Michael Sassone

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Rogersville.

Purchase price: $90,000
Cash invested: $10,000

Cozy and charming 3 bedroom 2 bathroom on a half acre in Rogersville TN. 3 minutes from Cherokee Lake.

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

The ROI of a good STR always appealed to me.

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

Mother in law passed away. Brother in law did not want anything to do with the house.

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Didn't have to except decorations and a fire pit in the backyard.

What was the outcome?

Brother in law accepted it.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Perfecting the property as an STR without putting too much money into decorations and amenities. Not all STR's are created equal

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

No.

Hey everyone,

I've been educating myself the past few years on REI and feel like I am experiencing information overload and would love some advice/guidance from some experienced investors.

I'm trying to figure out which type of investment appeals most to me and my goals - it seems they all do and have different pros and cons that come with them when I sit down to analyze.

Like many, my end goal is to escape my 9-5 and be able to live off of my real estate investments. I am currently a Merchant Mariner and was previously spending 8-10 months a year at sea. I was able to get a job on a gov ship through my union in Baltimore that allows me to be home and have weekends off which allowed me to have time to move closer to my goals. 

In January, I purchased my first out of state investment property in Tennessee. The house is worth about $230,000. I paid $90,000 cash so there is no mortgage (my mother in law passed away, she had no mortgage and I bought my brother in law out). 

So as I understand it I have access to 80% of that equity $184,000. 

This is where I am having trouble figuring out which direction I should go - I am a REALTOR and a Licensed General Contractor so I have access to MLS (am also working with 2 REALTOR's who deal specifically with investments - one deals with STR's in the Nashville, TN area the other deals more with Fix and Flips in the Baltimore County area). As a General Contractor I can do all my own work and get significantly discounted materials.

STR's appeal to me because of the quick ROI especially in an area like Nashville.

Fix And Flips also appeal for similar reasons but seem to be a lot more involved. 

What I am unsure of is the different ways I can finance a deal and which would be the best way for my goals and situation. 

Would I be better suited trying to find a Fix N Flip, pay cash using my equity, do the work myself and then put it back up on the market or would I be better off purchasing an STR with 20% down and leveraging a loan to get some cash flow coming in then maybe pursue a Fix n Flip using the remaining equity and let the STR repay the HELOC until I sell the flip?

My credit score is above 700, I don't have much debt (5k on a credit card and 20k student loans). 

There's a lot I'm not adding to this post for the sake of keeping it short. Would love some guidance or to hop on a video call and pick someones brain.

It may be worth switching strategies and instead of fixing and flipping right away, do a BRRRR. Buy, Rehab, and then Rent for the interim. Then, refi and repeat the process once the market is back up or you could sell instead of refinancing.

Hopefully at the VERY LEAST/worst case you're either breaking even on rent and gaining equity or of course, cash flow like we all want to. Obviously I"m not saying settle for less just giving worst case scenario. Hopefully you find a deal that cash flows off the rent in the meantime. 

I would research some of the different methods: Househacking, BRRRR, Fix N Flip, STR etc and see which one appeals to you most and pursue that method.

Once you’ve picked a method, search the forums to see what people are talking about in regards to that method. A lot of times there will be posts about cities and states that are predicted to be up and coming, already doing well, etc this will give you an idea of the types of things people look for where they are investing.

Contrary to the above, I would start looking in your immediate area and get an idea of what houses are going for. I’d also pick 4 other areas (maybe in the same state or out of state) and see if any of those markets appeal to you. This will help you establish your budget and give you a goal to work towards. 

Write down everything you learn along the way and come up with a big goal. Your end picture. Then break that down into smaller steps and continue breaking down the process into even smaller steps until you have a solid plan. Then the last thing to do is take action. 

This is OVERLY simplified and one important thing I should mention is analysis paralysis. Don’t get too caught up in the processes I mentioned and let the information consume you. At some point you need to pull the trigger and make a decision. 

Good luck!

Hey all,

STR property (registered AIRBNB/VRBO) in Annapolis, Maryland is for sale. Saw this listing come across my desk figured I'd share incase anyone is interested:

Gross income for 2021 was $62,588

NOI for 2021 was $25,723

Market Value/Asking Price is $1,100,000 (down from $1,275,000)

Cap Rate: 2%

DOM: 63

Homeowner manages themselves according to the listing agent. She sent me their expense sheet and I think a lot of expenses could be cut down and the unit could be rented more efficiently.

Shoot me a message if interested and I can get you some more info

.

 This is great insight! 
There is a lot of information about renting assets to other companies you own circling social media, specifically Tik-Tok from not so reputable people who claim they know what they are doing. I've always wondered about the complications of doing such a thing. 

 I would try to find an agent who's willing to give you access to a portal for Pittsburgh. 

I would offer but the MLS I belong does does not have an agreement with Pittsburgh. I have access to almost everything else in PA so if there are other areas you're interested in I can try to help you out.

 Real Estate is a #'s game in every aspect. I would pick one area and run the #'s until there are no more options. Then pick another area and do the same. Just keep plugging and chugging #'s until you find a spot that seems good for you. Don't focus too much on trying to hit the jackpot. 

Do you have access to MLS?

 9/10 times they are pulling information from public records and previous sales which is why there are sometimes discrepancies in the pricing, square footage, lot size, etc. 

I've never used propstream, batch leads, or deal machine but I'd imagine that is what they are doing.

I know HomeSnap works similarly, where if I take a picture of a property, it uses it's software to take my GPS coordinates, search public records and match the public records address with MLS and then because I'm a Realtor with access to MLS I can see the actual listing data if it is a listing, or if it's off market it simply says off market and just reports the information from the last sale/public records.

Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, Realtor.com all do the same thing. 

 I'd look into your local laws as @Kevin Sobilo mentioned and make sure you won't violate anything by doing so. 

They also sell devices you can install to track consumption/usage of things like water. Maybe have a wifi enabled smart device installed where the main water supply splits to their unit to track their water usage? 

I think there is also a wifi enabled device you can install into the breaker box that will track electrical usage as well.

May add a little bit of work each month to keep track but could end up saving your business a ton of $ and will enable you to give fair utility charges. 

Just some food for thought.