All Forum Posts by: Mike R.

I plan on holding both of these properties long term. Not looking to flip- I made good money in year 1 on the first property so would like to expand out to 2 and see how that goes.

House is worth about $225k or so right now and is 100% paid off. 

I  make enough income on the one house to easily cover the new loan- so 2 incomes from the original and the new one would be no problem at all. 

Thanks- who would be the best person to talk to about options? Someone at a local bank? Or hire a real estate finance type person? 

Last year in April I bought an income property cabin in Big Bear Lake, Ca. I paid cash so I own it outright. It has been doing very well in rentals so I want to buy a 2nd one. 

I can't pay all cash this time- so I was thinking of taking out a Home Equity Line of Credit against the first house. Would be the best way to get another $100k or so to buy the new house with? 

If so- is there a good place to start? Just go to my bank? I have a Credit Union but there's is a variable interest rate over 30 years (No penalties for early payback- which is great) but I don't like the idea of a variable rate. 

Would love to hear thoughts on HELOC as well as any other thoughts on taking out a $100k loan (I will pay around $75-$125k cash)

Since my first Big Bear cabin is going so well- I am looking to start a little vacation rental company. I'm trying to come up with a good name as well as wondering- do I need a separate LLC for this company? I already have an LLC for my production company- so it's totally unrelated. I'm guessing yes, but it's $800 a year to form an LLC in California so hoping to avoid that

My dad lives in Florida and does work with me- could I set up the LLC there for much cheaper--- Or because the homes are in California- I shouldn't mess with that?

Thanks Michelle! Yep really important to be flexible on rates. I'm around $289 weekends and $200 weekday fur ski season in a 3+1 seems to be working. 

As far as foreclosure, that was my hope when I looked last spring, couldn't find anything worthwhile. I think those days are gone. I did get a very good deal as I did a 10 day escrow and it was a bank trust sale. 1 day after closing I differed $30k more than I paid. But I wasn't looking to flip. I got very lucky with my purchase. 

I kind of do this- I have a place in Big Bear- I go up when it's not rented out. I manage the property myself so I save the 30-40% management fees and because I am the manager- I can give it all the attention it needs to be sure it's rented out as much as I want. 

I was not joking I'd love to do this for another client or 2. Would love to discuss. 

I have a few things in place to avoid trashing: I won't rent to under 25. I market it as a non party place even going so far as saying "My neighbors are all locals, if you party, they will call the police, there are plenty of other party houses in Big Bear to rent- this isn't one of them, but I can certainly tell you where they are" I really market it as more of a nice upscale place. I avoided what many do by throwing in as many beds / bunk beds into a room as I could. Sure, I could rent it out for more money by doing that, but at what cost? 

 I also was sure to get laminate hard wood floors, not carpets which is important to me as it is very dog friendly as I work with lots of animal rescues on the side. So far one group of under 25 year olds managed to sneak by and did have a huge party. Nothing too bad just a broken coffee pot and lots of beer bottles left behind. 

Uggg so sorry for the self correcting phone mistakes. I'll be sure to double check before hitting reply

Agree. It's competitive. I check vrbo hourly to see what is renting, what isn't and why. If you think you can list it and get rich, you are in for a surprise. I love the challenge and am sure I'll have dry times to go along with these good times. For all I know I'm having beginners luck and will get nothing next year. Both my realtor and cleaning service are shocked to see it rent out so much and a few times the cleaning crew couldn't keep up with the back to backs (I've been 98% capacity since November) 

Like I  said, I'm having fun with it. I'm not just an investor looking for a return, first and foremost I'm a proud owner who loves my place and loves the area. I go up at least twice a month as I enjoy it so much. I thought I'd have buyers remorse as this is the first property in every owned but I love Big Bear so much, even if I didn't make money is be very happy with my purchase.