All Forum Posts by: Mitchell Van Overloop

My wife and I own a nice cash flowing duplex and are currently in a live in flip. We are looking at buying a wedding barn venue that has had a steady flow of around 25 weddings the last 5 years. Currently the barn pulls in $4,000 per wedding. The property comes with 5 acres and a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom house and has an estimated value at $400,000 from 4 different realtors opinions. The seller wants another $150,000 for the business which I see as a pretty reasonable price considering the income the property would turn over every year. A big problem with this however is that the mortgage company will only lend on the $400,000 property value which still leaves $150,000 on the table. 

My question is whether or not we should sell our duplex and house in order to make the deal work. The duplex has over $85,000 in equity and the house has around $90,000 in equity which would cover our down payment as well as the cash needed for the business purchase. I am wondering though if we can keep the duplex somehow by getting private money and what that would look like. The duplex rents for $1,000 and $1075 and the mortgage payment is $1050 per month. What do you all think would be the better route to go?

Awesome sounds good! Give me a shout next time you're back in the area.

Would love to meet up with any or all of you guys! I am a little on the smaller side with one flip and a duplex, but am looking to getting into more deals. Do any of you guys know of a bigger pockets group in the area to connect with that they always talk about on the podcasts? Looking to find private/hard money for some more deals.

Keep going after it, I live in Grand Rapids too and the market is ridiculous! That being said, there are still deals out there, it just takes a little more effort to find them. Are you working with a realtor? Because my realtor has helped get me the last two places before they are on the market just through his contacts he has throughout the years - and that might be an option for you in this area. Just don't make your first deal a huge stretch where the numbers don't work because that's how the market is right now - if you're going to pay more, make sure the rent supports it.

We used snap together vinyl planking that we purchased through a local flooring company here in Michigan. I don't know what the price range would be for you guys on the West Coast, but we had a price range of $1.25-$3.50 per square foot. We chose something a little more expensive since it was a thicker material - a little less than the height of wood flooring in terms of thickness and it was around $2.50 per square foot. We were told that the product had a commercial grade warranty for 10 years and 15 years for residential. We've only had the product for 3 years now, so I can't give you a true eval on how long it has lasted for us, but so far, it's held up really well and we've had 1 turnover of tenants and I am not able to see any scratches in the flooring. 

I completely agree with @JD Martin. We have put a higher quality vinyl planking in our units and the flooring is water proof and very scratch resistant. One of the best investments for pet friendly rentals because you're not replacing the carpet every 2-3 years.

This is such a good thread!! Awesome info for new and experienced investors alike. Being a fairly new investor, you tend to think it will always work out and the rent will always be coming in. In turn, you end up not preparing yourself for when the economy tanks again and you end up being one of the negative statistics everyone hears about, but never think could happen to them. Thank you @Jay Hinrichs for your posts on how the market affected rental income.

@Jeremiah Jordan Yea it took a little while to convince her, but once we got in there and fixed them all up, she's totally onboard and wants to live in duplexes for 5 more years to get thiings rolling :)

@Lauren Baker Nice work! It's a lot of fun to make improvements and always a good skill in the real estate market! Keep it up and you'll have a deal in no time.

Awesome thanks guys! And I will keep you mind @Jake Thomas. It's always good to have contacts to bring in more opportunities!