All Forum Posts by: Mario Cuartas

@AJ Wong Thank you for the quick reply. That is very helpful and makes sense. Thanks for the referral to Joseph. I will reach out. 

Hello Everyone, 

My Sister Just got married and with high interest rates, and high cost of homes in Utah, it’s going to be really hard for her and her family to afford buying a home. Rentals are also hard because they are so expensive . I have spoken to her at length about house hacking. And I got an idea that could help her get into a house but could also help me continue growing my investment portfolio. I just don’t know if it is possible or legal. So I would like your advice.

My idea:

My sister and I would build a fourplex together and finance it as owner occupied. Her and her husband would live in one unit and the other three units would be rented out. 

I would put all the money for the down payment and closing costs. We would both be on the loan. However, since I put all the money down, we would also come up with an agreement that I own the three rented units and she owns the unit she lives in. Her mortgage would be equal to 1/4 of the mortgage and then I would rent the other units to cover the other expenses and my 3/4 portion of the mortgage. Eventually, once the units have appreciated a bit and the mortgage has been paid down to the point we have 20% equity, we split the parcels into individual town homes and then she refinances her unit out and I refinance the three units out or sell them. 

Benefits for my sister:

- She gets into home ownership without any cash up front because I paid all the money down.

- She starts building equity on her unit rather than renting. 

Benefits for me:

- Buy 3 units with only 5% money down.

Question I have?

- Is this even possible and legal? 

- What are the down sides? 

- Have you heard of this being done before? 

Best, 

Mario Cuartas

@Andy Webb & @Kyle Mccaw, 

I currently live in Salt Lake City, Ut. We have seen incredible growth in value. Property prices are super high at the moment. It is difficult to find a duplex for under $500k. The rents are no where near as high, for a duplex at that price point each side would rent for around $1100 each. It is very difficult to Cashflow and the upfront cost to get started is significantly higher. I look out of state to grow my portfolio. In the Major Texas markets, prices are getting quiet high also. In my research, I have come to like Wichita Falls because it is a smaller Texas market, I like the appeal of the Air Force Base and the type of tenants it provides, has low unemployment, and I have seen several great deals at a price point I can afford with positive cashflow. I also travel to Texas for work regularly and Wichita Falls is in close proximity to various places I visit regularly. 

Hello Everyone, I am looking to invest in Whichita Falls, Texas. I am looking to connect with anyone that has experience investing in this city. Looking for guidance on the following: 

- Areas to avoid? 

- Community considerations? (Utilities, tenant turn over, crime, etc.)

- Recommended lenders? 

- Recommended Property Managers? 

- Recommended Contractors? 

I would appreciate any guidance anyone is able to provide.

- Mario Cuartas

@Cooper Tanquary

Have you pulled the trigger on any properties in Racine yet? I am looking to make some offers in Racine this week. I am from Utah and hoping to grow my portfolio in the Racine market. Would love to compare notes sometime. Send me a private message and we can connect.

Hello everyone, I have a house under contract in Rural Arizona. Looking to meet other investors and hear your success stories about investing in places like Superior and Globe, AZ. I am wanting to hear about the dos and donts of rural investing, how you financed the deal, and what the results were?

@Andrew Meikle

Do you enjoy juice making, from your comment is sounds like you would just buy this business because you need to make income and not because you love it. In my opinion, if your heart is in real estate and not this mobile juice bar, then I recommend you chase your real estate dream. $200k is a hefty amount of cash to get you started on your way to financial freedom.

I recommend you find and purchase a fourplex using an FHA or conventional loan. There are currently a few triplexes and fourplexes available on Oahu. If you buy up to a four unit property and live in one of the units, you could put as little as 5% down. After renting the other units you could have a very small mortgage to pay as the rest would be covered by your tenants. Then I would use the remaining funds to secure off market properties to flip or buy & hold.

If you are living for free and making money off your rentals, you could be well on your way to financial freedom. If your looking for validation on your juice bar, it may be difficult to get that on this forum as the information shared is not enough to gage if it is a good investment or not.

@Sean Thompson

I started investing in Springfield and have been working with @Dan Turkel from Keller Williams. As an investor himself, he has provided incredible value. I would highly recommend him.

I have heard some investors say that when using hard money, they make all cash offers, however they are not all cash because they are in fact using hard money financing. My realtor is telling me that we must include in the contract that it is contingent on financing because we are using hard money. This weakens our offer compared to someone claiming to have all cash.

If I am using hard money, am I legally allowed to say all cash on the offer and not make it contingent on financing? If so, and they ask for proof of funds, technically the cash is not in my bank account, so how would they view the pre-approval letter from the lender?

@Lawrence Joseph

Did you end up in investing in Wilcox? Interested to hear how it went.