All Forum Posts by: Scott Hollister

@Tom H.

Are you asking for money or looking for creative ways to get money? 

If its the second,

• If its a private loan, then the lender must have trust with the borrower, there is really no good recourse unless that person files a lien on the property, assuming youre borrowing for a property. 
• I utilized a HELOC at first, partnering it with Hard Money, to create more capital with flipping and BRRRR.
• Then once I built a track record, we moved to private money, secured in first position. There are benefits to both private and hard money lenders.  
• Another good source of capital is a Business Line of Credit. These seem to be getting easier these days, around here the LLC has to be opened/seasoned for a year, and it's stated income. They don't ask for tax returns or income statements.
• With those above, partnered with some other leverage, BRRRR strategy, you can do deals to infinity.

Best of luck! 

Peggy Conrad has been working in the accounting industry for the last 30 years and has been the owner of Conrad Bookkeeping Solutions since 2001. She is a Quickbooks ProAdvisor and thoroughly enjoys helping others set up, maintain, and understand their bookkeeping system. She will be presenting “Bookkeeping Tips and Tricks for RE Investors” which will touch on topics ranging from setting up your system and software options to best practices for keeping receipts, and much more.

We will also host our annual Christmas Party! 

@Michael L Sakey

I just finished a 64 acre subdivision in Tolland, only created two lots, one for our dream home and the other as a rental. 

Based on my experience, 7 months from buying to selling, it was a big learning experience. Jay gives you some great advice, I can point to the right local engineer that knows current regulations(This is your best friend when it comes to land deals IMO, as well as local developers). That is the biggest hurdle at first, see what you can get conceptually get out of it, etc. From what I learned and heard from other developers, putting a road in is the biggest pain in the a$$. And from what I did on a small scale, I can tell you it will not be light on your wallet. You will have around 10-20k in soft costs before you can get approvals in place. And even then, putting a road in, bring sewer/water, or septic/well, land clearing, site development, etc. You will be well into the 6 figures. Then construction cost, for stick framing is around $150 a sq ft right now on the economy side.

Cheapest and best case, unless you bring someone on your team that has experience, is to see how much frontage you have on the road now, see how many lots you can get, and build just that. 

Hurdles:

-See what the frontage requirements are, for rear lots and normal building lots. You may be able to get more density. 

-You can subdivide your current house, but the lender may call the mortgage, when you refinance your primary, hopefully you created enough value, where you can refinance most of your capital while owning the land outright. That is what we did, then we plan to use the land as the down payment on the construction to permanent financing. So you may be able to building another house for "free".

-You may have to give away part of the land to open space, there will be the math formula in the recent regulations for enfield. Maybe 10-20% or so of land to open space.

-Check your wetlands on the area. This is the only committee that can derail your project from what I heard/learned.

Best of luck! My best opinion would be to build a few houses, or your dream house, keep the other house as a rental, and split land and sell to developer. Unless you team up with someone. I think if you built decent homes, in the 325-350k range, 4 bed/2 bath, 2500 sq ft or so, they would fly off the shelf. There seems to be a lack of inventory in the first time homebuyer range in central CT, especially new construction in the semi-affordable range. But by that time you will be 1.5 years out, so be prepared to have extra holding costs if the economy is worse or interest rates go up. 

Hello @Mack Bailey,

House hacking is the best way to start out, congrats on the journey. 

As far as getting started, I would identify the market you wish to invest in, don't count out Simsbury because it is too expensive. Let the numbers dictate the investment, pick a town you want to be in, and often times with the house hack, you can "over pay". So something that you underwrite as an investment with 25% down, may not work. But if your goal is to remove your housing bill, 3.5% down may work. It all depends on your goals. 

My advice would be to max out the loan and unit count in a really good town. Its easier to go from a 4 unit to a 3 unit then it is from a 3 to a 4 when it comes to financing the next one. 

I would also recommend finding an agent in the town you want to invest in, that has some investing experience, and possibly has worked with house hacking clients before. They will also be able to help with your underwriting, more importantly the expenses and cap ex of owning real estate in that market. It is really hard at first to understand what it costs to run a property. You often find out after owning it for a year or two, which gives you knowledge on the next one. 

I would also recommend reading The House Hacking book and J Scott's book on rehabbing, then once you purchase your property get Brandons book on managing rental properties.  

@Joseph Matta

Welcome to the site! 

Is there a reason that you are looking in Fairfield county? I'm just curious, Fairfield is a great market, financially, proximity to NY, etc. However the competition is stiff, unless you have a competitive advantage in Fairfield? I would say for your first flip try something local in your market? Just as long as the fundamentals are strong, check average days on market, what REO sales are going for, look at the quality of the houses and finishes, then back into your rehab costs to see if there is enough profit margin. (J Scott's book is amazing for that)

I remember one of my teachers saying when he runs his trending data in CT, Fairfield county is left out because it's a whole different world down there. Which is good if you can find the deals. 

In terms of finding deals/leads, Anson Youngs book is great, he does an amazing job of marketing as well. So you would come up with certain lists in the market you choose, say list source, then you would mail to say, 3 bed 2 bath minimum, has owned house for certain number of years (equity in it), and maybe its probate only, etc. What you're looking for is a motivation to sell, where you provide the solution, as-is quick sale. 

Marketing is definitely an art. It is "easier" on the MLS, but you can find deals. My best advice is look for something that no one else sees. The easy stuff will have more eyes on it (lipstick rehab), and typically emotional buyers that will overpay. Look at things that have been on market for a long time that other people may have overlooked as well.

Best of luck! 

*********** OUR MANCHESTER MEETUP WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH ***********

Our special guest speaker is Rick Bush, entrepreneur, investor, property manager, and founder of the Connecticut Association of Real Estate Investors (CAREI). He and colleague, John Souza, will be providing insights on all-things real estate investor focused. Rick and John are passionate, experienced, and have their ear to the ground on what our legislators are up to in Hartford, too, so this is sure to be an action- and information-packed meetup!

Bring your questions and an open mind to this exciting meeting with two of the shining stars in the real estate investing universe!

Attention Landlords, Flippers, Wholesalers, and Investors: Come to this month’s Manchester Meetup to hear two leading legal experts, Michael Clinton and Larry Kiel, answer your questions about eviction matters, contracts, and all things legal when it comes to buying, holding, and selling real estate.

Attorney Michael Clinton has extensive experience in all aspects of landlord-tenant matters, summary process and eviction law and has handled thousands of eviction cases. He has represented a broad array of landlords, from individuals with single-family residences to large apartment complexes, to public housing authorities and everything in between. If you own, manage or operate apartments and commercial buildings, he has the knowledge and experience to help you manage your investment successfully.

Attorney Larry Kiel has more than 30 years of experience representing home buyers, builders, developers and mortgage lenders in the negotiation and drafting of purchase and sale agreements, preparation and review of mortgage loan documentation, and has completed many thousands of purchases and sales of homes in the greater Hartford area. When disagreements arise in the context of a real estate transaction, he has the experience and resources to advise his clients on the best options available to achieve an effective and efficient solution.

@Thomas Kareeparampil what town is the flip located in? 

@Benjamin Lemieux there are plenty of great options. 

But depending on what loan you used for your 3 unit, it may limit you for the next one. Check with a local bank to see what you qualify for and what loan products are out there. 

The BRRRR strategy with hard/private money is always a solid route for low capital acquisitions.

@Christopher Fusco Who do you bank with? I always try to build relationships with local banks that I do business with. 

But @Mat O'Grady mentioned some great banks, the only two I would add that I have HELOCs with are Nutmeg Federal Credit Union (Meghan in central branch I believe) and FINEX Credit Union out of EH. 

Usually they will lend at Prime up to 80% on a primary residence, and up to 100% but there is a 2-300 basis point increase for the risk. So it might shake out to mid to high 6% range today. But I love them, each primary I've been in I get one. But just be careful getting next loan, the underwriters may use the monthly payment against your debt to income ratio even if you don't have it drawn down yet. 

I also take advantage of Business Lines of Credit, they don't ding you the monthly payment and it has come in very handy before when getting residential debt.