All Forum Posts by: Mike Trzaska

@Lee Ripma Sorry for asking this a year after your reply, but could you elaborate on why you don't use Zillow syndication services in TenantCloud? I'm listing my first rental via Tenantcloud and was planning to use the syndication service.

I'm planning to use Calendly to schedule my showings so that I am not coordinating with multiple people over the phone, and the candidates just schedule themselves. Calendly also allows you to require questions to be answered before scheduling a time, which I will use for pre-screening for those candidates not calling me directly.

I'm newer so was curious if anyone else was doing something similar.

@James Wise that's what I keep telling myself. I feel good about it so far.

I see a lot of your signs around the neighborhood :) 

@Todd Rasmussen super helpful. I just heard about the strategy of including rehab costs in the HUB and escrowing them on the podcast. Doing some more due diligence now on that strategy now and simultaneously working my way down a lender call list to find a non-confirming lender I can start to build a relationship with from deal #1.

Wanted to circle back as I found this article that answers most of the questions I had. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/beginners-guide-brrrr-financing-opm

@George Fischer@George Fischer

@George Fischer

@George Fischer So the short term financing is in the form of a conventional loan, then you just do a cash out refinance once rehab is complete?

I am assuming the profit $ is less because of the additional closing and carrying costs associated with the conventional loan. 

Makes sense @Michael Magno. I actually live in Cleveland Heights. Looked briefly for a rental there, but the taxes kill the cash flow. Happy to sync up anytime, just send me a DM.

I'm underway on my first BRRRR deal which I initially financed with my own hard-earned and diligently saved capital. I want to have 5 units by the end of this year, but the process seems so linear. Purchase> Renovate> Wait 6 Months to Refi>Repeat. I know there are other avenues to fund the initial purchase and renovation of a BRRRR investment such as hard money and private money, but would like to hear alternative ways to fund the purchase and rehab of a BRRRR and pros/cons. I know others have scaled way quicker than what I am planning without taking private or hard money.

@Michael Magno any specific areas you invest in? Happy to chat anytime.

Thanks @Account Closed it was just time to jump in. How are things going for you?

I've been lurking on these forums and consuming all the great resources BiggerPockets has to offer for over five years. I'm happy to say that I am well underway on my first BRRRR deal on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. I closed on 1/15 and am into a pretty significant renovation where I will be renovating a bath, adding a bath, updating electrical, and cleaning up the exterior. Although it has been a long-time coming, and I wish I would have jumped in the game earlier I am excited to finally be in. For me a few things were the impetus for jumping in:

1. Mindset Shift - I stopped looking for the perfect deal (which is hard to find on the MLS) and looked for a deal that worked for me. My criteria was something that cash-flowed at least $150 net income after refinance, was not above my weight class (no commercial), and would give me an opportunity to learn things to apply to my next deal.

2. Flexibility - I was all about small (2-4 unit) multi-family for a while, but the property I bought was a single family home from an estate.

3. Cashed out on Primary Residence - Even if you don't get in the game by house-hacking you can still use your primary residence as an equity boost. My wife and I bought and renovated a home in an up and coming area that we were able to sell and move into a larger home for significantly less. One of the reasons we did this was so I could buy a rental property, so selling our first home made that goal written in ink.

Here are a couple random things I have learned thus far in my BRRRR:

- You can't just skim coat plaster walls that are crumbling, glad I had my contractor walk through with me and renegotiate.

- Picking out 50 2x4's 30 minutes before closing makes you sweat. Don't do this - Get a pro account at HD, order your materials through the desk or online and have everything delivered.

I hope this helps someone who has been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the perfect time to jump in. As my wife told me before we got engaged "there is no perfect time", not surprisingly it took over 5 years for me to pop the questions (theme?)