All Forum Posts by: Nicholas Lamarre

Quote from @Khari F.:

@Nicholas Lamarre

How did you finance the rehab? 

For the rehab I borrowed from my 401K. Took me 12-13 months to pay myself back. I'm sure there are smarter ways. This is just my third deal.

Quote from @Sergio Orjuela:

How was the process for getting the permits to build convert the living space to the bedroom? 

Q2. Permit process.... ugly. With the covid restrictions at the time I explained my project through a microphone and submitted some paper work in a separate room from the person I was speaking to. We ended up getting a "CA" Cert of appropriateness. Which didn't make sense because this property isn't in a historic district. It was the wild west because the local government was incapable of operating properly at the time since there was so much turnover in that office with the pandemic madness. My friend said the same thing about working with the city of Austin. I can give you full details if you DM.

Quote from @Mo Karim:

Nice work @Nicholas Lamarre. Who did you use for the reno?

Q1. I worked with family friend Edwin with GEM Construction. DM if you want phone number.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Dallas.

Purchase price: $360,000
Cash invested: $135,000

Side by side duplex built in 1959. Brick pier and beam structure. One unit larger than the other. Both 2/1 layout with a detached 2 car garage as well as a 2 car carport. Renovation and value add is now complete. Larger unit is now a 3/2. We made the most of the "second living room" space. Full electrical, HVAC, & plumbing upgrades throughout.

How did you add value to the deal?

Added bedroom, bathroom and walk-in closet to the larger unit.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Lucia Rushton

Correct sir, total pro. Super hard worker. 

Originally posted by @Michael H.:

Congrats! What will the numbers look like once you rent both sides out?

 Payment with escrow is $1825. Small unit will be set at $1200 (just shy below average for a 2/1 in 75218 zip). Larger unit will take a couple months to set up, but expecting at least $1500 when done. It’ll be a 2/2 with way more sqft with exclusive access to a 2 car garage. Still analyzing if adding a third bedroom makes sense with the layout.  We’ll see what the realtor thinks when they see it done prior to marketing. Should be a conservative $875 positive cashflow for this deal starting in July. No home run given the reno costs anticipated to be north of 40k. Almost half of that is electrical and HVAC😕. It’ll all pan out in the long run.

Thanks for the kind words y’all. Pulling off Dallas is getting tougher and tougher. Willing to consider distance investing after the intensity and expense of the sky high DFW market.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $360,000
Cash invested: $45,000

Side by side duplex built in 1959. Brick pier and beam structure. On unit larger than the other. Both 2/1 layout with a detached 2 car garage as well as a 2 car carport. Lots of work to be done on this. Need to move tenant from the big unit to the smaller one. Then renovate larger unit 1240 sqft and make it at least a 2/2. Shooting to make it a 3/2 before I finish my 12 month stay for finance reasons.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Wanting to expand upon and replicate the success of the first duplex. I went with the same generation structure as the last one.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS, normal process through realtor. Retail price, but the market was crazy hot, so was fortunate to close it.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan. 25% personal home loan. Opted to pay more down to make payment lower.

How did you add value to the deal?

Currently working on updating electrical, HVAC for both units. Larger unit will get a near complete overhaul. Will add additional bathroom for sure. Potentially a 3rd bedroom.

What was the outcome?

In the process.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Lucia Rushton, very professional.

Last agent knew his stuff, but apparently doesn’t have the time for me given he’s got 32 doors he’s dealing with on his own. Long story short, I’m newer and looking for the next duplex or bigger in Dallas or Dallas area. 

I get that being a buyer’s agent is time consuming and can at times not fruitful. Just wondering if there are any investor/agents willing to game plan and walk some property with me? Who do you know that I can reach out to?? There has got to be at least one knowledgeable agent that niches in small multi family that is willing to walk a handful of places in Dallas.

Financing isn’t lacking in this case, but happy to obtain referrals for a lender also when is accustomed to working with investors.

Thanks in advance!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $302,000
Cash invested: $30,000

3 bd 1.5 bath mirrored duplex. Mid-century brick with two garages.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I’m trying to set myself up to get out of the corporate ladder to nowhere. Like anyone else, I want more time to be creative and help others along the way.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS and had the help of my agent Victor Aves who's also an investor to analyze the deal.

It has been sitting on the market for a while and visited it twice. After two price cuts we saw it come into a price range that made sense so we put an offer. We also got an opportunity to speak with the owner who was also an agent before closing in person! After getting HVAC and a roof thrown in the deal with a final price cut we closed. The interior needed significant work and electrical was all out of date so, had to sink 30k additional into the deal.

How did you finance this deal?

I partnered 50/50 with my parent and we did a conventional loan that was investor grade. Meaning 25% down. Steep, but we’ve got loads of equity now.

How did you add value to the deal?

Got set up with a good contractor who was flexible. I paid nothing upfront and he was cool with me doing the demo myself and buying most all of the supplies and controlling those costs. Pretty much just paid for labor only for his crew.

What was the outcome?

The ok condition side was already rented. Under market, but we’ll work that up progressively since the renter really wants to stay and does not want or need any upgrades. The other side got a full overhaul and is rented at full market and makes the deal cash flow positive.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned that I can actually pull this off. More importantly, putting a deal under contract is when you can really see what’s going on and allows for a lot more give-and-take that I could have imagined. Investment property contract period is different then when I bought my single family home.

Challenges is dealing with the fear of missing something big.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Victor Aves is knowledgeable and has the gravitas to really help in a negotiation, but looking for someone who is interested in helping me achieve my goals. He’s a bit busy and spends most of his time managing his own portfolio.
Caliber home loans was a very professional and capable group. I’d recommend Christian Johnson.