All Forum Posts by: Nicole W.

@Phu Le

My first purchase was a fixer upper 10 unit apt building. I drove around for a couple of months looking at houses, plexes and apts to see what they were going for. I found an out of town owner who was taking down their "For Sale" sign and it turned out they couldn't sell it. We borrowed the money from a family member and paid them a little higher interest to cover what they were getting through their broker (stocks/bonds/retirement etc). We took the rents from the few tenants there and used that as we went to fix up the apt. You can do it if you look a lot and ask around. You can find fixer uppers and family who would like to make more interest than they are making. I also listened to a lot of Ron LeGrand lectures (this is dating me) and books. I just followed the directions. I didn't have the money myself when I started. 

@Tanner Foy These are really wild times buying and selling real estate. Everyone involved in all ends of this are VERY busy. I was totally qualified going in for a purchase and had a hard time with the banks just due to the sheer amount of applications they are getting. Same with the real estate agents. They are so busy with putting in bids or taking them right now. I would just concentrate on what is needed first as @Bruce Lynn and @Kate Barry suggested. As you can see they are both realtors and that is what they would need and want first (you being qualified for a loan). If you qualify through your own finances (cash), a loan or borrowing from friends/family you can then borrow directly from the seller or go through an agent. So, that is your first thing to figure out...which direction to go. I have bought directly from the seller and borrowed the money from my father in law and I have done them cash out of my own funds and have also borrowed from banks. They are different routes. I read a book before buying an apt building, just following what I read. No team. Once I had it, I put together a team. Another time I used a mentor group and it came with a pretty set team with them even suggesting the banks to use. I also bought cash and found my Property Mgr who was also a realtor and she had the rest of the team. There is no set way. But you are outflowing with calls which is great. Phil Pustejovsky puts out a lot of videos and I liked something he said in regards being productive vs just being active. You have to get a product vs just being busy a lot. So, whatever gets you to a secured house is the most important issue right now. Hope this helps. 

@ Fernando Alvarado
I would totally follow up with @ Dave Foster. He is an intermediary so he is giving you the best advise. You really do need to have your ducks in a row before doing the 1031 exchange. There are very tight deadlines to meet and it is pressureful. You need to know where you are going with it and if it is even really needed. 

I don't rent to Section 8s anymore. In the area I am in you can decline which I do. I only have had poor experiences there. 

I do not like having HOAs but in the areas I bought the ones worth renting were the ones in an HOA. It's just in the lease and the tenants know ahead of time. I promote it when looking for a renter. Some actually like it. I found it absolutely no problem in finding renters.

@ Wei Xia

I totally understand. It's a bit of a crazy time. It was helpful to us to do a 1031 exchange for several reasons but I see what you are running into it. Unfortunately the loan environment for us was just too intense and lengthy. Maybe someone else who was successful on that part could help you out. We ended up ditching that idea. I wish you much success.

@ Nicholas Glatter

I messaged you. 

@ Wei Xia

I just went through a 1031 exchange. I used a great company who is very reputable and I highly recommend them: https://www.ipx1031.com/. I thought I had sellers ahead of selling my property lined up but they fell through just as I closed. I ended up getting 8 SFRs and since I had cash, the sellers were taking mine first as (1) they didn't have to wait for a loan to get approved which during this hot time can take a long time and (2) I could close faster than anyone else. I had to be very alert to know how many multiple offers some were getting and offer a bit higher. I don't see any way to not have already sold your property. No one would wait for your sale due to the hotness of the market. It was challenging but it wasn't that hard in the end. I had really researched out where I wanted to buy so I just went right there and bought them. You may want to do that homework first and then once yours sells just go there and get them identified. I didn't identify more than I bought. You don't have to make your identification list until the last day of your 45 day identification period. You can go on IPX's site and learn about the time limits you have. I was originally going to buy some new construction but due to the materials shortages for the builders my lawyer advised against it. I did find a few new construction where the buyers fell out of escrow and I was able to scoop them up (already just built or very obviously close to finishing the build. I hope this helps. 

State Farm will. Mine is not that high. Check them out. Also Markel will do umbrellas that include both personal and rental properties.

@Jay Mersfelder

I totally understand. I was only answering this for the gentleman asking as he was saying his area is very high priced. That happened to me in my area and I went out of state and it worked very well for me. Before it was out of range I knew my area better as well and was able to find something that worked here. It just got harder for the range of pricing I was willing to deal with later one when I looked elsewhere.