All Forum Posts by: Noah Barba

Hey BP, just a quick question: What kind of expenses are needed to be paid in cash when purchasing a property? I know that there is the downpayment and closing costs (which include lender and third party fees). Are there any other expenses to note? I've read something about prepaid expenses, but I'm sort of lost in all the real estate lingo. A quick explanation of all the cash expenses need at closing would be so helpful. Thanks so much for your time!

Anyone else realize that Tyler approached Will like Jonah hill approached DiCaprio in wolf of Wall Street? Hope I’m not the only one

Hey BiggerPockets friends,

I'm looking at a triplex and am trying to estimate my monthly carrying costs for the property. I know my taxes, insurance, mgt payment, and other items like maintenance, cap x and vacancy. However, I have a question about utilities.

I understand the basics of figuring out your utilities estimates (simply calling the provider and asking), however a realization popped into my mind and my question is this: if I'm having my tenants pay ALL utilities, do I need to factor utility expenses into my monthly costs? BiggerPockets has always taught me (podcasts, webinars, etc) that I need to bake these into the cake, but if I'm not the one paying them, why would I factor them into my analysis? Am I right in my thinking? A clarification would be very helpful in me finally finding my carrying costs for ANY property. Thanks so much BiggerPockets community!

Hey guys, pretty basic question here: should I include utilities in the rent? Not only should I do it, but does the rent someone sees listed on Zillow, realtor, etc. include the utilities? 

When estimating a property I've learned to sum up all the monthly expenses in order to find if "market rent" for the area would leave enough cash flow in the deal. Since that is how I estimate a property, wouldn't I include the utilities in the listed rent? Thanks to anyone who can help me straighten this out in my head!

@Colleen F.

Thanks Colleen. I have a question regarding the different sheens of the drywall to plaster. If it comes down to it, can I simply patch everything with drywall/drywall compound and then apply a thin plaster veneer finish in order to make the patch blend with the rest of the wall? 

Hey guys, the market that I'm focusing on (metro Detroit, MI), is full of houses that have either fully plaster walls or walls that have a plaster veneer on them. I plan on doing a lot of the cosmetic renovations myself (drywall, cabinets, flooring, etc) as I've been in the trades for a couple of years now. My question is very broad, so it's really a very open ended space for comment on: is plaster a good idea for something I should tackle, or should I outsource it?

I'm pretty detail-oriented and feel like I could do a good job at plastering patches or even skim coating a wall. I've been loading up on videos on youtube and have been learning a fair amount. But alas, I am a newbie, and there are many questions I have like

• - does type of plaster play a big role? (do I have to learn all the different categories?)
• - how similar is plaster to using drywall compound?
• - can you sand or can you only wet trowel
• - could I use drywall compound to patch a plaster wall?

Whatever you guys have to offer me I would love to hear! I want to be able to do this area of renovation myself but know that you can't do everything. Thanks for taking the time to respond if you choose too!

Hey BP Community,

I and two of my close friends are looking to buy a duplex. We're looking for a 6 bd 2 ba where we can live in one half and rent the other half out, hoping that this will make our monthly payment very low. This is also our first step into real estate investing, as we are all due to move out from our parents houses soon and need to find a new place to live anyways. I'm currently looking into mortgage shopping and am doing a lot of research into the topic, and I then hit a thought that has caused me to hesitate: should we all put our names on the mortgage, thereby legally spreading exposure and allowing us to combine our resources (cash reserves, credit scores, etc.) or should one of us apply for the mortgage. 

Also, if we all take mortgage ownership, do we get pre-approved together? How would that process look?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond, this one has been (stupidly) causing me a mental roadblock and preventing me from taking action steps.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why wouldn't the cash investor simply put an offer down himself. This sounds like a wholesale, but since the cash investor was buying this for his parents, why would he treat this like an investment and use you as the middle man? Forgive me if I'm missing something

Hey Biggerpockets community, 

I am currently working on figuring out financing options for my first potential rental property purchase. I'm 20 years old and am in college, so money is not something I have much of. For that reason, I'm looking into private money, HUD sponsored financing, etc. I've learned of the 203k loan before, and I know that one of the requirements is that you have a licensed and insured contractor estimate your costs and do the project for you. HOWEVER, I plan on starting off doing most of my rehab work as I have been in the renovations field for a little over two years now. This causes a dilemma, as I am not currently a licensed and insured builder (although I plan to be in the future).

My question then is: since I am friends with multiple licensed and insured contractors through work, should/can I use them as my contractor in the eyes of HUD, all the while doing the work myself? Although this would be a favor, I understand that the paperwork is a burden along with the potential liability that would be tied to my work, so I would make sure to pay my "contractor" for doing this for me. After all, they would be providing me a service.

Is this a potential mess and bad idea? Or could this be an efficient use of creative financing/thinking? Thanks for reading and anyone who can help me understand!

P.S. I am looking for a duplex, so this will be owner-occupied

Hey guys, since I haven't even owned my own home yet, I'm completely novice to the expenses that one would incur while owning a property. Through reading, I've learned most of them

e.i. mortgage payment, taxes, utilities, insurance, HOA fees, cap x and maintenance savings, etc.

My question is 

a) are there any I'm missing and/or many people forget about?

b) how to estimate for these? For example, do I need to contact the municipal offices of the city I'm buying in in order to estimate taxes and utilities? Should I go get a quote from an insurance agent for the insurance? 

Currently trying to take action steps in being confident in my numbers and this is a big chunk of it for me.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes time to read and reply!