All Forum Posts by: Owen Dashner

It's really impossible to give you a direct answer on your question without knowing a lot more about your plans.  It's like asking someone what you should look for in a wife.

You need to focus on what your goals are first, then take a personal inventory of your own knowledge, skills, interests, finances, available time, etc.  After that, make a business plan to execute on your goals.  This will shine a light on the areas you have gaps. Then look for a partner or partners to fill in the gaps.

I'd wait if you don't need the money back now.  The market is pretty confident the Fed is going to lower rates at least .75% before 2024 ends, which will spill over into mortgage rates.

Side note: Your closing costs seem crazy high for a refi. You should be able to shop local lenders and credit unions and get a much lower amount of cash out of pocket while still achieving your goal of 75% or even 80% LTV on a commercial note.

I didn't realize this until very recently, but BP sold again this year, hence all of the changes/advertising, etc.

I started a hard money business in 2020 with some partners.  We started with $1MM of our own capital, and have since grown to about $25MM through raising private money and utilizing bank lines of credit. Our continued challenges are always balancing the need to keep capital deployed into good projects, while simultaneously trying to not run out of lendable capital and having to say no to potential borrowers. It sounds weird, but you have to be careful how much you advertise so that you don't get a reputation for being "out of money", while at the same time networking with wealthy individuals/family offices/private equity.

It's a little different if your approach is going to be only loaning your own capital. Then I would say that the main challenge for you will be finding trustworthy, experienced operators who are going to give you repeat business and who have a track record of successful project executions. 

As Chris said above, you really need to understand values on properties regardless, so starting small in your backyard is always a safer option than going nationwide right away.

It is a great business though - congrats on getting started!

You need to contact more lenders. There are absolutely lenders out there who do 80% LTV if the deal makes sense - you just haven't contacted enough. Mix in some brokers as well to widen your net. Small town banks are usually great to work with. Try Arvest or Midwest Regional Bank out of St. Louis as well. Not sure what their current LTV's are, but worth a shot. MRB is funding a hotel conversion project in Branson for me next week (not at 80% LTV, but mine is a change of use/redevelopment). Good luck!

I'd say it depends on what you specifically want to do in real estate.  Are you looking to flip? Work for a flipper or in a construction biz so you can learn about managing projects and what rehab costs are for different jobs. Looking to learn transactional/wholesaling skills? Either get a real estate license or work for another wholesaling operation to learn the ropes. Looking to learn about rental properties and how to manage them? Work for a property management company. Looking to learn how to underwrite deals? Work at a bank or hard money firm that makes loans on the types of deals you are interested in.

Real estate investing has lots of different facets within it, so getting specific will help you achieve your goals.

I'm biased, but Omaha, NE is a solid market to invest in.

Pros: Diverse job market, low unemployment, great resilience during recessions, nice appreciation, 1% rule can be hit if you look hard enough, great economy, good schools, Midwest nice.

Cons: Extreme weather at times (hot/humid summers, tornadoes/hail, brutal cold in Jan/Feb), high insurance premiums, property taxes also really high.

Are you asking about investors who have recently done a cash-out refi? I just did 2 cash out refi's this week on properties I have owned for awhile. The small bank I used does desk appraisals up to a certain volume. These normally come in a little lower than a full appraisal, but are faster and cheaper (pro/con). They were commercial notes (5 year fixed, 20 year am) at 85% LTV. Both properties are SFR. Process was smooth and painless.

 Chantry was my elementary school LOL. I would like to look at the financials is you could email me? [email protected]

Thanks,

Owen

Malvern is my hometown, can I ask what street this property is on? $200k per door in Malvern is a big number.  What is the current rent roll? And to clarify, the units are not separately metered?