All Forum Posts by: Paul Wachtler

HI Helen,

I think you're in a great position to partner with someone. There are plenty of investors with good credit and income history but not enough for a down payment. They could take out the mortgage, you could supply the down payment, and you'd go from there. 

The key is finding a great deal. If you find a great deal you'll have no shortage of people that want to partner with you. 

Best, 

Paul

Congrats Cory!  Now that you have your first property, what's next?  Are you planning to stick with multifamily homes?  

Hi Bryan,

Just make sure that the numbers make sense to split it back out.  While the sfh home rents may be higher you'd be getting two rents for the duplex as opposed to one - and there's all the work you'd have to do to turn it into a sfh.

Check out the BP Money podcast episode 100 with Brandon Turner.  Towards the end they ask him one money mistake that he regretted and it was actually when he took a duplex and converted it into a sfh to flip.  He ended up breaking even on the flip and said that he would've made more if he kept it as a duplex.

Best,

Paul

Hi Drew,

I think adding a personal touch to the offer letter can help.  Here are some additional tips:

https://smartasset.com/mortgage/7-tips-for-writing-the-perfect-real-estate-offer-letter

You want to make the seller feel like selling the house to you is the right outcome for them.  Anything personal/specific you can add to that end will likely help with that outcome.

Best,

Paul

Hi Kirdare, it'll be hard to get a loan yourself but a partnership is always an option. If you find a great deal it's a matter of finding a partner who can put down a down payment or get the mortgage under their name. You may be able to qualify for an FHA loan yourself but the terms aren't great since there are a lot of fees built in:

https://www.investopedia.com/t...

Brandon Turners book on investing with low or no money down might be helpful for you. 

Also, as inspiration I highly recommend you listen to the BP Money podcast episode 100 with Brandon Turner. Brandon goes through the awful money mistakes he made early on and how he got out of them. You have plenty of time on your side to turn things around so get a plan in place and get moving! 

Best, 

Paul

Welcome @Tyler Johnson!  I don't live in New Orleans but still wanted to welcome you to the BP community.  Why don't you share a little about what type of real estate investing you're looking to do and what you've experienced so far.

Best,

Paul

Hi Ken,

If you find the right deal you'll have an easier time finding the money.  If you find a great deal, I'd recommend finding a partner to put down the downpayment - you could figure out the profit split but since you have the great deal there's likely investors who wouldn't mind putting down money but don't want to do the work to find deals. If you find people like that, have a nice presentation put together for them so you can show them why they should invest the down payment amount with you.

Best,

Paul

Hi Gabe, 

As Brendan Turner says if the deal's good enough the money will come.  If you want to finance with little or no money the two options I'd recommend would be looking into a hard money lender who will let you put not much down - although I'd only want to go this route if you could refinance the property after rehabbing it to pull your initial investment back out.  Another option would be to find a partner to put down the downpayment - you could figure out the profit split but since you have the great deal there's likely investors who wouldn't mind putting down money but don't want to do the work to find deals.  If you find people like that, have a nice presentation put together for them so you can show them why they should invest the down payment amount with you.

Best,

Paul

Hi Andrew,

Any equity they pull out of the property in a loan or HELOC will have to be repaid and will therefore reduce their cash flow amount. Will it still have positive cash flow with the monthly payments they'd have to make towards the equity loan? If not, a possible option would be for them to do a seller financed sale - that way they'd still be getting monthly income, plus interest, for as long as the buyer is paying off the property. They'd be getting slightly more cash flow than they are now and it'd last for awhile. It's just a thought but definitely do the math to see how they'd be affected by having to pay back an equity loan if they go that route.

Best,

Paul

Hi Allan,

Being there for your kids is so important.  While you absolutely need to provide for them financially, if you do that well but are never around for them they'll remember that more when they grow up.  

With the property that's negative cash flowing right now, is it underwater or could you sell it for a profit?  If you could sell for a profit then as soon as the tenant's lease is up I would not renew them and sell it.

For future properties, you may want to consider the BRRRR strategy. This will let you accumulate more properties, faster, and let you pull out your initial cash investment. Check out some of the BiggerPockets BRRRR videos on Youtube and David Greene's BRRRR book too.

Best,

Paul