All Forum Posts by: Philip Hy

In my leases I tell them that I'm going to charge them $3 for Cozy's express pay feature. Never had any pushback from tenants. So if the rent is $1,000. In Cozy, I set it up for $1,003.

Erik, thanks for the feedback, I'll reach out to Joseph to see what amounts he's looking for.

Hi everyone, I'm interested in becoming a private lender to those flipping houses in the DFW area. Ideally, the loan would come with an equity position so that if the flip does well, I would get an increased return. Has anyone done this if the Dallas Fort Worth area? Any tips not to lose my shirt?

@Jim Kennedy

You make a great point about not knowing who paid what if everything goes into the same bucket (one checking account). We've been using an online company called Cozy and we make everyone pay through that site and that helps us track which property's rent has successfully been made. However, I see your point and hopefully our system holds up once we scale up.

I also complete agree with your point about protecting cash! My understanding of LOCs is that you need to have more significant equity in order to get a LOC (I assume you meant HELOC). Since the properties are so new, there's not much equity there to borrow against.

If you don't mind, I'll PM you because we're looking for a good investment/BP minded accountant.

Philip

@Jim Kennedy @Natalie Kolodij Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding Jim's method of acquiring future properties, this is a method that we've given serious thought once we run out of savings for deposits on conventional loans.

Jim, do all your transactions go through a business checking account? I've avoided using my business checking account for rent income and mortgage payments, because I thought lenders want to see those transactions in your personal bank statements to calculate and verify your debt to income ratio.

Bryant Schur I've asked a lot of people but not getting any clear answers. These questions are keeping me up at night! 1.) My wife and I want to maximize number of conventional loans. We heard if lenders see that we file taxes together, lenders will only give us a maximum of 8 or 9 loans. However, if we file separately we can get 18-19 loans. Has anyone else heard this? How do you file? 2.) Another question broadly about debt to income ratio and LLC protection. We have an LLC and a business savings account for that LLC. Ideally we'd have that business savings account handle all the rental income and mortgage payments (I read that if an LLC bank account doesn't handle all expenses and income, we could lose the protection of an LLC). But if we do, next time we want to get a loan under one of our personal names, won't it look like our debt to income is too high to get a loan? Lenders will ask to see our banks statements and but won't see the rent and mortgage transactions coming in and out. Can anyone suggest an alternative setup? Sorry for the lengthy post, but dying for some clarity on these issues.

I've asked a lot of people but not getting any clear answers. These questions are keeping me up at night! 1.) My wife and I want to maximize number of conventional loans. We heard if lenders see that we file taxes together, lenders will only give us a maximum of 8 or 9 loans. However, if we file separately we can get 18-19 loans. Has anyone else heard this? How do you file? 2.) Another question broadly about debt to income ratio and LLC protection. We have an LLC and a business savings account for that LLC. Ideally we'd have that business savings account handle all the rental income and mortgage payments (I read that if an LLC bank account doesn't handle all expenses and income, we could lose the protection of an LLC). But if we do, next time we want to get a loan under one of our personal names, won't it look like our debt to income is too high to get a loan? Lenders will ask to see our banks statements and but won't see the rent and mortgage transactions coming in and out. Can anyone suggest an alternative setup? Sorry for the lengthy post, but dying for some clarity on these issues.

@Steve Swanson I've really been wondering if other landlords are doing these little preventative maintenance items. I rarely hear people talk about it, so I assume it's easier for them just to replace things when they break. I've only heard one other person in the forums talk about replacing anode rods, flushing water heaters. And then there's servicing A/C units, etc. Are investors doing these items?

@David Patterson I'm in a pretty similar situation. Did you ever find an accountant that you really like working with?

@Charles Worth I think you hit a lot of good points and I agree with everything you said. I may be too quick to buy. DFW real estate is on fire (strong fundamentals, TONS of new companies moving here, and new house starts not keeping up with people moving here), and low interest rates. I'm admit I'm trying to buy quickly. The reason this thread started is because I'm rethinking how to get more cash flow.

My next step is how to do better on the acquisition end. Maybe mailing is the answer. Is it really as easy as just mailing postcards saying "I want to buy your property, call XXX"?