All Forum Posts by: Rachel Feng

Hi Lisa, thanks for laying out all these obstacles. That totally makes sense. So it does seem like it is not so much about how much work I am willing to put into and how much challenge I am willing to face, it just does not make too much sense for me at this moment when we have so much supply shortage, from materials to labor. 

Hi Bob, thanks for your advice. Every pro also starts from "no idea what to pay, how to do it etc". I get your point that the most sensible route is to find someone to partner with for something that needs extensive work. 

Thank you, Todd! I was trying to crowdsource here in the forum as well! Also figured some other newbie out there would have similar questions. 

You are definitely right about finding the opportunities. I will keep looking for that for sure, either in the form of househacking or flipping. 

Regarding to "IMHO, the "safer" play on that property would be to work with a local credit union or bank to discuss owner-occupied duplex loan products. If you could use a loan like that to acquire a property that needs substantial work you could then manage the work over time without fear of holding costs or "profit"."

That was the main reason I wanted to find some place with minor work so that I can househack at the same time. However, I'm not sure I can pull off 35 Trapelo this way. That place did not have any pictures, so I am guessing it is not move-in ready and probably need substantial work, which might be better to be vacant while being flipped? Or did you mean something else? 

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts!

If there is any good book out there about the process of flipping a house (through contractors) and converting it to condo, I would appreciate any recommendation! 

Hi, 

I was originally trying to buy a two-family in a good school district to househack, but the market is too hot now that I do not feel like overpaying those move-in condition properties. Right now I'm exploring the possibility of buying a property that needs more work, flipping it and then converting it to condo. End goal is to sell one of them and occupy the other. To make things easier, let's just use these following two properties currently in the market as an example:

80 Upland Rd, Belmont, MA 02478

35 Trapelo Rd, Belmont, MA 02178

What I am most nervous about is the holding cost. One month of delay would mean another $5000 cost, easily eating in the profit. I'm sure contractors are busy now since market is so hot, so is it possible for me (who does not have any contractor network) to find contractors who can get work done on time, with quality? Other than agents' recommendations, where else can I try to find good contractors? Should I hire a general contractor and let him deal with subcontractors? 

I have not talked to a local bank about construction loans yet, so I am not sure whether it is a cheaper way to do rather than use my own reserves? (assuming I can use the reserves to invest in the stock market instead)

For the properties above, what would be some potential risks to get it done on time? How long is the turnaround for condo conversion application in Belmont or Newton? Are there anything else that I need to keep in mind as a new investor? 

I guess just to prepare for the worst, what could be the potential worst outcome for a new investor to take on a project like this? 

Any insights would be really appreciated!!

If you would like to purchase the house as a primary home first (so that you can get a lower rate on the mortgage or putting less down) and then rent it out later (it sounded like that was what you did with the first rental?), then I do not think it would be a good idea to go by LLC. With LLC, you would get investment property rate and need to pay higher down payment for a mortgage.

Some top benefits of LLC are limited personal liability and easier to separate business expenses for tax filing purposes, to name a few. But in my opinion, if you just start out, particularly, if you get the mortgage through primary residence, the costs of LLC outweigh the benefits.

PS, I am not an accountant. Just share my understanding. 

Appreciate this information. I will check it out and hopefully I can attend. Thank you!

Thank you for your kind words, Tim!

Hi everyone,

I'm very new to this biggerpockets and sort of new to real estate investing (I currently have one SFH rental in PA). I am planning to purchase a two-family in Newton/Belmont/Waltham south side area, one unit as primary and the other unit for renting. My plan is to upgrade it and eventually convert it to a condo.

My question is how I can find investor-friendly realtors in Boston area, who I can build relationship with and can potentially lead me to future deals. I was also hoping to work with an agent who has some basic knowledge in condo conversions as well. 

Any opinions on waltham south side vs newton for condo conversion would be appreciated as well. 

Thank you in advance!

I know a lot of my friends use agents who can offer some credit/rebate at closings (for house value over $800k). For example, for a house value around $900k, the buyers would be able to get rebate of 1% of the value from their buyer agent at closing. The buyer agent still gets paid for 1-1.5%. I have worked with an agent in the past and would like to continue working with her for purchasing the next house. Is it ok to ask her to extend 1% rebate? Am I advised to not do that, instead of focusing on building a relationship with an agent and make sure she is well paid?