All Forum Posts by: Ramsey Rimkeit

Glad to read you could qualify as a first-time homebuyer because I'm looking at making my first investment but it won't be the house-hack I was initially planning so I'm looking for solutions to avoid forfeiting the first-time homebuyer qualification.

What was it about the NACA mortgage that turned you off in the end? Just the requirement to live in the property for the lifetime of the mortgage/minimum of 3 years?

Oh yeah, one more detail: I've heard that you can cancel the PMI once your LTV goes up to a certain percentage. If you were thinking of trying an FHA loan next, you might want to look into that option.

I'm attempting to improve the systems in place at the company I work for and I'd love some suggestions about various things such as:

• Accepting electronic payments (we only accept checks!)?
  
• Sending rent bills by email?
• Card systems for laundry? 
• Water billed separately? 
• Dealing with preexisting violations of rules.

I'd like to hear your feedback here or we can connect and DM each other. 

Feel free to ask me any questions you have. 

@Jonathan Steigeri totally agree. I don't use the calculators yet because I'm not actively investing yet but having those available in the app will definitely contribute positively to my decision to pay for the premium account.

Regarding refinancing/moving out, what is the best option to pay off the NACA Mortgage (not including cash)

I was thinking of buying our first MF Property with a NACA Mortgage and then use an FHA First-Time Home Buyer Mortgage (one mortgage in my name, the second in my wife's name) for the second property.

Motivation: Buy more properties sooner, lower downpayments and interest rates. 

Is it realistic to qualify for 3 mortgages in a time period of 2-4 years?

Step 1: buy 4-Plex with NACA Mortgage
Step 2: save for FHA Down Payment (We're already doing this)
Step 3: Refi 4-Plex - pay off NACA Mortgage
Step 4: buy second 4-Plex with FHA - new primary residence
Step 5: save for third property down payment (or private and hard money) 
Step 6: Buy third multi-family property (first "investment" property)

 

A RE Marketing Podcast would be awesome.
Also, a podcast for Real Estate Agents would be great too. 

More content for beginners and more examples of mistakes.

I know there's already a lot available, especially in the forums, but when it comes to the podcast, I feel like most of the guests are quite successful already. They're definitely inspirational but prefer to hear about people who are closer to the beginning of their investment career. 

I really enjoyed the episode with guests confessing their mistakes. I also loved the Q&A episode.

I would love to see episodes on more specific topics, kind of like a course series. (Or actually offer courses?)

Examples:

An episode on all the different mortgage types, their advantages, disadvantages and limitations. Is a NACA mortgage good for investors? Can a First-Time Home Buyer mortgage be used once per spouse?

An episode covering all the different methods people find off-market deals.

Etc.

@Beliria Sims I don't believe the questions are as important as the opportunity to spend a few moments getting an impression from the person. Usually the information you get is not the direct answer to the questions you ask but in the information they reveal when you let them speak for a while.

It's always great to ask about someone's motivation for moving. How urgent is it? Did they live with a slumlord (or is that just the story they tell)?  How serious are they about moving?
Are they going to reveal something about their attitude towards rules and authority figures? Tenants can have very valid complaints but there are some who complain about everything or get defensive when asked to follow the rules and respect their neighbors. 
I believe the best approach is to build up some rapport with them first so they feel comfortable, let their guard down, and then are more likely to be honest with you.

@Wale Lawal visiting their current home is a great idea. I heard about that one on one of the BP podcast episodes with an investor in D.C. who exclusively rents 4 bedroom houses to voucher tenants. 

Hi Melanie,

I work as a property manager and the lesson I learned from this job and for my future investment plans is ALWAYS INTERVIEW APPLICANTS.

I say this because there are a few residents here who are trouble makers and when you talk to them you can tell they are full of sh*t. What I mean by that is they regularly contradict themselves and they try to worm their way out of responsibility for anything they do or redirect the conversation to what their neighbors are doing. I'm sure you can't catch every trouble maker but you can usually get a pretty good first impression from talking to people for a few minutes.

These tenants I'm speaking of don't pay their rent late. The main problem is that they don't follow the rules and they bother their neighbors. This leads to complaints, which means more work for me. (The owners aren't really affected though as long as they pay their rent.)

One has roommates who are not allowed and aren't on the lease and he admitted that he has no income while I was explaining that he has to get them to move out. The first time I met him, I knew he was full of it in the first 2 minutes of speaking to him.

The process for choosing tenants is that I forward their applications to the administrator of the company I work for and they process the applications without ever having met the applicants. I don't know if it's feasible to interview every applicant if you have very many units but I feel like this should be a crucial step in the application process. I would rather automate other parts of my job to free up time for interviews to save myself the headache of dealing with idiots.

Hope that helps!
Ramsey

I lived in Klagenfurt, Austria for 16 years. The surrounding nature is gorgeous, the access to bike trails, hiking trails, etc. is great (no need for a car for most trips), it's close to Italy and Slovenia (a hidden gem in Europe most people don't know about), and the social system in Austria is great. Klagenfurt is a small town with a bit of an inferiority complex and the people can be somewhat provincial, but it's just big enough for my taste (a bit of nightlife, enough a cultural events, art, live music, good food, etc). However, I'm not a big fan of winter (Unless I'm not snowboarding). The weather is the main reason I moved back to California. 
I also lived in Tapachula, Mexico for a year. That was an amazing experience, but that city is not where I would live. I would consider Belize or somewhere else in Mexico though. The Mexican people are so friendly, the food is amazing, and the sub-tropical climate down there was amazing! (climbing volcanoes, white water rafting, hiking to fresh water sources, beaches next to mangroves, etc.) Also, it was great to be able to travel to Guatemala so easily. Now that I have kids, I don't think I'd live in Guatemala because of safety concerns, lack of infrastructure (I know Mexico isn't so great either but it's much better than Guatemala), and general political instability.
I lived 3.5 years in Latvia (that's where my wife and my grandparents are from) and I love it there, especially in summer (or only in summer?). The people can be a bit reserved at times but once you get to know them, they're very hospitable. I miss the summer solstice traditions and the appreciation of nature. You get that in other countries too, but I feel like it's more universal in Latvia and northern countries. Maybe it's the cold winter that makes everyone enjoy the outdoors so much more. During summer solstice, almost the whole country goes to the countryside. 
I lived in NYC for a year and it's a great place for a lot of reasons (the people are very friendly, there's always something to do, etc.) but the cost of living is a real downer unless you're very successful in your career. I missed the vicinity to nature as well. We lived 2 blocks from Central Park but any proper hiking or rock climbing was at least an hour away by car and it doesn't really make sense to own a car in NYC unless you work in sales or something similar. 

This is an old post, so I don't know if anyone will see it. His question still hasn't been answered: 

Is "The E-Myth Revisited" an updated version of the same book titled "The E-Myth"?