All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Steve Burt  Actually, at closing I found out I didn't have to put any money down at all. I actually got a check for $480. Some banks do an automated valuation instead of an appraisal. If the automated valuation comes back higher than the purchase price, you're in luck.

@Tyler Smiarowski, when I bought my personal residence, I used the Iowa Appliance Center. They're in Marion... they give you a small discount if you buy a whole set. I think we're going to use them for appliances for our flip. 

http://www.iowaappliancecenter.com/

Curious to see what other people use, too. Good post!

@Austin Davis, Thanks!! Hope we can stay the course :).

@Fitzgerald Hall, found my multi-families on realtor.com.

Closing on my second 4-plex in Cedar Rapids, IA today! Listed at 144, I picked it up at 135k, with a total loan balance of 127k. The seller is also giving me 1.5k at closing for cosmetic repairs, so I'm only putting 3k down. It has two 2-bedroom units and two 1-bedroom units. It currently has one vacancy. I have some landscaping work to do on it and simultaneously updating the vacant unit (new carpet & linoleum, new paint). The units rent for between 550 and 600 each. 

I'm also closing on a flip house today. It's a foreclosure that we picked up for 90k. With tax credits and earnest money, my loan is for 87k. Also got a separate loan for rehab for 12k! 

Gotta love other people's money :)

Happy investing to all!

@James Wise  it depends on the tenant. It's very likely I could want them both to go, especially if they're the type to not follow pet policy rules. My other building has had no issues, other than one "companion animal that was needed." We told the tenant he's more than welcome to have a companion animal, as long as it's not a cat since that would place an undue burden on us (my husband manages the properties, does maintenance, etc. and he's highly allergic). 

@Joel Owens  Thanks! I understand your concern. I did state that we were grandfathering in the existing pets, just am unsure on how to document that on the new lease. New leases with new tenants will have a no-pets clause.

@Elizabeth Colegrove  I've heard similar success stories! I would like to be able to allow dogs... just have to get my husband on board. Since he does all the work, he's really concerned about repairing damages caused by pets.

@Raj Gandhi  Thanks, and that's a great point... everything in life is negotiable. +20% in rent might be worth it.

Thanks everyone!

Good morning! We're closing tomorrow on a 4-plex. The current owner and lease allows for tenants to have pets. My policy is no pets, and when the current tenants sign a new lease, it will be a "no-pets" lease. Also, when units turnover, the new tenants will not be allowed pets.

I realize that their current pets (1 tenant has a dog, another has 1 dog and 1 cat) will most likely need to be grandfathered in if I want to keep the tenants... as a pet owner myself, if it were me: I would find another place to live if all of a sudden my dog wasn't allowed. 

So I guess my question is this: When I bring in a new tenant to the empty unit and they sign a "no-pets" lease, do I need to explain that the other tenants have the same lease, but they were grandfathered in, so they can have pets but this new person can't, even though they have the same lease? How does this all work when transitioning an entire building to a no-pets policy?

Confusing, I know. Hope my question makes sense!

Thanks in advance!!

@Tyler Smiarowski

We have two local 4-plexes and one flip we're rehabbing.

We have one rental townhouse in Virginia.

Our primary residence (selling in the spring).

Total of 5 properties (4 investment properties).

@Steve Vaughan

My husband is my jack of all trades, so his construction company does all of those things. I suppose that was an oversight on my part when talking about the time I spend filling a vacancy since I'm fairly hands-off in that department. My bad. Last time it took him about a day to clean, touch-up paint, and clear up the move-out checklist discrepancies. So, I suppose in a month that I have to fill a vacancy, I could conservatively say it takes about 16 hours (two 8-hour days).

Thanks for the correction!

Welcome, @Nevin Ashley ! I grew up in Newburgh (my sister and I both went to Castle). My sister lives in Evansville now :). My parents live in Boonville. The only thing I wish I would have done? I wish I would've started sooner.

An LLC is more personal preference. I set one up and intend to set a separate one up for every two properties I obtain. You'd probably only want one for 'flips' unless you intend on keeping some of them. Some people think LLCs are a silly idea, and you can protect personal assets with an umbrella policy. That's a decision you'll have to make on your own! You'll want a good real estate attorney who can help you with any weird questions along the way (Do i need separate bank accounts? What protection does an LLC offer in Indiana, and how do I ensure I'm protected?) Things like that.

You'll also want to find a CPA if you don't already have one. Once you have a property or two, it gets complicated and TurboTax isn't gonig to cut it anymore.

Also, see if you can find a real estate investors group/club in your area. If nothing else, it's always nice to talk to people with similar interests to help you stay motivated and keep from getting discouraged when something goes wrong. 

That being said, I'm in no way an expert! I'm fairly new to the game, too and have learned most of my lessons through the experience.

Good luck and welcome to BP :)!

@Andrew Carter put me on your list, I'd be interested to see what you can come up with :).

@Thomas Fosnaugh  your goals are similar to ours. We're about 25% there, too. I'd love 200/door! That's a great goal. Right now, we're sitting around 150/door.