All Forum Posts by: Susan Naftulin

Depends on your ability to replenish your cash...and how much cash you will have left over after the purchase.  Let's face it...we are not all independently wealthy.  

RFG believes in the cash is KING concept. We lend 100% of purchase & rehab up to 65% ARV. We are commonly scrutinized as a non-conventional/private full doc lender. However, we help investors understand the real pitfalls of over investing, over leveraging and ultimately that stuff happens...and you DON'T want to get stuck without cash!

Any seasoned investor will tell you that finding & maintaining the best margin is great with flips.  However, what if that next big deal come across and you spent all of your cash on the previous deal?  And even the buy and hold groups will tell you that without a solid take out partner, your cash can get eaten up real quick!

Bridge financing eats into your margin, but working with the right lender(s) can really help you with liquidity leverage.  

Last, buying with cash can sometimes be your best option to grab the properties with the most opportunity quickly.  In that case, you may want to find a lender that is open to replenishing your cash after the purchase and still help you finance the rehab.  At RFG, we do!! 

I am a private lender but I don't work in your area. To be honest, if you have one flip under your belt and it went well, you'll have a pretty easy time finding funding with a smaller lender. Remember we are taking a risk on you so anything that proves you are a good bet will help. 

Assuming your financials are reasonable, a good small lender who sees your are successful and looking to do several deals in the near future should be eager to work with you. Good luck!

Welcome Jefferey! 

My advice as you get started: Leverage your strengths!

If you have experience and connections in the plumbing industry, you can take advantage of properties with plumbing issues that have scared other investors away. That's an easy way to access good opportunities for your situation. Good luck!

Awesome area for occupancy, hard area for finding a distressed property. Think creatively about a property you might be able to split into two units!

Fix and Flip is probably going to suit you better than buy and hold. Even if you do hire a management company for a rental property there will always be issues that you need to check in on. For a fix and flip, you're in and out in a few months and have no lingering responsibilities to the area. Your challenge might come in building relationships with contractors, inspectors, and lenders, but there are a lot of programs that help active duty military and veterans connect. That's a valuable network for you to tap into!

 How's the search going? Did you find anything?

The majority of realtors don't like dealing with contingencies, funding issues, permits, etc. If they did (and some do) you're right, they'd have a huge advantage in the investment game!

From a lender's perspective, your situation is why we exist! Unless you have a lot of handyman/contractor skills yourself, you'll be hard pressed to add enough value to a property to make it worth the effort Consider taking out a short term loan to fund the rehab projects, upgrades, and maybe additional features that will get you the highest return on your work, money, and risk! As long as you have relatively good credit, a source of income, and a strong calculation of how you'll manage financially through the duration of the project, a reliable lender will be happy to fund your projects. This should make it much easier for you to get some momentum going and eventually enough capital in your business where you can take on properties to rehab without borrowing as much money. 

Good luck! Tampa is a great location!

A really great depiction of the fearlessness it takes to make big moves -- balanced with smart planning! Congratulations!

Hi David, 

We lend exclusively to investors, and one of the qualifications for us is that your primary residence is reasonably close to the investment property -- at least for your first few deals. While it's very possible to do a great job as an investor from a distance, it adds a lot of time and effort to the learning curve. You have no way of really overseeing anything going on at the property unless you have a team in place that you trust. . . and even then we've seen relationships break down (unfortunately). For flips especially, but also buy and hold investments, your money is on the line so the more oversight you can provide, the less likely you are to have a problem go overlooked. 

As far as finding the right property - keep your eyes open and remember that you have the most impact on your profit margin at purchase! It's probably worth the wait for the right opportunity.