All Forum Posts by: Kent Verge

Also Damian, just because you'd like to refinance into a "conventional loan" doesn't mean that you need to go to another bank. The credit union may be able to do the refinance which would still free up the rehab loan for additional purchases. Also, without knowing their guidelines, they may be willing to do more than one of the rehab loans.  

Since you're already talking to them about the initial loan, I'd go ahead and talk to them about exit strategies ("Once the rehab is complete, what are your options for refinancing to 'free up' the rehab loan for other projects, or is that even necessary?").

I have five mortgages (one on my home and four rental properties), and my credit score has remained in the 820's. As @Kyle J. said, it will all depend on the rest of your credit profile, income, payment history, etc... 

Have you listened to Podcast 91 with Ben Grise? He talks about some of the tools he uses including an online mailmerge program.

I recently bought one of the Schlage keypad deadbolts (BE365VPLY505) then bought a kit from eRentLock to upgrade it for use as a lock for a vacation rental. You can also buy the lock from them directly, but I found a deal on the lock locally so buying the kit made more sense for me.

With this system, you can remotely generate a combination for a tenant. The combination will only work for the length of their stay and will then expire. These codes can be made for anywhere from 1 hour to 732 days. It also has the concept of "group access" to allow a worker (think cleaning crew) to access any one of your properties. They don't require an Internet connection, and you can generate an access code from anywhere. This sounds like magic, but it uses an encryption/decryption technology to use codes that are already built into the lock.

I haven't installed it yet, but I did play around with it a bit, and it worked as it was supposed to in my trials. Those who have used them seem to swear by them.

A "point" is a fee equal to 1% of your loan amount. It comes in two flavors. First, there are discount points; by paying point(s) up front, you get a lower interest rate over the life of the loan. The second type, origination points -- likely what is coming from a hard money lender, is a fee charged by the lender for making the loan.

Is the fear of rejection is keeping you from moving forward? 

• Do you let your phone go to voicemail versus answering calls from your yellow letters?
• Have you given up calling lenders because they keep saying "no?"
• Are you frozen when it's time to ask for the close?

This is a bit dated, but I came across it this afternoon. This entrepreneur tried "rejection therapy" to get past the fear of rejection. He spent 100 days asking people ridiculous things in attempt to get rejected.  What's crazy is that some people said "ok." 

You can watch him talk about it on Ted in this 12-minute video: http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Surprising-Lessons-From-100-D-2

I'm interested if you have tried this, and if so, what were your results?

I found a link to Universal Property's underwriting guidelines for Florida:

https://universalproperty.com/docs/Latest_Binding_...

It says, "No Pex Plumbing (except HO8 & DP1) Except: 2010 or newer homes." This looks like coverage would be available, but only in certain rate classes or for newer homes. There were issues with a certain class of fittings prior to 2010, so this may be the explanation. What's strange, however, is that it doesn't include replumbing a house built prior to 2010 with PEX.

From an underwriting document from Tower Hill Insurance (https://oasis.thig.com/chore/help/Getting_Started_...):

"PEX, cross-linked polyethylene, piping is not acceptable. Our extensive claims data indicated that PEX piping is prone to leaking and often results in significant water damage. Please review 4-point inspections and do not submit risks with PEX pipes."

I'll keep digging.

I'm pretty sure we're going to go with PEX in any case, but I don't know about what it will end up meaning for insurance purposes long term. 

It's interesting that they had no problems insuring 70-year old galvanized plumbing that is already leaking but won't insure PEX.

A plumber came out the other day to give a quote on the work in my rehab, and he said that there's only one insurer (that he knows of) that will insure against damage caused by PEX plumbing. Sure enough, our insurance company won't cover damage caused by water damage from PEX.

We spoke to our insurance company, and they said that they don't cofer any damage caused by failed PEX plumbing. They also said that PEX plumbing "reduces their coverage options" and that many companies in Florida won't underwite insurance on houses with PEX.

Has anyone else come across this? One plumber who gave an estimate only works in PEX, so this seems like a big gap. For this particular house, I don't know how big of a deal it is, but I could see where it could be.

"How much do you owe on the house?"

Sometimes they'll say, "None of your business."

"You're right, of course. You invited me here/called me to help you with your house. Without knowing what you owe, I'm not sure how much I can help."

My next question, after they tell me: "How far behind are you?"