All Forum Posts by: Robert Gandy

@Ben Williams, Fannie mae usually allows up to 10 loans under one individual. The first 4 are standard in terms of documentation and difficulty. The next 6 are not easy to get approved for and require copious documentation and cash reserves for each property. Freddie Mac only allows 4 loans under one individual right now (I could be wrong on this so please do your own research). The best way to proceed with BRRRR is to get at least 4 conventional conforming loans (Freddie/Fannie type). Next, you would establish a relationship with a local bank or credit union. They will do non-conforming loans (portfolio loans) that they do not sell on a secondary market. You can do many loans with local banks in this fashion

@Austin Davis there are Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) programs that can be used to finance efficiency upgrades. I think you have made some great moves with your progress so far. The most important thing to keep in mind is that this is an investment property. Don't drop dollars on expensive and complicated upgrades to pick up dimes. Down the road, some of the more complicated energy efficiency upgrades could have much higher maintenance costs and/or require specialized technicians that have no real local competition. Additionally, the next investor may not value the energy conservation upgrades that you have invested in. Good luck and keep it Green!

@Anthony Walters, I have used www.ezlandlordforms.com. I have not tried the site that you mentioned. EZ Landlord Forms was free for non-state specific and under $40 for a state specific lease. I have not tried their background checks.

@Ekaterina Gelashvili, I have a SFR in a flood zone in louisiana that requires flood insurance at $2,000/yr, because the home is under the base flood elevation. If the 4plex is above the base flood elevation, your flood insurance is likely between $400 and $600/yr. You will need to get a flood elevation certificate to determine if the 4plex was grandfathered in to a lower rate, if you will need to pay a higher rate, or if the 4plex is above the base flood elevation level.

@Charles Montgomery, I would drive by all of these before involving the agent to qualify. Once that is done, do some quick forecasts on them to prioritize them based on potential return. From there, pick 5 to focus on with the agent. If you haven't done it before, qualify as much as possible before going on site with an agent. Also, send the ones you have picked to the agent to get some feedback on the potential from his/her perspective. An agent can offer a lot of market insight if you have found the right one.

@Andrew Doolittle you can use www.city-data.com to get detailed statistical information on zip codes/markets. Additionally, zillow and trulia have a lot information on city stats regarding market value, crime, etc. 

@Kenton C. it all goes back to the lease and property type. If you have a single family, the lease can be written to make them responsible for landscaping, lawn maintenance, and snow removal. Multi family can will usually fall back on the owner/property manager. Check the lease, and then check local ordinance.

@Corey MelkonianI have a career as an energy conservation engineer (Mechanical Engineer by degree). I do large commercial/institutional building energy audits and put together scopes of work with the intention of the savings to provide an ROI for the work. You can learn more about residential type energy upgrades and smaller scale stuff at my website (in my signature for these posts). Types of light bulbs and applications, HVAC, alternative energy, etc.

@Alex Phlipot, do it yourself. You are getting the property to grow your wealth. Don't give any of it away until you need to. You will learn a lot in the process. Build systems around the one unit that you can apply to multiple units. When you know how you want your properties managed, pass it to a manager who operates similar to your style. 

As far as them not taking you seriously, you are in charge of who gets into that unit. If you know your stuff and don't let them know it is your first time doing it, they will not know. Have your ground rules for being a good neighbor ready for them, and stick to it. You can do it. If you don't make mistakes trying this out, you will not grow. Best of luck!

@Jessica Seigel, I would go with the mini split. If I am picturing a through the wall correctly, it sounds like you mean a hotel type PTAC unit. Those things are a maintenance nightmare. You can get very efficient minisplit units (20 SEER or more). You could get one minisplit for each unit with multiple air registers for each. Or you could get one and run multiple air registers, but you would have to invest in a metering system. 

I would recommend a minisplit for each unit. It limits the wall penetrations and it will not cause an issue if you decide to go a different direction in the future. Once you punch a hole in the wall for the PTAC, you are kind of stuck with a giant hole. In the future if you have to change units, you will be limited only to the units that fit your hole in the wall, make the hole bigger for a different unit, or have an ugly retrofit border.