All Forum Posts by: Richard Bull

@Harjeet Bhatti @Greg Downey @Lane Kawaoka thanks for the help on this. Good point on the exit strategy as well. 

@Andrew Postell makes a lot of sense. Thanks for this insight. I will continue to look and will also ask about portfolio loans. I should probably take a look at smaller banks in Indy for more options. 

Hi BP community!

I have an excellent relationship and experience with my PM in the Mississippi market and they do fill the properties very quickly and with great tenants. My PM does not charge first month's rent as a fee when turning over the property, advertising and placing a new good tenants. They also do not charge any additional fees other than the 10% fee. 

I am having trouble finding an PM in Indy that operates the same way, although I have only interviewed a handful of PM's so far. Is this 1st month rent fee standard for the Indy market, are there other options? 

Can you recommend a very good PM who does not charge such a fee when placing a new tenant. I am willing to pay a fee, but the first month's rent, really hurts my cash flow. 

Thank you!

I am a fairly new investor and am now starting to explore the Indianapolis market. I have seen several properties that I can negotiate down to $45k or $50k, however it does not seem like I can get a conventional loan for these properties due to guidelines that some conventional loan officers have where they will not do a loan for less than $50k. My strategy as an OOS investor is pure buy and hold rental properties and would like to take advantage of the currently lower rates over 30 yr amortization period.  

I also understand that in some cases I can only get an investment property loan for a SFR with 20% down and it has to be 25% down for a small multifamily or duplex.

Are there any banks or loan officers that you can recommend for smaller conventional loans or that can work with 20% for a multifamily?

@Jeff Schechter are your properties only on sale for cash or is financing okay? Has this property undergone a rehab? How old is the roof, water heater, electrical, etc... ?

Hi @Jay Hinrichs can you please send me some information on the 23 homes that you are building in Troutdale? Thank you. 

Hi! I am looking for some advise about the best zip codes for rentals in Memphis. I am looking at a property in the 38109 zip code of Memphis. However, it does not seem like the schools in the area are all that good. Looking for zip code advise and criteria to search for when analyzing an area or neighborhood that I have never personally been to. Thank you! - Richard

Hi @Franklin Romine it is a lot more than California. It depends on how much coverage you want for the property, liability, etc... It can be as low as $800/yr to $1,400/yr for a 50k rental in gulfport in a "non-flood zone". I would plan for a coverage of $1,200/yr when running your numbers. Thanks!

Hi Eric,

I am new to this as well. However, I did spend a lot of time scoping out Gulfport and I have my first investment property there and am happy with it. It is a small SFR cottage approx $50k and rents for $850-$875, currently at the $875 rate. You plan of "house hacking" with the VA loan is awesome. If I did not need to provide stability for my family where I live, I would be pursuing a similar strategy. By the way...I am from out of state and have never even been to Gulfport before, however, I did research a lot and purchased my first investment prop there.

Gulfport is not an appreciation market and the prices remain pretty stable even in a downturn. It is a great cashflow market in my opinion which is awesome for you to build your passive income. Things to think about...homeowners insurance is very very very expensive in Gulfport, especially for homes south of the 10, something to consider when running the numbers and the tax rate is about 1.7% or so.

I am looking for a duplex as my next investment, possibly in Gulfport. Since you are going to living in the house you may want to be a little more careful about where the property is situated and who your neighbors are. If you can have each tenant pay their own utilities and the multifamily (duplex in this example) has the utilities set up that way, then I would say that is the way to go. Your duplex will be about $100k and units will probably rent for $650 or $700 per unit. If you live in on one side and rent out the other, then you will essentially be living rent free for the first year until you refinance and move on to the next. Man,,,if I knew then what I know you. You are on the path to building wealth. Congrats and go for it! 

A quick question for the group. I am looking at two areas, since my price range is around the $100k for a single family rental. It is very hard to find properties in the Historic District (which I am most interested in for Buy & Hold), and the Murry Hill area seems way too "hit or miss" for investing from OOS. What are your thoughts on Orange Park as a suburb with decent schools? Any suggestions of where I should be looking?  Thank you!