All Forum Posts by: Amber Gonion

@Sam Rubenzer

@Amarion Carter great work so far, my husband got his boilers license first thing when we started our brokerage. It was not necessary, but it helps a lot when evaluating purchases for clients buying properties, as well as when managing. Great to see someone young already planning.

@Marcus Johnson cash flow is only one part of the equation, it is very tight right now, but principal pay down and appreciation are the wealth builders.

Our investors look at cashflow in the beginning like a w-2, it is nice but it is not what will be driving wealth. If all you look at is initial cashflow from a property then yes invest in the stock market, T-bills, or whatever. Appreciation averages about 5.5%, principal pay down averages 1/2 the payment throughout the life of the loan (average loan maybe $1000/month) The cashflow greatly increases as the purchase ages as rents go up and the monthly mortgage stays the same.

You can get burned in real estate just like anything else and we have heard it’s a bad time to invest (look at the forums) for years, and yet real estate is still a great wealth builder. Stocks T-bills, and other investments should be in everyones portfolio too, but we look at real long term growth with housing.

@Thomas Hartman we use waste management at multiple sites we manage for dumpsters and haven’t any problems.

@Brady Ascheman the cashflow is deferred until interest rates come down. It doesn’t mean you can not buy anything, it just means that for a year or two you might not cashflow as well as you like. You will still have principle pay down, and appreciation.

If you can not wait then you can do like sone of our clients, buy, empty, remodel, rent at higher rates, and refinance, buy another. If you are not experienced in remodeling, then you will need a trusted contractor or hire a company like ours that assists in purchase, rehab, and management after.

@Carter Nelson send a dm if you are looking for management of any of the buildings you acquire in the twin cities area.

@Daniel Murphy seller financing can be done with a current bank loan in place (conditions are dependent on the individual bank). We are currently working a deal between clients. The bank may require payments and down payment are made directly to the bank to avoid the “due on sale” clause. This is good for the buyer too so that their payment is not pocketed by the seller without making payments.

Seller financing in this market can make a lot of sense. In order for both parties to reach a deal that works for them they are able to adjust the interest rate, down payment amount, and price. It has not been popular in the last 5 years as the market was super hot, but throughout the years before there were plenty of times that seller financing keep deals moving and many people, both buyer and sellers benefited.

The danger is that if the buyer does not take care of the home and depreciates it through abuse and neglect and walks away it is like having a bad tenant with little realistic recourse.

@Bryce Veazey there are many different markets around the cities, some will appreciate more than others. Some will do better coc. Most of our clients and much of the buyers are located in the south side of the cities, when rentals in those areas come up there is a bit more competition. Western side is more high end rentals which can go well, but have smaller tenant pools, nw is growing. North metro is growing with fewer buyers in the North and East.

You can also analyze it by rental class from town homes, sfh, 2-4 units, and 10-300 units. So there are many factors, currently it would be best to see what is available and go from there if you have no other preference.

@Chintaka R. You are not able to just change who pays for utilities as a way to increase the rent beyond the 3% even though it is a new lease. You are on the right path to have them pay the utilities, you never know how much they may go up in the future.

@Lee Yang. We do remodels for our clients every month, it really depends on the level of rehab. In general you are looking at 15k-25k for 2-3 br. for paint, ceilings, carpet, appliances, granite counters, outlets, plumbing, repairs, light fixtures, bath vanity, toilet.

The age of the property, and general repair are big factors, no two are the same, and two contractors could come up with a different scope of work. Be sure to budget 20% for things you don’t know about yet.