All Forum Posts by: R. Marcella Poole

Wayde Hall, just read the book and gained a better perspective on STR. Worth it~! Great recommendation-and the only disappointment is I can't get into her Zoom quick enough--which is certainly good news for her team~!

@Alexa Ferguson. Thank you for sharing the pros and cons of STRs and here's a question I haven't found information on yet: I am considering a beach front condo on the Emerald Coast for an STR, and have concerns about HOAs. It's been suggested that some HOAs will allow a certain percentage of units to be used as STRs. What are the opportunities for making certain that my purchase won't be outside that allowed percentage and how does one obtain that HOA info as part of due diligence quickly enough before the unit disappears off market?

@David Nutakor, I've been researching two turn key providers in TN. I'm interested in your experience and would appreciate further details.

Have you looked at Vanguard?  I appreciate their simple fee structure and inexpensive rates for investing--but I'm very conservative.  For a paradigm shift on investing, you may enjoy the read "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins. 

Kitty, I'm also a teacher--very conservative as we start out here.  I appreciate your question and am following. Our circumstance is similar.

Theresa Harris, question for you: 

On our first rental, we're sitting on @ $130K cash/equity after refinancing in October this year to capture a 2.89% on a 30 year conventional--and we took out cash up to 70% LTV. It's not a good feeling leaving equity sitting there, but it *is* producing a decent cash flow, which makes us comfortable. We're considering a HELOC @ 80% LTV and to use that for a down payment on a property, then using the cash flow from the property to pay down the HELOC. What's our downside if the cash flow works to make the payments and adds value to the cash flow? We're relatively new to this and seeking our first STR property in about the $500K range using one of those 10% down loans and the cash from the original refi we did at 70% LTV. Thanks in advance.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Oak Hills.

Purchase price: $135,500
Cash invested: $135,500

Our original home, vacated and turned into our first rental property, December 2020.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We had paid cash for the home, enjoyed life for 10 years and then decided to do something with the growing equity by building a new home and moving out to turn this into our first rental property.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We worked with a real estate agent to purchase it at the bottom of the crash in 2008; he was awesome.

How did you finance this deal?

We paid cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

We increased the curb appeal, put in landscaping and turned a 3rd of the garage into a gym, adding custom touches to make it comfortable.

What was the outcome?

The property value went up and we tapped out equity to purchase a piece of property and build our custom home we now live in.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't build a house in California~!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

We learned a LOT of lessons, but along the way on this one, we relied on a very solid real estate agent to grab this deal.

I am brand new at this, but find that we have equity in our rental in excess of $150K due to crazy California markets (Lease is up in January 2022, year ONE of our property being rented out). HELOC only property--no mortgage on it. I don't wish to personally move into a property, as we've just moved into our retirement home early but don't want to miss the opportunity to make that equity work. What's the best way forward to grab the equity and get a few more properties? I'm thinking I need to avoid PMI and make at least a cash flow of $500 clear per month on any one individual property, but would appreciate advice. First rental is clearing $650 per month. Thank you in advance for any feedback. Reading recommendations appreciated.

Dave Ramsey is good to get started...so we got started.... we leveraged our property that was completely paid off, taking $200,000 out, purchased a lot and began building a small retirement house one year ago w/ a conventional loan.  We're done, moved in and have a renter in the vacated property producing a cash flow monthly (after expenses) of something more than $700 per month.  What's our next step and where do I start besides reading more real estate books?  (Still taking suggestions for books--love to read~!)  

Dave Ramsey is good to get started...so we got started.... we leveraged our property that was completely paid off, taking $200,000 out, purchased a lot and began building a small retirement house one year ago w/ a conventional loan. When we refused to pay him an extra $37,000 to finish our house, (contract fraud) the contractor abandoned the project. (That's when we found out that he had been indicted by a grand jury previously for federal contract fraud against the US government.) He's our pastor's best friend (and I am that girl who taught the Dave Ramsey classes for the last nine years.) Now the DA is investigating affinity crimes in our church. Well, we're caught in a crossfire that's held us up for 7 months so far. With six weeks left to complete the build, (we've already retained a new contractor to finish), the national bank won't extend the remainder of the note (150k) because the contractor liened the property for the $37k he wanted, no proof it's owed. We're stuck paying interest on the construction note AND on our HELOC. Attorney can't get the bank to move; we can't get to court due to C-19 closures to expunge the lien. The bank is indemnified in our contract, but insists we 'satisfy' the (commercial/wayward) contractor. (He's refused to deliver our paid for custom iron door to the new contractor). We have drama, great credit, assets and 2 homes, but without hope of getting the bank to move, no added cash flow to keep up double payments on it all. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is investigating. Suggestions besides CSLB? Mediation exposed he's walked away with $10k of funds and $12k in building materials that have been paid for. CSLB investigator has another month to do her thing. Lots of learning for newbies here. The property still qualifies for 'constructionoan' status. Ideas?

Software is available that you can use continually. I use it-it's impressive.