All Forum Posts by: Robert Clifford

I'm under contract on an operating business with real estate.  I have some rental properties that I'm considering selling and got an offer today for a "Subject To" sale, where they'd give me about $120k over the mortgage balance - in 60 months.  I'm wondering how/if I can use this note as collateral for the upcoming operating business purchase.  I'm going to look into selling the note as well but thought I'd start with having my cake and eating it too.  If you have experience with this, please let me know.

Fantastic story, and all true. Patience and a plan is a great formula for creating multigenerational wealth!  Nice work. 

@Will Gaston these are in Melrose Heights. For traditional rentals, we use a property manager. For the STRs we manage ourselves. 

What about you?  How do you manage your properties?

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $675,000

Three multifamily properties in a great Columbia neighborhood.

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

The properties were very well maintained and in the same neighborhood as others I own. Sellers were a married couple who retired and this was a big piece of their retirement fund. I love the challenge of figuring out the sellers' motivations, fears, and working with them to figure out a solution that worked for both of us.

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

My neighbor approach me about buying all three and making their transition to retirement easier.

How did you finance this deal?

In the end, seller financing. 8-month term, interest only. I'll refinance in 6 months, and pay them off.

How did you add value to the deal?

Furnishing the units and marketing them via AirBnB.

What was the outcome?

It worked perfectly in the end. As soon as I had them listed, I received 3 bookings the same night. It's a no brainer for us. We'll refinance them in 6 months, and make the seller happy and whole.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Patience, understand the sellers' needs and motivations, and creativity.

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

No.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $675,000

Some great neighbors at one of my properties approached me about selling their three to me. I made gave them three options in January of 2019. They felt they were all too low, or too complicated, and decided to list them. After not selling them by June, I reached back out to them. They had already retired and were transitioning to their new phase of life. They were more motivated. After getting creative, looking beyond seller financing, and potentially partnering on them and buying them out through a refinance, the sellers ultimately agreed to drop the price and seller finance for 8 months, with nothing down, so that I can refinance the properties at 6 months, pay them off and own the three duplexes.

It drove my wife crazy, but patience and creativity paid off. I'll list some units as short term rentals and others as traditional rentals. This transaction almost doubled my portfolio in value and took us to 10 properties and 19 units in total.

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

The properties were very well maintained and in the same neighborhood as others I own.

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

My neighbor approach me about buying all three and making their transition to retirement easier.

How did you finance this deal?

In the end, seller financing. 8-month term, interest only. I'll refinance in 6 months, and pay them off.

How did you add value to the deal?

Furnishing the units and marketing them via AirBnB.

What was the outcome?

It worked perfectly in the end. As soon as I had them listed, I received 3 bookings the same night. It's a no brainer for us. We'll refinance them in 6 months, and make the seller happy and whole.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Patience, understand the sellers' needs and motivations, and creativity.

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

No.

We started with one unit of a two unit property, a mother-in-law suite on what was our primary residence. We learned and adjusted and have added two more in Greenville and Columbia, SC. Not great tourist destinations per say, and as @Avery Carl alluded too, there are restrictions in these towns. We’re looking to add 8 more by the end of the year, and I’d encourage you to pic a unit and start. Give it 3 months at least, assess, course correct, and repeat. Good luck. 

@Alex Silang - How did you pursue this deal?  I had a similar idea a couple of weeks ago, and was search BP when I came across your post.

I’d like to put solar in my buy and hold properties. I’d like to find a business lender for solar, so I can finance them through my LLCs, not on my personal credit. Has anyone done this, and have any advice? Do you know any lenders that finance solar at the 10,000sq ft and below size installs?

Hi @Bob Huggins.  We have one in Greenville, SC and 2 in Columbia, SC. Reviews are key. If you have to discount or give a special rate to get them, it’s money well spent (lost). :-). Also, “They” say the search algorithms favor listings that update pricing. There are some tools that will update daily for you. We’ve been trying Wheelhouse.  Also, are you in AirBnB too?

I’m trying some things to market to companies and also local business. It’s a new strategy. We’ll see how that goes. Best of luck to you. 

@Andrea Cole, I echo the other sentiments above. My wife and I set up separate accounts for each other, she hosts on hers and I cohost on mine. Mine is useless. We’re moving to using hers only.

We currently have 3, and are looking to add 2 more soon. I would recommend a channel manager (we recently signed up with Lodgify) and if you aren’t cleaning them yourself, check out Properly. 

Good luck!