All Forum Posts by: Robert Orth

Hey guys! I'm located in Florida but had a deal in the utica area fall in my lap I'm trying to do due diligence on. Do you guys have any contacts/referalls for property mangers, contractors, or real estate agents I could contact?

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $189,000
Cash invested: $5,400

This is my first home and decided to do an owner-occupied, VA loan, duplex house hack. It is a two-story 4/4 with one unit on top and one below.

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

I wanted to keep my living expenses low and also have my first home purchase as something I could turn into a rental once I upgrade or find another good deal. This was the first duplex and best opportunity to house-hack I saw pop up in my local area.

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

I was working with a realtor who's a family friend but also searching Zillow and trulia for FSBO's. I happened to come across this deal on Zillow, immediately sent it to my realtor and went through the normal motion at that point. I was using a VA loan so I offered a little above asking price to get closing costs covered but the appraisal came in a little low. Seller matched appraisal and I covered my own closing costs. Seller did have to have one unit vacate for deal to work as owner occupied.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan with closing costs covered out of pocket.

How did you add value to the deal?

I raised rent on the tenant I inherited and she has actually been a very good tenant. I raised rent from $800/mo to $870/mo over two renewals. Market rent is closer to $925/mo however I do not believe the tenant can pay that amount so I will keep it there for a little while instead of pushing her out and having to pay for turnover costs.

What was the outcome?

I am living cheap with my tenant paying 2/3's of my PITI and gained approximately $40k in appreciation over 2.5 years due to other duplexes selling in my neighborhood for higher prices.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

House-hacking is AMAZING!! Don't be afraid of inheriting a tenant if you know they are already keeping the unit clean and they make it known they'd like to stay. The only calls I've had from her were valid repair calls and once to apologize for a rather loud argument she had with her adult son that she thought I may have overheard.

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

Cindy Sheldon with Four Season's Realty is a family friend and Broker/Owner of her company. She was great, very patient with me wanting to look at several different houses, knew what my goal was in buying a property to be a future rental and would always give me honest advice on whether she thought it may make a good rental or not.

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $80,000
Cash invested: $10,000

Duplex I bought from a wholesaler that needed major rehab on one side and light updating/flooring on the other. Used a PML for the PP and CC's for the rehab. Currently in the process of doing the rehab and will update once it's cash flowing.

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

My first home was a duplex house hack. I love having multiple tenants in one property because it reduces vacancy rate and cap ex over having a SFR. In my local area it's hard to find great cash flowing properties that are not multi-family so that's what I'm looking for.

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

I follow Bill Allen's (prior guest on the show) flip/wholesale company Blackjack Real Estate so I can see what he's doing and the deals he's wholesaling. It popped up in my e-mail as a wholesale offering. I ran the numbers and they were so good I offered full asking site unseen. They had multiple other offers from other investors so I ran the numbers to see what the max I could offer was and still be happy. I ended up offering $80k, which was $15k over asking, and won the bid.

How did you finance this deal?

I found the deal first and then found a PML from my circle of influence. My PML funded the purchase, I'm funding the rehab using CC's and then will refinance out into long term financing.

How did you add value to the deal?

One unit needed quite a bit of rehab to include flooring, paint, refinish the cabinets, water heater, new siding on the storage shed on the back, new front door etc. The other unit was occupied at purchase and the tenant is moving out two months after purchase. I will put new flooring in that unit and assess what else needs to be done but this unit was well maintained.

What was the outcome?

Will update once it's occupied.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Always offer what you can if the numbers still work. There's nothing wrong with "overpaying" compared to asking price IF the numbers still work for you and it's not too slim. Never be afraid to talk about your deals. If someone shows interest in investing in general or has other experience in real estate, simply let them know you're going to be using a private lender and wanted to offer the opportunity to them since they showed interest before asking anyone else.

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

I have any amazing contractor that is a buy and hold investor himself. Robert Biggerstaff Enterprises has been very helpful in getting me rehab numbers prior to bidding and also answering questions along the way as this is my first rehab project.

I appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately the seller didn't like the offer we made and is going to try his hand fighting the foreclosure in court.

Contact Glast Heim LLC. Arianne Lemire is a member here and they market to that area and wholesale also. She may also have more resources for you.

I've got a del I need help structuring. There's a seller who bought a house owner-financed and is now being foreclosed on 2 months later due to some issues and not doing proper due-diligence. I'm planning on buying a holding this property as a rental. I've spoken with the owner-finance lender and she is willing to entertain changing the terms of the mortgage if we take possession of the house. Should I make this offer a subject-to offer and then file a release of lien to get the seller off of the lien and file another lien for the new terms I will be under? I had someone mention a deed of trust transfer but wasn't sure that would completely release the seller from any responsibility or right to ownership. Any opinions would be helpful.

I spent a year looking for a duplex to do the same exact thing. I finally found a duplex with each unit 2/2 1100sf top/bottom setup and in good enough shape to be VA financed. That was almost a year ago that I bought it and even inherited a great tenant that is still with me. Navarre has a small handful of multifamily but they rarely go up for sale. I actually found this one on Zillow and had my realtor hunt it down asap. If I see anything I can pass it your way though!

Daniel, I grew up in Navarre and currently live here now. I would suggest Cindy Sheldon with four seasons realty. She's a longtime family friend and I bought my own residence through her. If you can tell me what you're looking for I'll keep my eye out or let you know of any deals I come across. There isn't really a downtown area in Navarre. Just about all of Navarre is only ten minutes away from the beach which is a plus. Holley by the Sea is the largest neighborhood by far but there are also a lot of HOA restrictions and you're looking at price points of about $250k+. There's a lot of new construction going on behind the Publix and off of Panhandle Trl that is equal in quality to Holley by the Sea but with bigger lots sometimes and no HOA. If you'd like more information feel free to reach out to me. best way is to e-mail me or through facebook. Hope this helped!

Robert, I'm trying to help out a non-profit that's got some vacant land that was donated to them they're trying to sell. It's in the Blue Heron Point subdivision. Another real estate agent told me it's not going to be easy to develop. The asking price is $35k and I'd love to help them find someone to purchase if possible. It's lot 29 if you want to look it up.

Hi Quinton, are you doing any land investing or know anyone that is?