All Forum Posts by: Ryan Ness

As it has now been 2 years since the property has been rented, I do claim the income on my taxes. 

I will be interested in multi-family, LTR opportunities that I can househack. If the cash flow of this property could get me beyond what is needed for my cost of living, my current W2 may not be a requirement, and I could make use of my Realtor's license in Indianapolis instead. I know the W2 may be needed for the approval, but I didn't know if there are other options if I needed to step away from the W2.

 Yes, it would be my primary residence. I have been trying to also take advantage of the Fannie Mae 5% down-payment option if possible too.

 I figured it wouldn't be much of an issue. I had one lender who was taking issue with anything that was greater than 1 hour away as they were concerned with my commute to my W2. 

I am currently located in Lafayette, Indiana. I have been living in a duplex househack that I purchased in 2021. I would always prefer to use as low a down payment as possible, but I understand that being located 1 hour from Indianapolis may present some challenges.

I currently have a W2 income in Lafayette and am a licensed realtor in Indiana as well. I have not been as focused on the real estate sales and have really just held onto my license for the time being.

Are there any lenders that would be a good fit for this scenario? I do not see myself doing 20% down on any property greater than $150,000 to ensure I still have reserves.

I have already linked up with some Realtors based in Indiana and have property searches going, but I want to be sure I am set to submit offers when the opportunity arises. I have been working on sourcing deals in Lafayette as well, but the market is pretty thin here compared to the options even just on the MLS in Indy. I have 2 options on the MLS here in Lafayette that I know do not work, but there are 11 in Indy in my list of options at the moment just as an example.

This property is located in Lafayette, IN. Especially on an apartment building, are there any ideas of difficulty to insure? If so, is there a best recommendation for the removal/deactivation of the wiring? I do not anticipate a complete gut job and rewire, but there is some potential existing above only one unit. I understand that this can sometimes lead to more wiring than was initially expected, so I need someone who is up for the challenge and at a price that's hard to beat!

The presence of the wiring was noted a week or so after we were in contract, but I also assumed from the start that it may come up on inspection due to the age of the property, and its location. I know that the appraisal may work to my advantage as well if they flag it. I have already budgeted $25k for repairs on the property, but this was not one of them. My main concerns are health & safety, along with the ability to insure the property for $300 or less per month. This is a 4-unit built in 1915, that was converted from a large single family initially. PP is $250k, with a fixed 7.7% interest rate for 30yrs. Goal is getting rents to market at $950+/unit. The appraisal and inspection are both taking place today, and I expect to review them either tonight or early tomorrow morning.

I am under contract for my second duplex, and am thinking it will be time for me to begin hiring out lawn care, as I do not plan to have means to transport equipment between properties or dedicate time to a low value task. My first quote has been $55/week. What is your average cost per mow in Indiana? Both properties will need the service, and are 6 miles away from each other. I have already contacted two other contractors for quotes in order to obtain three total quotes.

I understand that some investors like to also make use of lower-cost options, such as neighborhood kids, but as I am running a business, I would like to maintain a process that is repeatable and predictable and that may also adapt to long-term needs, such as landscaping and weed maintenance. Also, my tax bill was super high this year since my property didn't really require any maintenance last year, and this would be a beneficial write-off as it would buy back time and ensure a quality property. Tenants are already required to perform snow removal the other 6 months of the year as per the lease agreement.

 Do you have any recommendations on strategies other than brokers?

Apologies if you have already started a thread on this. I have seen that you're quite active on this forum and was wondering if you have ever posted about your approach to cold emails. I am currently working with direct mail (handwritten letters) to some of my neighboring properties in hopes of responses, but I would also like to take it a step further with another marketing channel if possible. I know cold-calling is another tactic a lot of investors use, but I know it's become so saturated, and I like to reserve those calls for a more personable approach to booking coffee with experienced owners in my market. I'd love to hear how you did it!

Not to hijack this thread, but I am also running into issues with a dry market. I have seen your posts on other threads and wanted to congratulate you on your progress so far!

Have you been working with any marketing tactics to attempt to overcome your current hurdles? I have been working on direct mail marketing but haven't seen any replies as of yet. I know some people also do cold-calling, but I reserve that tactic for trying to book coffee with more experienced investors in my market. 

This is awesome! I am looking at duplexes that would require that much down for just conventional financing. Did you have a certain plan you implemented to come across this deal? I am currently exploring networking opportunities to source deals like this!