All Forum Posts by: Sam W.

Yep....I get almost identical responses to my craiglist ads. If it smells like a duck, walks like a duck....

I have two HE LInes of Credit on two investment properties...they are through Huntington National Bank for 80% of the CTLV (I have 1st mortgages on each). Huntington did not finance the 1st on either property. There were minimal fees involved.

While I know you said you were not successful with an earlier attempt, I would think it should be relatively easy for you to get a HELOC for your property.

Bottom line answer to your question is that yes, banks do extend HELOCs to investment property.

Like all insurance, title insurance rates are regulated by each state - so the basic rate for the insurance (buyers and lenders) is set. Of course, depending on the state, the title company can add fees onto the title insurance transaction.

For example, a lender may require a closing services letter or additional endorsements might be added onto the policy (these can run from endorsements for the survey to a condominium endorsement to a resourses and mineral endorsement).

Some municipalities and counties also add local fees to each title policy purchased, so that might affect the final price.

So, bottom line is that the base price for the policy is set by the state but additional items might be added.

Not sure how your title company fills out the HUD-1, but with my title company, the settlement and closing fees (line 1102)($295 in your case) is carried "left of the line" and is rolled into Title Services and lender's title insurance (line 1101). Is the $295 shown under the "Paid from Borrower's Funds" colunm on the HUD-1? Also, is the property financed? If it is, the lender's title insurance would be part of the $400 (which would explain the high price). If it was a cash sale, I think $695 is awfully high for settlement costs (my last cash had $295 for title services/closing fees).

Hey Dell,

Welcome...fairly new here myself.

I'm over towards Medina county.

Enjoy the vacation and good luck this year.

Sam

Craig Sturgill .... I focus up in your neck of the woods. Good luck with the deal.

I've used HD quite a bit and have always been very happy. I'm by no means a real estate tycoon but I have 17 doors and have replaced a bit of carpet over the past 4 years.

To give a sense of the costs of my last carpet install about two months ago:

Small SF House (Living room, hall, 2BR w/ closets, 8 stairs and den):

92 yards of Galloway River Birch ($6.21 yd): $571 total
92 yards of Berberbond Premium 8# pad, 3/8" ($5.67 yd): $521 total
8 steps at $8.50 per: $68 total
tax: $79
Installation: $97
Measurement fee credit: -$35
Total: $1302.45

The installers were a local installation outfit contracted by HD. I was extremely happy with them and have been with all of the HD carpet purchases and installs I've had (about 12 total). In all cases, I received a call several weeks after the install asking if I was satisfied and if any corrections need to be made.

I'll admit I haven't "shopped around" for the best deals but I am happy with HD. As a note...the properties were all vacant during install so the installers did not have to move furniture (which is extra) and I removed and disposed of the old carpet rather then having the installers do it (which would have been extra as well).

Bottom line is that I am happy with HD.

So interesting to see the paths everyone has taken...so many impressive stories.

Me...28 years in the Army doing the normal Army "stuff". Two more to go until I have to grow up and stop playing (yes, I love being in the Army).

Absolutely no formal Real Estate experience (other than I live in a house). Starting investing in rental properties 4 years ago in the town we'll settle down in. Something about owning real estate that is just much more interesting to me than owning stocks or bonds. More personal I guess

I am by no means a big-tme RE investor like many on BP, so I don't have a broad range of experiences to draw from. I am finding, like many have shared on numerous forums, that it difficult to find bank financing for subsequent investment properties. For the beginning investor, the first, second or even third property isn't too bad, but it become a chore to secure bank financing after that.

I currently have 5 properties (10 "doors") financed by banks -- all good producing properites -- and it is getting tough to find additional bank financing. As an aside, I have never found a bank would give me 0% down on a non-owner occupied investment property (but like I said, my experiences are not terribly broad).

I have purchased 3 additional properties with partner financing (they put up the money...get paid back between 3-10 years....I do all the work...they get a % of equity and % of rent forever). This has worked out well but I must choose the properties wisely as paying back the loan in only 3-10 years puts a strain on cash-flow.

The last property I bought was a straight seller financing. Again, it is a short mortgage period (8 years) so cash-flow would be a problem if I paid too much for the property.

I found the sell-financed property by keeping an eye on vacant properties...researching the county tax roles to determine ownership....then writing lot of letters. I was looking for the property that was owned free and clear. The one I found was an investment property that was part of a divorce settlement. The ex-wife received the property in the settlement and didn't want be a landlord nor go through the hastle and expense of fixing up the property to sell it. The monthly income she will receive over the next 8 years is more valuable to her than owning the property.

The next no money down "option" I have begun to explore is to enter into long-term (5 year +) leases with owners of vacant properties. I'll fix them, maintain them, and sub-let them out to tenants. Again, getting the right property and lease terms are very important to ensure I'm actually going to make something every month.

Long post, but wanted to give my experiences and thoughts as a relative newbie in the rental RE world.

Sam

I agree with some of the others....seller financing might be the best way to go. I was initially daunted by working through it but just closed (Oct '12) on my first seller-financed place and am working on three others.