All Forum Posts by: Shain Ismailovski

Figure out your financing before anything else. Being young and in school, lenders may look at you with skepticism and not issue loans. Getting that done will allow you to figure out what kind of budget and deals to be mindful of. 

Frankly, the answer to both your questions is research. The obvious fears were not being close by to deal with issues or be as hands on as I like to be, but eventually finding peace by having a good team in place. I read a lot on up and coming cities and looked up their stats. Citydata.com is a good resource. You want to look at areas that have healthy job markets and a solid rental market. If unemployment is high or median income is low you should skip it. Start by narrowing down your markets by towns instead of states. Once you have a couple in mind start analyzing deals. Eventually you will start to see numbers that make sense in more areas than others. Before you pull the trigger I would suggest having a team in place ready to go to run the property for you since you won't be present. This starts with a good real estate agent who is familiar with the area and working with investors. Next, you need to find a good property management company. Working with a local lender, like a small bank is often a plus as well. The research and team building phases are essential, but ensuring you narrow down your search will keep you focused. Read David Greene's book on long distance investing if you haven't already. 

We find ourselves in interesting times for sure. If done right this may give tenants and landlords some relief. 

Theres quite a few to pick from the content is all very similar. Look at what programs best fit your schedule. 

This is tricky because I don't think you should necessarily relax standards that are meant to protect you. It's understandable that you would like to help people in need but you are also running a business and if someone isn't employed or their income doesn't meet qualifications that would be a red flag even in the best of times. They have unemployment now, but what happens if it runs out in a few months and they still don't have a job? I'd look to reduce credit score qualifications and maybe decrease the initial security deposit needed to a months rent, but I wouldn't go much further at risk of getting the bad end of the deal. 

Feel free to shop around, but rocket mortgage is a very popular option with many buyers. One of the best things it has going for it is the convenience of the online tools it offers. You shouldn't see that big of a variation in rates between sites like rocket mortgage and major banks. You'll probably notice greater differences when looking at smaller local banks. 

This can be a fluke but it depends on the market. If you're looking at it economically supply is decreasing right now. People are waiting to put houses on the market or withdrawing them which in turn makes the houses for sale more "valuable" due to limited supply so they are raising their prices.

It may seem viable to sell right now given the economic shakiness in most states. Since this property isn't cash flowing and the proceeds from the sale can help reduce your debt it seems like selling would do more good than holding it. 

I would check with your local municipality. guidelines first to make sure you're not violating any new regulations. Every state and town seems to be doing their own thing. I would imagine posting a notice should be fine, something along the lines that you will be able to work with her during this difficult time and you're not looking to screw anyone over right now. It's frustrating since she has completely gone MIA, we're seeing this a lot lately. Some Tenants figure they can't be evicted right now so rent doesn't matter. You should stress that rent is still due and you're able to help her come up with a plan to pay at least a portion of it. Otherwise, there will have to be consequences once this all ends. 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It is my understanding that this will be challenged as soon as courts are able to open back up. 1-4 family units are not affected, at least for the time being, which won't impact smaller investors.