All Forum Posts by: Amy A.

I have been wondering about this too.  Every year I have to give my commercial mortgage broker a financial statement and tax return.  I don't see what difference my net worth makes to them as long as I'm making the payments.  I've yet to test them by not submitting the documents, but it is a nuisance.

Also, during the financial crisis my friends who were manufactured home dealers lost their line of credit because the bank decided to stop financing that type of business.  This was after 25+ years of on-time payments and it might have been the final straw that put them out of business.

That's funny, I was thinking of looking for apartment buildings in Georgia.  Welcome to Maine.

The church is a family and you shouldn't do business with family!  When people from my church find out I have rentals, they often refer people to me who they want to "help" who in no way meet my tenant criteria.  You will get a lot of pressure to rent to people who can't pay rent, and who will end up paying for the losses?  

My advice is to use your entrepreneurship to make lots of money yourself so you can donate more to your church.  

I like working class rentals, but not low income/section 8. There is always drama - moving boyfriends in without permission, fighting, smoking (and fires that go with it), often unable or unwilling to pay the tiny amount of their portion of the rent, not paying utility bills, helpless to do minor maintenance, unpermitted pets, frivolous inspection failures... after all this, when they finally leave, you have to rehab the entire apartment because it's trashed. Even though they stay longer (if you don't kick them out for a lease violation) the turnover and extra maintenance are so expensive that it's not worth it. Oh, and they don't have to pay those HUD rental amounts that are published and you can't raise rent just because it's section 8.

@Tim Milazzo thank you for the info.  What is the purpose of lenders requiring a high net worth and liquidity if the loan is non-recourse?  How much liquidity do they typically require?

What I'm looking for is a long term fixed rate, which I haven't been able to find for my 5+ unit buildings with balances under $1M. 

You might know this already, but since you said it's your first deal...  Are these on owned or rented land?  No deeds for personal property, just for the land they are on.  

Although he's much more conservative than I am (I believe in using leverage for appreciating assets), I think Dave Ramsey's program might help you.  If nothing else, listen to his radio show for a while.  If, as another poster mentioned, you are making $25k per year, you need to invest in a "bigger shovel" to dig your way out of debt and get ahead.

If your 401K plan allows it, you can take a loan for up to 50% or $50k, whichever is smaller.  You have to repay it over 5 years or less.  This would be nice to have for an emergency.  

Most of my properties were not profitable the first year.  They were always for sale for a reason.

I ended up not needing him, but had a good conversation with the guy at Cardinal Point Property Management and he seemed to know what he was doing.  You might want to check them out.

I am looking to expand my portfolio into bigger multifamily properties out of my area. Right now all of my loans for 5+ units are with a local bank. They are around 4.5% interest, 5 year fixed with 25 year amortization. Pretty low closing costs. 25% minimum LTV. My largest loan is around $450k.

I've heard somewhere that commercial mortgages of over $1M have better rates that are fixed long term.  Is this true or am I looking for a unicorn?  Thank you.