All Forum Posts by: Solomon Stavis

Hello BB. 

I'm hoping someone can provide some guidance on this! I'm buying a second home to be used as an STR. Become it's a second home/vacation home, the bank is only requiring 10 percent down, which is fantastic. I plan to create LLC for the tax benefits; however, the bank will not allow me to buy the house under an LLC and require the loan under my name.

1) I'm trying to understand the pros and cons of having the mortgage under my name while still have an LLC. For example, can I pay the mortgage through the LLC, or will I be required to pay through my personal account?

2) Assuming I have to pay the mortgage from my personal account and not through the LLC, can I still claim the income generated from the property under my LLC if i have all other expenses (Gas, Water, furniture, any rehab, etc) are paid through the LLC?

If the question is confusing, it's become I'm still trying to wrap my head around this process. Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Hello BB community!

I'm looking to build a cabin/small house in Virginia to rent out for Airbnb.

There are many cons and hurdles when building a house such as permitting, zoning, installing a septic tank, getting utilities to the properties, grading, to name just a few. This doesn't even include finding land and actually building the house. Despite the many cons, if you can pull it off, the returns regarding cash flow are much better than rehabbing a home or buying a turnkey.

I'm currently in the process of looking at land, talking to banks and contractors. I would love to connect with anyone who has built or in the process of building a house and cabin for Airbnb to share strategies and exchange ideas and keep each other motivated :)

Thank you!!

@Bryce DeCora I didn't think this level of detail such as estimated rent was available via MLS but will check with my real estate agent. Thanks for the feedback!

Hello PB community!

Does anyone have any experience using data to identify deal opportunities? Ideally, want I would like to do is download all the houses for sale in a particular zip code and then sort based on home sale price against rent estimate. From there, I could then just search on my own those homes that fall in say the top 20/10 percentile on best buy to rent ratio, for example. I know Zillow has home price and rent estimate data on their webpage but I can't figure out how to download that data to an excel file where I can better analyze it.   Zillow and Redfin both allow you to download their data into excel and Zillow even has an API but all their data is better for analyzing trends in the market since it doesn't allow you to download the individual address per se.

Just wondering if anyone out there who is good with data has any suggestions on how to do this and or how they are using data to funnel deals. 

Thanks!

@Eric James and @Lynnette E.
Thank you! I appreciate the feedback and suggestions on how to reduce the risk. I didn't know I could review the tenant's application and credit check prior to closing on the house. This is very helpful as I can at least see what jobs they have and the industry they work in to determine to some extent the likelihood of them being laid off during COVID. I also love the idea of asking for closing cost credit equal to the amount of rent. This is a good negotiating tool even if they don't go for it. 

Thank you!

Hello BP community! 

I'm looking to buy my first investment rental and I came across what I think is a great deal in Jacksonville, Florida. The concern is buying a house during COVID where there is a chance the renter will not pay rent. Is there anything I can do while the house is under contract, to verify the renters' employment or any other information to reduce the risk of the renter not paying rent? The renter has been there since March 2020, so not a super long history. Any thoughts as to how I should approach this as a first-time buyer?

Thank you! 

@Carrick Young thanks for your feedback! I will definitely check out insurance prices. Are you an OOS looking at Jacksonville too? I grew up in the Bay Area and I know prices there are crazy right now. 

@Matt Berklacy wow thank you for that super helpful advice!! 

@Greg Moran Yes, definitely a fan of David Greene's book on Long Distance Real Estate Investing! And thanks for sending me a DM. Will pick up that chat there.