All Forum Posts by: Stacey Olson

Thank you @Henry M. (and the person whose account is now closed :-/ )

@Dawn Anastasi  5%...good question :-)

My husband just got off the phone with our portfolio lender. He (the husband) texts me this: "they want us to do a 3/1 ARM w/ 20% down. And they will let us use rental income." The good thing about this is that we don't have 2 years landlording experience under our belts yet and we're looking at multifamily units (with renters already in leases), so this expands our borrowing potential. Actually, I'm not even sure there's a huge down side except that 20% can turn out to be a heck of a lot of money when you're just starting out.

I'm not terribly worried about the ARM as I'm sure we'd just refi at the point it kicks in. This is, however, my first time working with a portfolio lender, so I have no idea if what they're offering is a good deal.

Thoughts please! :-)

Stacey, Tacoma, WA

I agree with @Pete T., but I will also say that I had an issue earlier in the week, used the "contact us" form, and once they sent the initial reply (it was within 24 hours, but much less than 24 if I remember correctly), they were awesome about carrying on the dialogue until we found a solution. Once we started talking, the trouble shooting started happening immediately, and the final answer happened shortly after that.  

Best of luck @Jeff Smith!

In case you're looking for a little something to help you realize you're not alone in having to figure out what to do with all the information you've been gathering, I've posted a little tidbit to encourage you on your way:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5259/blog_posts...

I'd love your thoughts and feedback. How have you managed your own life around REI and family? What does self-care look like for you when you're in the middle of a month of action? Look forward to hearing from you!

Stacey, Tacoma, WA

Hi Jennifer, and welcome!

I lived in Melbourne (actually, Mentone, about an hour out of the city on the Frankston train line) when I was a teenager for a year, and then for another few months after I graduated from high school.  I swear half my heart is still there, and I am entirely envious that you were living there recently!

My husband and I are avid travelers (even with two little kids) and new investors here in the Tacoma Area (currently near McKinley) as well. Anyhow, great to hear your story and how you're taking the bull by the horns in various areas of life. Very inspiring! Good luck to you guys! Perhaps we'll meet in person one of these days!

Stacey

Okay, so I realize that this question has probably been asked a million times, but I'm new enough around here that I'm going to justify asking it again, simply because I'm still learning the ropes and am not quite sure where to find the information:

What are the rules (spoken and otherwise) about contacting a property owner directly when a property is listed with a real estate agency?  We're looking at making an offer on a triplex that has been on and off the market for 4-6 months.  The owner is out of state (a seasoned investor with 9 pages of deeds, transfers, etc. at the county assessor), and we're thinking we'd like to look at cutting out the middle man (like, "if you decide to delist and want to talk about options, let us know").  Neither of us are brokers as yet, but we're pretty sure there are contracts in play and want to be sure not to burn bridges in the process of moving forward.  WWYD (what would you do)?

Thanks!

Stacey Olson

I'm trying to tag/ping another BP member in a blog post.  I am not getting the dropdown to select their name when I type in @johndoe. Do you have any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thank you!

Welcome, Mike!  My husband and I are in a similar boat...Just purchased our first home together in the last year, and now working toward buy and hold properties (which we have accepted will likely come after a flip or two and perhaps some wholesale deals).  We are in the early stages of learning how this crazy game works, and we are finding BP to be an amazing community with a wealth of experience.  Good luck to you as you move forward!

Wait!  I think I'm seeing my problem...can you only ping people that you're connected to (i.e. if I like a post and want to make reference to it, do I have to connect to the person first?  And if so, can I just follow or do I need to actually send a colleague request?)

Thanks!