All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Cruz

We purchased a second home earlier this year using a conventional mortgage, and we plan to live in it for a year while doing some DIY work to fix it up. We plan to turn this into an Airbnb and buy another home under a conventional mortgage once our one-year period is up. We noticed our windows leak when it rains, and during the winter, the windows had ice inside the home, causing puddles of water to form on all of our window sills when the ice melted. I have had to use a towel to remove the leak from the window sills on our windows at least twice a day during the winter. 

Is the cost of replacing the windows worth it in this situation? We're hoping to start getting quotes next week.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

We bought this cute little 2 bedroom 1 bath house in Northwest Arkansas, right in between downtown Fayetteville and Springdale. We plan to fix it while living in it and convert it into a short-term or long-term rental. We could not have done it without our amazing real estate agent, Zach Stanley!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The property is in a great location. We have a friend who lives in the neighborhood and has good things to say about the area, which made us feel confident about putting in an offer.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

During our tour, the property appeared to be in good condition, and we were comfortable negotiating the seller's lack of repairs, provided the cost did not exceed $2,000. This was a great suggestion from our real estate agent, as we were interested in purchasing a place we could fix ourselves as long as big-ticket items, like the roof and foundation, were in good condition. It was a bit of a gamble, but the inspection report came out great.

How did you finance this deal?

The property was financed using a conventional mortgage; this would be our second conventional mortgage loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

One significant repair we need to make is replacing the windows. During the recent winter storm, we discovered ice and water inside the house, so we've had to wipe them every day since we moved in. We also plan to paint the walls, repair the kitchen, and possibly add new floors.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

1) Make sure to have checks; we needed to write a check in so many instances, which we're not used to doing since everything is online these days. 2) spend the money to take good pictures of the property if you're going to put it up for rent. I didn't realize how different picture quality was when comparing phone pictures to professional ones

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Our Real Estate agent, Zach Stanley, was an absolute SHARK, and we could not have done it without him. As soon as the property was listed, the entire morning was booked with showings, and the seller had many offers. Given how popular that property was, we thought we would probably lose out to a cash buyer, but his suggestions were very helpful.

Thanks, ya'll :)

@Jonathan Greene i'm keeping it as a rental for now, @Scott Trench spreadsheet tool was very helpful for deciding that. 

@Ryan Blackstone I thought your name sounded familiar! I would love to take you up on that if you're ever available to meet up or have a phone call. Same with @Austin Wolff, I would love to meet up sometime. 

Thanks, Ryan!

Hello! I'm Stephanie, I live in Northwest Arkansas but I've lived in Florida most of my life. I'm new to real estate investing and I'm hoping for the next move to be a house-hack in Northwest Arkansas. My partner and I purchased a single-family residence last year intending to live in it for a while, however, our whole mindset changed when we read @Scott Trench's book "Set for Life". I'm taking a slow and steady approach for now to get a better understanding of real estate investing before trying to scale. My partner and I both have 9-5 jobs with mine requiring work travel, so it has been a challenge attending local meet-ups regularly; which is why I am so glad this platform exists to help us network! 

I've been listening to audiobooks and podcasts whenever I commute or conduct repetitive tasks at work, read books on the plane, or look through the forums as needed. Even though I don't have long hour blocks in my day where I can dedicate to REI education or execution, these little efforts each day have taken me further than I was just a few months ago and will continue to take me much farther in my REI journey. I would love to network with local investors, lenders, and contractors. Any advice would be much appreciated!

This is the first post I clicked on this forum and I felt called out, so I added a photo and a bio. Thanks for looking out for the "Starting out" crowd :)

Thanks, Nathan! This was a written pre-screening. They filled out an inquiry form on a listing site that mentioned their desired move-in date. 

Hi everyone! I'm going to be a first-time landlord in Arkansas :)

I'm in the process of pre-screening applicants BEFORE sending them an application where they would pay for the background check. One applicant mentioned their desired move-in date in 9 months in the future but that move-in date is way too far from our earliest move-in date (2 months from now). 

Question: Is it legal to deny sending them an official application if their desired move-in date is too far away? I feel as if it's better to deny them at this stage before they even pay for an application.