All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Ford

Thank you.  I recently met an investor with loans all over the place.  He was hurting bad since things didn't go his way.  I don't ever want to be in that situation. I know I'll be needing another option when I decide to pull cash out one of my properties so I'll keep you in mind.

In my opinion I would rather still purchase cash and leave the option open to refinance if needed.  It's a lot easier not paying a mortgage if the tenant gets a little flakey than having the pressure.

Since she is avoiding you then it's definitely time to do an eviction.  Another option is to get rental assistance from on one of the local or national agencies so you won't miss out on your money.  You can explain to the tenant that you are doing this as a one time courtesy however if they miss payments after the agency catches them up then it will be an immediate eviction.  No questions asked.  A non paying tenant can be a nightmare but if your property is left vacant and vandalized then it can be an even bigger nightmare.  I try to find solutions vs going for eviction since the tenants don't move out immediately and they can cost you more money in the long run.  I recently gave a tenant an eviction notice however I applied for state money at the same time.  So if she moves great however I won't miss out on my money now.

Most of my properties I buy cash and do the rehab myself. I recently bought a property with owner financing then I applied the BRRR method. The banks have the upper hand in my opinion when doing this. This is because they know they have you where they want you. The lenders can jack up the rates, take you through it when attempting to pull out your renovation funds and have you on the hook when it's time for another property. In my personal opinion, I see the benefit but in some cases I don't. Now I know we don't have an unlimited supply of money, however in my opinion, it's better to pay cash then get a portfolio loan. What are your thoughts on this.

Get a new agent!

You will want to start with the state website vs permit office records. Anyone can pull a permit.  Often people will lie about the job value in order to get a permit issued.  Only licensed homebuilders can perform work over $10,000.  So if the contractor is not on the state website for homebuilders or contractors I would run as fast as I could!  Also when you meet a contractor, ask for a copy of their license.

I just recently finished a property for my rental portfolio.  I acquired it at $50,000 and I put in $15,000.  The common mistake I find with a lot of investors is that they don't invest the right amount in the property and they start having problems when the tenant moves in.  Even though I did cosmetic improvements, I also did things to increase the value of the property.  I added two bedrooms which made the property a 4 bedroom vs a 2 bedroom house.  There was a room that the previous owner used as a den and the attic space was being used for storage.  In addition to doing the cosmetic improvements, I fixed a lot of deferred maintenance issues as well as safety issues.  Even though you are not trying to make the property like one you would live in, you need to keep the tenant in mind.  My rule of thumb is to deal with issues on the front end so you won't have problems collecting your rent when the tenant moves in.  Don't be fooled when a property is occupied because people don't fix things because they don't have the money.  If the tenant ever moves out, I will rent this as an airbnb.  What's been your experience in investing in rental properties?

I get a lot of emails from investor lift clients. What's the cost? Is it worth it? Does it work?

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $50,000
Cash invested: $7,000

Brick 2 bdrm 1 bath that I converted to a 4 bdrm 1 bath. Has 1700 sq ft

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

Property was lived in by current owner and looked to be in pretty decent condition

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

From a wholesale deal gone bad

How did you finance this deal?

Owner Financing but doing refinance now

How did you add value to the deal?

Added 2 bedrooms from an attic and a den

What was the outcome?

ARV 95k

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

no