All Forum Posts by: Stephen Stokes

@Ashraf Ayyash seems you are looking for a portfolio lender (non-conforming lender that holds onto their own loans). Check out Sonora bank. I just checked in with them on 8/6 and this is what they were willing to do then. I have seen them offering 85% across SFR and MFR in past but these are special times....

Loan Amount: Based on 80% of the appraised value

Rate: WSJP + 2.0%

Term: 5 Year Balloon

Amortization: 20 Year

Origination Fee: 1.0%

Your best path is to start calling up the local small banks near the area you are looking to invest and ask them what they are willing to fund. Specifically you want to ask if they offer portfolio or non-conforming loans and then dive into the details from there. If they cannot help, ask for them to point you to another bank or lender that can. You never know until you pick up the phone.

@Jibu V. I go about the negotiation process quite different than you explained. Feel free to send me a direct message and will share my process. 

On the relationship aspect, this is business and if someone offers a better deal on a homogeneous product like conforming loans I do not feel bad going another direction. Now if you are talking about portfolio lender, private lender or anyone that can work outside the box of conforming loans....that is an entirely different story. 

@Jim Spatzenfeld I am also a big fan of better.com and have closed with them. They guarantee to beat whatever offer (loan estimate) you provide them or they will write you a $1000 check plus the closing process was the easiest I have ever been through (my financial situation is complex).

I see a lot of folks looking through rosy-eyed glasses lately. When the all the stimulus, forbearance, eviction moratorium, etc. goes away, reality takes hold. My market opinion has been an unpopular one but I still contend you can only kick the can down the road so far.

https://www.statesman.com/business/20200818/amid-outbreak-austin-apartment-market-sees-first-rent-drop-in-10-years

I am also interested to join collaborative meetings, not necessarily virtual as I do not find that useful time. Live events allow to communicate in small groups or 1:1 and actually network with each other. 

@Robert Eyers sadly Phil and Shanoah Grove who run the Austin REIA are mainly pushing their "big dogs" guru program for $50k rather than fostering an environment for meeting other investors.

I do not see how anyone can be surprised by this....

Hints my comment on buying the right way :-)

@Ben Lugo In my humble opinion you should never purchase a condo for investment purposes unless it is capable of short term rentals. Even then, you better get on the board and stay on the board to prevent them changing the rules on you. I am of course bias but having both in my portfolio I can certainly say duplex will outperform. 

@Neil Narayan There are still many single family and multi-family homes in the downtown area that can make for great investments if bought the right way 

@Ryan Hazelwood I’m 34 and have 6 units. Started with house house hacking.

@Danny Webber

"From Danny- I personally believe the government will intervene in some way to either prevent this or mitigate it somehow. "

Not to get into a political debate but where will the government get the money if it cannot tax it's people? What will the impact of this source of funding increase be? Will we see stagflation? Government intervention into private markets is a temporary fix with long and medium term unknown impacts. History has shown that kicking the proverbial can down the road exacerbates the problem. I am personally more concerned of this component than any deep and hard recession/depression we may or may not be entering into. Many speculations can be made here of course to the outcome of macro trends but certainly see major structural changes to risk profiles. Regardless of any viewpoint, fact is we are not in January 2020 anymore, a time of extreme and global economic exuberance for the near term future. We now have increased and new risk adjustments that need to factored into every deal analysis. Macro environmental shifts SHOULD impact micro evaluations. I know I am certainly less willing to pay top dollar for deals now but others seem to be denying the glaring warnings of future macro impacts such as the unemployment rates or bankruptcy filings. The idea that I was completely unable, if needed, to evict a non-paying tenant for many months on end is one example of increased regulatory risk that should be compensated through increased risk premiums to the investor.