All Forum Posts by: Steve Babiak

In an interest-only loan, there is no principle being paid - so the balance does not change. Don't know why you weren't hoping for that, but that's the reality of interest-only loans.

One thing to keep in mind - that it can be difficult to tap the equity in your investment property. That's just the current lending environment, and maybe it will change ... but that could be for better or worse.

So when you make that extra principle payment on a loan, and then you wish you had those extra funds as cash-in-hand, don't be suprised that there might be lender qualifying that prevents you from getting at that extra money that is now equity in a property.

There was another thread that discussed paying off existing properties or buying more, and where I agreed with another poster who said to do both.
http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/34337-pay-off-properties-vs-purchase-more-properties
I still think you should do both - you just have to plan how much and how fast to pay off when you are in a buyer's market. Having your funds tied up and unavailable these days could result in you not making as much over the long run.

As I stated in one of my older posts, you should never consider "free" labor when setting your purchase price. That post was in regard to wholesalers, but it applies in general, because life happens. If your "free" worker gets injured, how will things get done?

Be sure to properly account for all real expenses, and set your budget accordingly.

As Jon said, get it under contract. Since you plan on an appraisal, include an appraisal contingency (along with any others that you need to cover your risks). If your appraisal says it's over-priced, then you can decide to use your contingency to back out.

If part of the closing costs is escrow of pre-payment for property taxes and insurance with the lender, then you will have some of those funds either applied to those payments, or refunded to you after the conclusion of the refi.

I attended a presentation by a lender specializing in investor loans. NOO, LLC, cash-out refi, etc are all available. This was from a representative of Arlington Capital. See if they can handle your area.

One of the major REIAs in the Philadelphia area is called DIG - Diversified Investor Group. Visit:

http://www.digonline.org/

Put my name down as sponsor.

Dick,

Usually, in order to represent somebody in a court of law, one must be a licensed attorney. I said usually. Might not be the case in TX or elsewhere. Something about "practicing without a license" is how I think it gets worded.

Webb,
The OP mentions
"an investor guru named Scott Rister"

I believe that you will find him to have said software available; and there are also others that have such software or services.

Rich,

The original news reports that I heard of seemed to indicate that the gases that were produced were sulphur-based, and that anything made of copper was readily attacked and corroded. Things like pipes and electric turning black.

And since pipes and electric are typically found between / behind walls, it's hard to see this in many cases.