All Forum Posts by: Steven Catudal

1 . This is all about the compromise you are willing to make. You can look into finding a duplex and renting out half or finding a property with a small guest house that you could rent out. It seems like you may live in a rural area so if you have land, you could look at finding ways to buy a place that has land that you could utilize (storage, guest-house, sports area).

2. Start talking with lenders now because they can give you an idea of what you can afford. They will also be able to work with you to help you get better credit or optimize finance to afford more. I would recommend starting with a local / smaller lender as they can give you more attention vs a rocket mortgage. 

3. Tell him your situation and what you want to do (i.e., investment) and they have some criteria ready such as you want a private living area for your family, backyard, # of bathrooms, etc.

4. If you cannot find meetups, spend that time in these forums reading and chatting with others

Bonus: 

-Pick one book on flipping / house-hacking and read it. BP has some good ones but there are TONS! 

-Listen to BiggerPockets podcast every day. Some might not be relevant but you will pick stuff up over time

-Do you now any friends/family that have a rental or bought a house? If so, reach out to them and ask about the experience

Hi Simon, in what areas of Cleveland have you been seeing good investment opportunities - especially in A/B neighborhoods? I have been scanning for a couple months and haven't seen much.

 Sorry for the delay - I have not.

 Correct. Maybe even 30k for renovations. 

Great question! Looking at $675 purchase cost and around $800 ARV.

Hi folks,

I found a great deal but do not have enough cash to execute. I have enough to cover the down payment but the property is going to need some renovations. If I bring in a partner, how does that usually work? Let’s say I put in $80k and they do $20 to fund the renovations, do they own 20%? What is the usual structure for partnering? Also, what kinds of loans are available for this?

Hey I have been working with a lawyer named Angelo Bagnara who is pretty good! If you google him you should find his contact.

I just bought my first investment property (duplex - one rented, one free) and had a few questions. Please keep in mind that I plan to rent to college students and the free unit is about 2,000 sqft:

- I went to transfer utilities and the past owners have a balance. Therefore, I need to send PSEG my deed for them to solve the issue. Has anyone experienced a similar issue? How long does it take for the deed to be ready after close?

- I have to do some renovations for it to be rentable. This includes, repainting and patching some holes. I was quoted between $5-10k. How hard is it to do this myself (aka me + a few friends for a couple nights)? The materials themselves seem quite cheap. Is there a big quality difference between using a spray gun and traditional rollers?

- Is it worth hiring someone to put in recessed lighting or should I stick with current electrical and just put in LED bulbs? 

- I am planning to have a contractor tear out the current carpet and install new vinyl. Would tearing out the carpet myself save on the cost of this? I was quoted $4k for removal and installation of new vinyl (without materials).

- What is the best way to price the rental? Is it better to list it at the highest that I think I could get or should I price more conservatively to create competition and then try to push the price up? Is it better to wait for all renovations before listing with pictures or should I post listing now without pictures saying that renovations are under way?

- How do I go about managing existing tenants and setting expectations? What is the best form of communication?

- Any other things to keep in mind?

Very helpful! Thank you!