All Forum Posts by: Steven Tierney

@Andrew Postell good point.  I did PM Brooke the contact info for the person I’ve used a few times already.    That being said, it’s always good to try out a few people and see who works the best with you.

@John Menton, I just PM'd/Connected with you.  Good luck.

@Chris Jackson - I know this thread is old, but for single family investment properties like flips, or SFR buy and holds, you can look into the Fannie Mae HomeStyle mortgage product. 15% down payment is required with a fixed mortgage on the purchase price + renovation costs done through a bank approved licensed contractor. Might be old news to you at this point, but I figured I'd mention it in case you hadn't heard of it. Similar to 203k, but non-FHA and a little less paperwork... I've been looking into these for a little while now. Lots of info on BP about them. Check out this link too:

https://www.fanniemae.com/content/fact_sheet/homes...

Hi Everybody,

Can anybody recommend a lender in Massachusetts, connected to appraisers that understand our market here, that is an expert in the Fannie Mae HomeStyle mortgage program?  I'm looking to get into buy and hold SFRs or Flips, and this seems to be my best option for funding one of these projects right now.

If so, let me know.  Thanks!

@Christian Allen Thanks for the insight to that part of Providence.  I'll take a detour to that area on my way through the city next time to see for myself, but I trust that your assessment is accurate.  I'd like to see what it's like so I can compare to other parts of the city.  

@Patrick Wheeler I'm being lame, and looking on MLS right now, but mostly just to get a feel for the different markets again. There isn't a REIA terribly close to me to find wholesalers to talk to (Wareham I think is the closest), so I've been looking for bank foreclosures, online auctions, and Short sales primarily. I'm not in a rush, and financially still figuring out what my options are, so I could wait for one of those PITA MLS deals to work out potentially. Wasn't there an Eastern Mass REIA in Rockland once in a while? Anybody know what happened to that? I can't find it anywhere online...

@Charlie MacPherson I'm just starting to learn about Plymouth, and realize that it seems to be a stable rental market. I assume it's the one on Sandwich Road, I saw that a while back. Even at the rents you mentioned, it doesn't even meet the 50% rule, even with 20% down, nevermind the cost to rehab (including septic), and the high taxes on that property. Maintaining an acre of land for a rental sounds like a headache too! In general, my problem right now is that for a MFR, I'd need to get creative with how I'd fund a purchase and rehab - I know there's a lot of chatter/blogs/guides on BP to guide that. Anyways, I'd love to chat more about Plymouth. Also, did I see that you were hosting a REIA meeting in Norwell?

Thanks for the insight @Charlie MacPherson .  I'm definitely not looking for MFRs in Scituate, that's a lost cause!  I've been exploring the Rte. 95 corridor (Dedham, Canton, Norwood, Mansfield, North Attleboro), as well as Kingston and Plymouth.  I've been peeking a little into Fitchburg, but haven't gotten great feedback from people connected to that area.  Brockton and Attleboro fall into the same category for me.  It'd be great to get into one of the Towns near me (Weymouth particularly, but also perhaps Rockland or Abington) but the prices have soared in these areas since even two years ago.  Gheesh - 2 years makes a big difference!

How do people go about "rating" towns, or areas of Towns? I see reference a lot to school grades on here, as in: "It's a C town" or "C- area" etc. Is that a personal designation, or is that tied to MLS somehow? Just curious about that.

One area that is of particular interest to me right now is the East Side of Providence.  Specifically, the Mt. Hope area - there seems to be a lot of affordable MFRs in that part of Providence, along the fringe of College Hill that seem like good investment possibilities.  Anybody know anything about that area?  I grew up in Southern RI (Richmond), and went to URI in Kingston, so Providence was somewhat foreign to me (30 minute drive in RI is drastically different), but have been to downtown quite a bit, Wickendon Street, Federal Hill, etc., just not the Mt. Hope area really.  Pawtucket is another area that seems hit or miss.  If only the economy and job outlook in RI was better.  Talk about a brain drain in that state - Oh, poor Rhody!  Love to hear from some Rhode Island investors if possible.

Regarding the Fannie Mae Homestyle Loan - for investors, it only works on SFR's, fix & flips. I'd be interested in that as a possibility for building capital which I'd eventually want to move into a MFR later on.

Thanks everyone!

Hi Everybody - It's been a while since I've been on the Bigger Pockets forums actively, so I thought I'd say hi.  Since I was last active on the forums, about 2 years ago, my wife and I relocated closer to the ocean into a fixer upper single family property, had baby #2, and I started working part time, and from home, to provide more family flexibility (2 young daughters).  So a few big changes in the past couple of years... I've been wonderfully distracted, but have started to refocus:  I've registered for real estate sales classes next month, and look forward to connecting with new people on here.

I feel like I'm all over the place because now that we've settled into our little house, made a number of improvements to it, we're in a position where we have over $150k in equity in the house, and real estate investing is slowly coming back into focus for me.  2 years ago, primarily out of frustration for not being able to find a primary residence, I stumbled onto Bigger Pockets and found myself looking at distressed properties and making offers on houses to flip... until I found a residence suitable for my family.  That was then...  Now I find myself wanting to get into the multifamily scene.  The south shore of Massachusetts (Scituate) is a tough area to break in, the pricepoint is high, and the market is hot.  I've looked into a number of cities south and west of Boston, but find myself averse to the idea of being a slumlord.  Does anybody else think about that, care about that, or is the only thing that matters the numbers?  Property managers will deal with the issues, right? :)

Besides that, I find myself struggling with the idea of using our primary residence as leverage to get into real estate investing. A HELOC or cash-out refinance could work if we wanted it to, but again, I'm pretty risk averse and don't like that idea. So here's my primary dilemma right now - we have good credit, and solid incomes (above average for the area) - is there a traditional financing option for me that requires a minimal down payment for multifamily investment properties? I believe the Fannie Mae Homestyle loan could work for me if I found a house to flip, but I don't think it applies to multi-unit investment properties.

Anyways, just thought I'd pop in, say hi, and see what you all think.  It's good to be back!

Touché @Don Harris.  You're right.

@Waverly Rennie, the house was a complete interior gut job, including all of the wood flooring which was 75% of the house, and needed all new windows too.

I ended up making an offer on the house that I felt comfortable with, but it was rejected by the seller.  The house has come back on the market multiple times after other potential buyers are apparently doing their due diligence on this issue after getting their offer accepted, and/or they discover traditional financing isn't an option because of the mold.  I learned that this house is the perfect example of making an offer you're comfortable with that allows you to make money on the deal, and if it's not accepted, move on quickly to the next house.  No sense in waiting around.

The best part is that every time the house comes back on the market the new list price keeps creeping down lower and closer to my original offer!  I wonder if they will eventually give me a call back...

Hey @Jeremiah O'Neill - I've priced out similar jobs for around $12-15k, so I think that first quote is high probably.  Get 2 more bids as others suggested.  Good quotes will have all the receptacles and switches counted in them.  Be sure to think about wired smokes too as it'll be way cheaper to do that now then later.