All Forum Posts by: Susan Herschell

Anyone have experience with Cozy and/or Lease Runner in managing your rental properties? Any pros and cons you'd be willing to share with the BP community? Thank you in advance for your replies in helping this newbie investor out!

Susan

Currently investing in multifamily buy and holds in Portland OR and Southwest WA area. 

Hi all!

My husband and I are days away from closing on a 7 unit rental property in SW WA and can't find anyone to insure the property! The property is an older property built in the 40s and needs a fair amount of work. New roof, upgraded electrical, you name it. We are working with a local  bank on a commercial loan and the property insurance is the only outstanding piece on the loan contingencies as we are required to carry enough to cover the loan, approx $270K. Any recommendations on carriers who write aging commercial properties in WA state? 

Hello BP community,

I am in the due diligence process of purchasing a 7 unit residential property in Carson, WA. The property runs on a septic system and the seller is required to provide a recent inspection and maintenance report prior to closing. Is this report sufficient or am I better off shelling out the extra $1,000 (and disrupting the existing tenants for a few days and potentially agitating the seller) to have an inspection of my own performed? As long as the seller's inspection is recent and from a reputable source, could  a second inspection just be considered a waste of time?

@Julie L. Thanks for the recommendation! That's a great idea.

Hi BP community!

I am just starting out in investing in MF rental properties. I am working with a mortgage broker I have worked with for several years in buying two primary residences. I know and trust him and he is VERY responsive and quick to get closings done, etc... I am now working with him on securing a conventional loan for investment properties and his process may be slowing down the process. 

His approach for the pre-approval is to customize each letter unique to the property we are making an offer on rather than one generic letter that pre-approves us up to a specified amount. Although I agree with his strategy that personalizing each offer to the property your are making an offer on will help make in stand out, It can be very time consuming to contact him each time you want to make an offer (and we hope to be making many) to draft up a pre-approval. This also eats into precious time when having to react quickly to a listing, although he insists that he can turn it around quickly. But what if we're needing to make an offer on a weekend or when he is out of the office? 

Anyone else use this same strategy. Is this typical in the mortgage industry? Any pros on cons in doing it this way?  

@Daniel Hyman, thanks for the podcast lead. I am finding them to be super helpful. I don't think I've listened to 40 yet. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, @Kory Thaut. We haven't engaged with a broker yet. That's our next step (husband and I are partners). My hope is that they will be able to find some screaming deals outside of the MLS. Thanks for your encouragement.

Thanks Rennee! This is great advice.

I am hoping to start a relationship with a mortgage professional and not sure whether its best to just work direct with a loan officer at my local bank or to go through a mortgage broker. What have been some of your experiences? What would you describe as the pros and cons of each? 

Hi Everyone, 

I am new to real estate investing and BiggerPockets. I am looking to invest in buy and hold multifamily rental properties in the Portland, OR area and having trouble finding properties where the numbers work. The market continues to explode and I fear all the good deals may be gone! Any advice for this newbie investor?