All Forum Posts by: Tanner Lewis

You can walk the deal with a contractor to provide you with a scope of work. I suggest you get three of these to help determine what contractors are legit and which are underestimating repair costs. For #2 and #3, talk with a realtor in the area. BiggerPockets has a Find An Agent tool that connects you with investor-friendly market agents. Building your team is the best way to feel secure with an out-of-state investment property. 

Look on BiggerPockets' Find A Lender tool. They have the top lenders in the country and can help match you with one that makes the most sense for what you need. 

I would look at sister cities around each of these major metros. I'm in Austin, and housing prices are almost comparable to California prices. Many areas outside the city are much more affordable and offer higher cash flow while taking advantage of the residual appreciation from the major metro. 

If you have solid equity in the deal or if you have increased your credit score. I would look at a rate-term refinance, not a cash-out refinance. With rate-term, you will be able to get much better rates than with a cash-out. I am not sure how the VA loan works with refinances (and I mainly do DSCR and hard money), but per my understanding, you should be able to do this through the VA to take advantage of the lower rates and higher leverage.

Abysmal. Look at comps yourself. The best comps are: 

- sales in the last 6 months (last 3 months is optimal)

- within 5 miles

- same bed/bath count

- similar square footage

-similar condition (new build, recent rehab, average, good, etc)

This is what your lender/appraiser will mainly look at when determining the property's value. Going into a deal with bad comps can cost you thousands when you try to exit the deal. 

I use Fortress Brokers when I get quotes from borrowers. Insurance in Florida is an ordeal, but they have always delivered. 

Your lender will also have minimum guidelines for what they require, but I recommend getting rental loss coverage on your deals. That means the insurance company cuts you a check equal to your rent for any month the property is uninhabitable (e.g., fire, flood, hurricane). This is especially necessary in Florida. 

Reach out to @River Sava; she is in Charlotte and has a massive network of realtors across the country

I suggest going into a real estate investing field. I was planning on going to med school so I could buy deals down the road, but I figured it would be better to just jump right in. I would 100% recommend. It allows me to do what I love, and I have seen thousands of deals since I started and put in countless reps closing deals. Invaluable experience if you plan to invest. 

Killington is about to pop. I think Vail is about to build a new resort there, but you may want to fact-check me. 

 https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/guide/section/4201.15

Here is the guide to the Freddie Mac second home loan guidelines. All conventional home loans must abide by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac regulations. Check out bullet point 3 under (a) eligibility requirements which verifies that the borrower must be used for personal use and enjoyment (ie. you cannot use the property if you rent it out more than half of the year). You can run the risk of using it as a short-term rental, but doing so is a violation of the loan documents you sign at closing. There are also some restrictions on the property only being one unit, close proximity to your primary residence, among other restrictions.