All Forum Posts by: Taz Zettergren

@Pradeep Varghese welcome to the forums! I work with a few hundred clients who prefer the southern/middle part of the country because of the price points, laws and numbers. Areas like Memphis, Little Rock, Texas and Oklahoma. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Best of luck on the journey! 

@Damon Albers hate to hear you've had a rough start in your real estate journey. If you've personally seen the applications and trust what they're doing on the front end to screen these residents it seems like this is an anomaly, at least for the 38128 property. We own and manage quite a few in that zip code and have had great success. 38109 on the other hand is a very challenged zip code so it makes investing tough. Personally I won't buy anything west of 3rd st which is hwy 61 if you're looking on a map. So if you are thinking of selling I would sell that one first but if you're a long term investor I would hold on to the property in 38128... and if you don't call me! I might be interested in buying in or have a client who is

@Priyanka Shah Kudos to you for staying resilient in the ever evolving world of real estate. Like others have mentioned Detroit, just like most any large cities, can be very street by street especially if you're chasing cash flow. I would recommend focusing on markets/sub markets that will provide a more consistent return so take your time and be careful in the areas you're investing in.

Personally I prefer the middle/southern part of the country because the price points are much lower and the laws are landlord friendly. When looking within each market I prefer to stay around that median priced home because that's where the most demand will be not only for renters but for owner occupants so it's easier to sell for top market value if/when that time comes. On paper it may not show as much cash flow as some of the lower priced pockets but there's a much higher probability of a safe, reliable resident that will make your return much more consistent and passive over time. 

Best of luck on the journey! 

@Juan Alvarez congratulations on starting the real estate journey! When selling properties occupied it's a challenging task because your buyer pool is so limited to just investors. If you're wanting to flip and are on a time clock bc of hard money I would recommend leaving the property vacant because it opens you up not only to investors but owners occupants as well.

One thing I was unaware of on these DSCR refinances is the pre-payment penalties. My top 3 go to lenders all have 5,4,3,2,1 pre payment penalties, you can pay some points up from to get that to a 3,2,1 but there's still a penalty for paying off early. So if you have deep enough pockets I'd hold the property for longer and refi into a conventional loan if possible. I'm trying to turn my money quickly so I can get more units because I plan on holding these properties as rentals so I don't mind the pre payment penatly I'll just have to wait to refinance those if/when rates come down far enough for it to make sense.

Hope this helps, best of luck! 

@Graham Lemly what a great situation to be in. With the goals you've mentioned, as bad as I hate to say it, I'd sell the condo and buy a single family home for you to live in. It hurts to let the 3.5% rate go but since you're not going to be able to rent that place out in the future I'd take advantage of the equity you have in it and start the investment road you're wanting to go down with a single family. Since you'll be able to put less down on the primary you should still have plenty of cash to buy another single family home as a rental. 

With today's interest rate's option C is going to have very few opportunities, in areas you'd want to be in, that pencil. Feel free to reach out if I can be of any assistance! Best of luck 

@Vijay Radhakrishnan Congratulations on making the first purchase! I hear great things about Akron

@Philip Levi it depends on what part of town the rental is in. If you're in midtown/east Memphis where it's a more expensive area that can be a little more modern/trendy I don't think a horizontal fence would be a bad idea. Anywhere else I'd recommend a regular fence that'll be low cost and efficient

@Nicole Arocha you've gotten same great advice on this thread. If you're wanting to do some of the work yourself I'd definitely recommend house hacking vs BRRRR. If you can get a multi unit to house hack you could potentially do a short term rental of your space while you're out of the countrry if you really wanted to get creative but either way house hacking gives you the experience of being a real estate investor while being hands on and managing a renovation if you chose to do one and being a property manager.

There are passive ways to own real estate as well, like Nicholas said syndication, lending or working with turnkey providers. There are companies that are vertically integrated specialized for helping investors who don't have the time nor the effort to spend sourcing deals, managing contractors, finding residents and managing. Working with a team that does all this in house is essential because there's a level of accountability that comes along with it. Some of these companies have gotten creative with lenders and can offer rates as low as 4.75% on a 30 year fixed loan. Feel free to reach out if I can be of any assistance

@Richard Wilkinson There are several markets in the southern/middle part of the country that are very favorable to investors with positive cash flow and growth potential. Memphis, Little Rock and  Oklahoma just to name a few. Are you looking to work with companies that are vertically integrated or more so with a local realtor and piecing the team together yourself? 

@David Herfel it depends how much time and effort you have to spend on the house itself. If you find yourself with a lot of free time and you want to get your hands dirty then I'd advise looking for something that needs some work, typically you'll be able to get a deal like this a bit under market value. If you don't have the time and don't want to spend the effort then I'd suggest looking for something turnkey. I would recommend talking with an agent there in Louisville so you can get a good idea of what you should expect as far as price ranges go