All Forum Posts by: Teri Feeney Styers

www.caliberhomeloans.com

Walter - I was actually at a presentation last night by Caliber Mortgage. Apparently they are all over the country. This gal was super sharp and I was pretty amazed at the products they have. They actually retain 97% of their loans in house - don't sell to a third party. You should look for a local office. And never forget: a mortgage loan officer only makes money if they find you a loan! 

This is a fully rehabbed duplex with an asking price of $137,500. One side is a large two bed, full bath. The other side is a really cute studio. Both have private entrances and private parking. Both have interior access to a shared laundry and backyard. You won't find a more affordable multi-family than this. With 20% down it will cashflow at a 20% ROI! We are still working on it with a "move-in ready" date of early August – just in time for college starting. You can rent the studio all day long for $400 per month – people are crying for this price range. The larger side will go for $800 - $900 per month – especially if you are pet friendly. Or live in one side and rent out the other to offset your personal expenses! Tons of details to tell you.

Talk to a lender but what about adding a HELOC to your existing mortgage (such a great rate - too bad to let it go...). You could pull another $70k out of the existing house. Put 10% down ($35k) on a new home and still have $35k for an investment property AND your existing home would still have 20% equity... In essence, use one house to buy three.

Okay - here is the approach I would take when walking room to room: Ask questions about dated items (and others) and pretend to be jotting down the answers "When were these countertops installed?" (house was built in 1995 and they have never been replaced) then when they say "1995" you can repeat back "okay - 20 years ago then?" in a friendly acknowlegement. They'll start to get the picture.

Then, when talking about the current value vs. renovated value you can explain how "oh - people watch these HGTV shows these days and they all want the freshly updated stuff. The thing is (and this is true) if a house needs say a $5000 roof or $3000 carpet job, it is hard for buyers to come up with those chunks of cash after they buy. It is much easier to have that stuff installed before you sell, up the value of the property, and then let them roll those upgrades into their mortgage. It is only $50 a month on their payment... Then when the seller of the tired house says "I don't have another $8000 to put into this place" you work a deal at a lower price. This concept works whether it is a wholesale deal or an end buyer. There has to be room to do the improvements and have it make financial sense. 

Go ahead and lowball an offer on the A property. It is bank owned - they have no sentimental attachment to it. They can always (and sometimes do) counter you. The only loss you'll have is time while it floats around a couple of desks and they decide what to do. 

When possible I like working with local banks (Community Banks, Locally owned lenders, credit unions). Usually decisions are made locally - as your portfolio multiplies you want people who can actually put your face with your name and your properties with addresses and areas they know. 

Here is what I wrote on the other tiny house forum post: I am in Mesa County (Grand Junction) Colorado. County regs here don't require houses to be a certain size (although some subdivisions do). All homes must have: bathing space, sleeping space, cooking space. R-8 zoning allows you to split off as little as 3000 sq feet to create a new lot. However, what I have done is find existing homes with extra, accessible lot space. Our City allows you to build what they call Accessory Dwelling Units in backyards! I am currently converting a 3/2 with an odd floorplan into a 2/1 AND a "tiny house" apartment (180 sq ft). The lot is large so I am also splitting some off and plan to build a cottage (500-600 sq ft) with a tiny house (240 sq ft) behind it. In theory, the lot is "free" - although there are most definitely costs involved in the process and I have seen comments about this that are dead-on: you don't get a break just because you are building a small house. The cost for a sewer tap, etc. is the same. I can only make this work because I am working with a run down house in a cheap neighborhood. But there are places like this all over town. The next month or so will tell - the "duplex" will hit the market and I will see whether I have proof of concept or not. In our market the tiny apartment would pay 50% of the overall housing cost. If someone chose to live in the tiny side and rent the larger, then they would have FREE housing...

I have another longer comment on a different Tiny House thred regarding what I am currently doing with an "in-fill" concept. However, I think one area regarding Tiny Houses that many are overlooking is the "affordable housing" component. It is one thing to have a second home or build a tiny house to create financial freedom. However, there is a huge need in virtually every community for affordable housing. The average social security payment is less than $1200 per month - and millions of baby boomers are retiring every year with little or no other income available. Young people are coming out of college with huge loan debts and not a lot of money to afford rent. I agree that you probably aren't going to put your 3 kids in a 200 square foot house - but there are tons of people that don't fit that demographic. By adding tiny houses to unused backyards and tiny lots you can create an additional source of income for the owner and an affordable housing option for someone who otherwise might have to spend 50% or more of their income on a place to live.  

In our county the occupying  parties do not have to be related. 

For the new construction: In my case I have to buy a separate sewer line (which is not metered - just flat fee). I may use the same water line if I wish. I will split the gas and electric onto its own meters. 

For the existing home: I have to install a separate heater that is thermostatically controlled from inside the apartment - I found a nifty little unit that will do the trick for under $300. I have to make sure that the breakers are accessible to both units 24/7 (they are now on the outside of the house; so no problem there). I had to pay an extra fee for the potential additional sewer usage - but did not have to install a separate line. The water, gas and electric are all on one bill - so it will have to be a "utilities included" rental. 

As far as addresses - you can request that an address be assigned. But in my case the lots on either side of me are already 488 and 492. I am 490 - so I will have 490 A,B,C & D - with four mailboxes curbside.