All Forum Posts by: Darryl Dahlen

He's definitely an admirable person, but he's going to get a good dose of humble pie this weekend when the Patriots put the Broncos out to pasture.

Aside from the financing aspect of this deal there are also ongoing licensing issues to consider. You state you currently work in a 100 bed facility, which is a good thing, but do you have the experience to own your own facility and keep it compliant/licensed?

It's an important question since if you partner with someone who has the money to help you they will definitely want to know you can properly manage this type of property.

After doing some online research, I've decided to give MailChimp a try. From what I've read, it looks like it is more user friendly than Constant Contact.

Would those of you who use MC agree with that statement or is there a learning curve to either of them before one can create professional looking marketing emails? Not that it matters either way since I need to sign up with one of them, but it'd be nice to know I'm making the right choice.

You've already received some good replies here, but I'll add my .02

Most commercial loans are full-recourse these days, which means you are on the hook for the loan. In order for your guarantee to mean anything, the lender wants to see that you have the things that matter to them. Meaning, credit, income, and assets.

Of course, they also like to see relevant experience as well, but as Jon stated, if you lack that you can "sometimes" shore that up with an experienced partner or if the property is under the care of a good management company.

I would add that if you have no landlord experience whatsoever you might be better served be starting with a smaller property and work your way up to a foreclosure.

You mention that the property is a foreclosure, but you didn't mention how many units are vacant. Banks are looking for stabilized assets these days and typically require a running occupancy of 85% or better for 3 or more months in a row so that is worth mentioning.

That's not to say that you might not be able to get around that if you have other income streams to mitigate the bank's risk, but if the occupancy is low you're looking at hard money more than conventional financing.

I read the thread title and was ready to give you an "atta boy" for walking the walk, lol.

While I can't tell you how Fannie handles foreclosures, I know that HUD multifamily foreclosures come with a long list of conditions as I receive their listings.

I would suspect the two agencies are fairly similar in nature with regards how they vet buyers.

HUD has a 63 page booklet explaining how to bid on their foreclosed properties and it is full of language about how they can keep your earnest money deposit if YOU don't meet their standards.

My gut tells me FM won't be all that different, but no doubt you can find all the details directly from them.

I'm down here in Florida for vacation and I saw no less than 10 empty stores in the local mall. I couldn't believe it given it's located in a good sized town.

Back home in southern Maine the economy isn't that bad, but I did notice while doing some shopping how some of the clerks were discussing how slow things had been.

Overall, I do think things are better/getting better, but considering where we were, I also think a lot of areas of the country have a loooong ways to go before things can be called good.

I can definitely say that in my area of New England we are far better off than this area of Florida where I'm staying.

That is great news Josh! As always, thank you for you hard work and dedication to making BP better and better.

Personally, the speed with which the site now loads is SO much faster than what it used to be just a short time ago.

That alone makes the site much more enjoyable, but I can't wait to see what else you have in store for us.

While I can't attest to the returns in these cities, MPF Research, who is a respected firm, announced the top markets according to the city's occupancy increase in units:

Perhaps this info will help determine which markets may be worth exploring.

The Top U.S. Apartment Markets (as of the second quarter of 2011

• Dallas-Fort Worth – 8,390 units
• Chicago – 6,350 units
• New York -6,270 units
• Los Angeles – 5,630 units
• Atlanta – 5,110 units
• Houston – 4,390 units
• Boston – 4,360 units
• Washington, D.C. – 4,290
• Phoenix – 3,940 units
• Detroit – 2,500 units
• Denver – 2,480 units
• Miami – 2,450 units

The Dallas-Fort Worth Apartment Market (as of the second quarter of 2011 and according to MPF Research)

• Apartment completions – 784 units
• Average monthly rent – $780
• Average occupancy – 92 percent
• Units currently being built – 7,316

You may also want to consider the possibility that you might be able to refinance into a non-recourse loan down the road (typically in a year once most lenders consider any equity in the property to be yours).

Banks are sometimes more willing to offer a non-recourse loan on a refinance than on a purchase so it may be worth talking to your bank if that's something they'd be open to.

This is usually due to the LTV is more in their comfort zone since they can lend off the appraised value, not the purchase price.

You will also have a years worth financials under your belt which can make you a safer bet to a lender if you've kept the property operating in the black.

I still think a loan at 6% compared to 12% is a no brainer, but if you are really concerned about the recourse avenue I thought it worth mention that you "may" be able to refinance in a year into a non-recourse loan.