All Forum Posts by: Thomas Travers

Thanks Chris, so basically a construction loan as far as my property is concerned is the same as having a mortgage. The loan was based on the entire property so I can subdivide it but I'll have to ask permission to sell pieces of the property off? 

I have a 10 acre property in Gilmer County Ga. I recently took out a construction loan through First Federal bank of Kansas City. I've been told by some locals that if I ever was thinking of subdividing, the sooner the better because they may change the size lots to a larger size from 1 1/2 acres in the near future.  Looking back, maybe I should've divided it before the loan but this is all new to me. Can I still subdivide and build on the property? Or just build and rent it?  It's a construction loan now and not a mortgage, is there any difference as far as the subdividing? After the loan is done, the bank expects me to roll it into a conventional mortgage with them. Could I get another mortgage company that will be easier with this situation?  Thanks. 

So at this point, I've spoken to a construction loan officer who went through the process with me briefly. Basically they would lend money in stages as the house progressed, then after the place is finished it can be refinanced into a conventional mortgage.  I also spoke with a few "hard money" lenders. They made it seem very easy. One said he could lend quite a bit a 3 % for 30 years. I have zero experience with these guys. Seems a little too good to be true. But maybe not. In any case, I'd have to refinance after the house is built to a conventional mortgage. The construction loan guy will have a ton of paperwork for me to do.... It seems a lot easier with the other lenders. Any thoughts would be appreciated thanks. 

Thanks for taking the time for the great info, I appreciate it and will pay the goodwill forward.  I'm thinking 100% Heloc on my home, which won't get me everything I need but a lot closer and I'm going to check into hard money investors...development loans or rehab loans etc. Having no experience with this is stressful but I'm game. Anyone have any hard money recommendations?   Thanks

  I'll check into a Heloc...According to Airdna and I don't know how accurate that is, the average monthly for the area, Cherry Log, is $4554 a month. I think we can do better than that. We have a lot of airbnb/vrbo  experience from our place in Florida. 

Other than conventional mortgages which I've had a few, I'm inexperienced with anything else. Where do I find "private money" and what's a "hard money rehab loan". thanks

Thanks. I'll see about finding a lender to finance. I have another option also. I'm thinking about subdividing the property and selling a few acres with 100 ft of creek frontage which should be very attractive. The property is wooded and a bit hilly but it's perfect for a getaway cabin with a beautiful spot on the creek. The Heloc refi might work also. Or just build as much as I can until the money runs out (probably 80% finished) and just take my time from that point on even if it takes a year or so to finish. I don't want to do anything crazy like run up the credit cards. It's in a great STR area it will airbnb just fine when it's done.

Hello, I'm close to starting the process of Building a home in the Blue Ridge Ga area. We are planning on it being an STR property. By my calculation, we don't have enough to completely finish the project this year. I'm guessing we'll be 50k short. The building will be up, just not furnished/finished. I'm prepared to work and save for another year to get it done but I'm wondering if I have any practical borrowing options to get it finished? The Blue Ridge property is on 400 ft of creek front(stocked trout stream), very private on a subdividable 10 acre lot with mountain views. My home in FL is worth about 450k and I have 100k equity in it. Thanks, Tom

Interested in any info about buying a lot and building a cabin for an STR in the Blue Ridge Ga area. I have never purchased a lot before and the pricing is all over the map. I was wondering what to look for etc. Thanks

I know this thread is old but there's not much about San Miguel de Allende(SMA) out there and I have some insight.  Been visiting and renting there short term for 20 years. We love it but the real estate market is dominated by mostly wealthy Americans, Canadians and Europeans(Gringos). There's a pattern that goes on there. People visit, fall in love with it, buy a house at an inflated price...then when the thrill wears off, if it does(it hasnt for us), they can't get back what they paid for it when they try to sell. Not impossible to sell but I know a few people that are stuck with houses. You can rent beautiful houses on the cheap if you know where to look. But, if you get a pretty good deal comparatively when you buy, and cultivate short term rentals as a business for the long term, not looking to sell, you definitely can make decent money. Of course you'll have SMA to visit and enjoy also, hopefully for a long time. My wife and I are looking into buying a place to do that soon. I'm sure some of the beach places in Mexico put up good numbers but it's not all about the money for us. We think SMA is fantastic.