All Forum Posts by: Tim Murphy

@SusanTan, total square footage is 2k.  The rental price is a little low for the area, however, our PMs have increased it with each passing year allowing it to improve its cash flow.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback @BenSears.  We'll look into the options you suggested and see if they will fit future investments.

Hi everyone. This is my first post in BP and I'm excited to be here. I'm trying to identify an investment path forward for my wife and I and am eager to hear everyone's recommendations. A bit about ourselves in order to frame the discussion: newbie investors, both work full-time, live in San Diego, CA, possess two investments and a primary residence, looking to invest in Norfolk/VA Beach/Chesapeake, Virginia, and will have $60-70k annually to invest. Additionally, I'm active duty military and will likely move in 18ish months, thus freeing up my VA loan again (we will not be moving to the location in which we want to continue investing). Investment 1: cash flow $300, $250k in equity. Investment 2: cash flow $700, $60k in equity.

We are from the Norfolk/VA Beach/Chesapeake, Virginia area and would like to continue to invest there. We have an excellent real estate agent that we will continue to use.

Our original game plan was to use the $60-70k annually as a down payment and grow our investments by 1 per year.  Upon further review, I would like to be more aggressive than that, however, lack the knowledge to do so.  Does anyone have any recommendations on a more aggressive path forward or view our situation differently?  

I have read several investing books and listen to investing podcasts daily.  My knowledge base will continue to grow, however, any and all recommendations are welcome.  Thank you for the time.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Norfolk.

Purchase price: $236,000
Cash invested: $60,000

Duplex investment near Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My wife and I were interested in obtaining a multifamily property near where we grew up.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We found this deal through our real estate agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional lender, 25% down

How did you add value to the deal?

We requested numerous repairs prior to accepting the deal.

What was the outcome?

The investment was purchased and we inherited two units already rented and cash flowing upon purchase.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The biggest challenge was obtaining insurance. The home was nearly 100 years old, and while everything had been updated, there still remained some polybutylene piping in the home that proved problematic to insure. Although I was able to find insurance that covered the polybutylene, it took me nearly a month of consistent effort to find a broker to insure.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Our real estate agent, Jillian Walter, was excellent.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $382,500
Cash invested: $100,000

Vacation rental in Big Sky, MT.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My wife and I love to ski and spend time outdoors and Big Sky offered both in a beautiful location.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We found the deal through an agent we met during one of our off days during a ski trip while driving around the local area. We obtained her contact information and contacted her 6 months later requesting access to the MLS in order to identify potential investments. After identifying several options, we flew back up to Big Sky in order to explore the various options. Ultimately we identified the home we wanted to make an offer on during this trip.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional lender, 20% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

We were very new to investing at the time (and still are) so we negotiated the price only negligibly. We were able to obtain all of the home furnishings in the deal.

What was the outcome?

The investment was purchased and we updated the investment with new carpets, new countertops, new appliances, and a hot tub. The home rents well and has increased cash flow with each year. Our equity has increased by approximately $250k through forced and market appreciation.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Our real estate agent, Stacy Ossorio, was amazing and we would not have this investment without her.