All Forum Posts by: Timothy Jacob Wallace

 Stessa popped up in some searches I've done, I'll take a look at that and the link you passed along.

Thanks.

I've looked around at old posts but haven't found what I'm looking for.

I own a MHP, a SFH, and a Duplex. 15 doors + 5 on lot rent with around 10 empty pads I'd like to have included. I do NOT need software where my tenants can pay online, I have a manager that collects all of my payments and sends me deposit receipts for the SFH and MHP, my duplex tenants mail me checks. I also do not need listings, tenant screenings, unit advertisement, etc. My MHP and SFH are in a rural area, my manager advertises locally and usually knows a tenant's reputation or history without having to do credit or back ground checks. My duplex has long term tenants, in a desirable area, and I could have those filled by word of mouth pretty quickly if ever needed.

My 'wants':  A simple platform where I can log in rent payments with the corresponding tenant, a place I can input all expenses (maintenance, management, mortgage, etc), and tax prep reports would be nice.  I use TenantCloud now, but it seems bulky to me, I'm not the biggest fan.

Any recommendations from the BiggerPockets crowd?

I picked up a small MHP in January of this year.  10 park owned homes, 5 lot rent, empty spaces for added income in the future.  There was a good bit of deferred maintenance that I'm done fixing for the most part, as well as some tenants we were able to replace.  I have a great manager and we both believe we finally turned the corner and are heading in the right direction after the changes we implemented.  This was an owner financed deal, the park is in town in rural Arkansas, it grosses $5,450/month.  Goal is to net around $3k/month within the next 3 months (it's cash flowed since I purchased it, lowest month so far was $800, highest around $2,500, repairs that needed to be addressed are the cause as well as planned vacancy when we were getting some inherited problem tenants out).

I owe $158k on it, amortized payment at 30 years, balloon payment in 7.  I spoke with the previous owner (who I am financing through) about a month ago and she mentioned a vacant trailer she's paying lot rent on (it's in decent shape) as well as a metal building on the front of the property that didn't convey that she would be willing to sell (would up gross rent by $1000+), and that she needs cash for something else she is working on, but doesn't have it.  my initial thought is refinance, pull some equity out of the park, pay off my loan at a discount since previous owner needs cash, and pick up two additional income producing pieces for the park.  I talked to a local bank I've worked with in the past, they will do the refinance, regular stipulations, it's already been approved pending appraisal, but the appraisal cost surprised me.

Long story short, the cost for the appraisal is $3,700, it's the only bid they received.  They admitted it's high, seemed extremely high to me but his is the first time I've ever needed a MHP appraised so I could be wrong.  Going off of rental income, which is what they said they would be putting into the appraisal, the property should be worth what I need it to be ($225k +).  What has me concerned is that if you just look at it as a piece of land/sewage/water/etc and 10 park owned homes, and don't take income into account, it's probably not going to be worth that much since it's in a town in the Arkansas delta (it is a good location for the town, walking distance to both schools, Dollar General, grocery store, other amenities).

$3,700 won't set me under by any means, but at the same time I don't want to just 'lose' nearly $4k if the appraisal comes back low.  Does anyone with experience in this have some insight as to what I can expect?  I asked my contact at the bank to see if the appraisal company could give a ballpark, something to ease my mind, but they would not do that (I didn't expect this, it was a shot in the dark).  I have refinanced properties in the past, but with this being the first time I've done so with a MHP, I want to have as much info as possible before making a decision and 'gambling' $3,700.

Thanks for any information.

I've run this opportunity by some people I know, but I want more feedback.  I'm in the final stages of a  flip (contract on the property, closing in the next 4 weeks) and I'll be putting money into a new investment.

I have the opportunity to purchase a MHP that is not on the market. It is in a rural area, no real industry in the town, but within 20 miles of an area with several job opportunities, a lot of farm hand work is available as well. It is a 33 lot park, it currently has 10 lot owned trailers, 2 on lot rent, and 1 trailer that is bank owned (bank has it for sale), with 20 vacant pads. Current gross revenue is $4,925.00, property tax is $800/year, tenants are responsible for all utilities (on city sewer and water), tenants are also responsible for yard maintenance (they can pay $10 to have their yard maintained if they don't want to do it), owner is responsible for upkeep on empty lots, 3 are on HUD payments.

I own other property in the area (not rentals, recreational) and I have good contacts for maintenance and upkeep, I also have someone I trust to manage the property (I live 10 hours away, but I spend roughly 60 days a year in this area).  The lot is in a 'good' area of the town, it is easy walking distance to schools, dollar general, grocery store, gas stations, and county offices.  It is not in a flood zone.

Initial plan (could always change) is to keep the park owned homes, purchase new mobile homes as good deals present themselves, place them in park, offer a lease to own option to new tenants, transition to lot rent once the mobile home ownership transfers to the tenant.

I believe I can get this property for at least $235k, likely a little lower.  I have a few banks in the area I can acquire financing through, and I plan on putting at least 20% down and keeping at least $10,000 in an account for any repairs on park owned properties that might happen early (all trailers have had substantial work in the last 3 years, all in average - good condition)

Does anyone have anything they would recommend I look into?

That's definitely an option.  My upstairs unit is below market value, I can raise rent around $150 there (and planned to do that regardless).  My basement unit is about as high as it can get without doing some renovations, I could MAYBE squeeze $50 - $75 more per month.

When current contracts end, I plan on a rent hike for at least the upstairs unit, likely downstairs as well but not as large.  I still believe I'm leaving some money on the table with utilities though.

Thanks Jeff, I'm not familiar with sub-meters so I'll start researching them.  Thanks for the link.

I'd like some feedback from the BP audience.

Long story short, I bought a duplex on a lake. The margins are slim but still positive, but the reason I purchased the house is due to property values rising a significant amount in two years (dam issue on lake, currently extremely low, coming back up in 2022 after repairs). The current plan is to hold property at the very least until 2022 when the lake comes up, likely plan on holding a little past that. My issue is this, this is a former SFH, the upstairs remained the same, basement turned into a separate residence, house is on one electric meter. Electric bill averages around $300 +/- per month for the year for entire duplex. I'm still awaiting quotes, but from research I expect rewiring and putting in additional meter to be south of $10,000, closer to $5,000. Initial plan would be to place downstairs unit with a mini split system for HVAC purposes and keep upstairs unit on current HVAC set up.

The options I'm weighing are rewire with separate meter, increase cash flow, the reno pays for itself in a couple of years.  The reason I'm hesitant on option #1, is that I don't know if it will hurt property value.  House is lake front, not many MFH around, but a couple, mostly vacation homes and smaller single family homes, but still close to several decent size cities/towns and jobs (<15 minutes).  When I go to sell this house, I'm curious if the second meter will stunt interest since some buyers would be interested in turning the residence back into a single family home.

Any advice on this situation?  Any one have experience splitting utilities between two units on one meter without adding an additional meter?  Would like to straighten out sooner rather than later as current contracts for tenants are ending next month and December.  Good news is I purchased at a great price so I'll make money in the long run, but I would like to find a plan that works best for both short and long term if there is one that reduces my utility costs and keeps home value in place when I'm ready to sell.

Hey everyone.

I currently split my time between South Carolina and North Carolina, and I'm looking at buying rental properties in the Spartanburg area to start (where I was raised and know the area relatively well).  I have formulated a plan that I think is the best route moving forward for my personal finances.  I'm looking for some experienced real estate investors (particularly buy/hold) in the state of South Carolina, that I can bounce my plan off of to make sure I'm not missing anything that could cause issues down the road. 

I posted this on the 'New Investor' page and received some good feedback so far, I wanted to put it here to reach a larger audience.

Anyone willing to exchange some messages with me?

Thanks.

Jacob

Caleb, I grew up in Spartanburg, and I know that area pretty well.  That is where my initial purchase(s) will be.

Jackson, I don't think Caleb is looking for advice, but I am.  I will be sending you a message.

Thanks.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Jacob, and I will be jumping into the rental market within the next calendar year at the latest, most likely in South Carolina.  I joined bigger pockets for the vast amount of information, and I'm also looking to connect with someone I can bounce my plan off of and get honest feedback.

Where would be the best forum to post, in regards to discussing financing options I already have and which ones to choose, attack plans, and basic entry into the real estate market?  Should I focus on my state forum, or is there another one better suited for what I am looking for?

Thanks.