All Forum Posts by: Todor Ialamov

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment in Allenstown.

Purchase price: $730,000
Cash invested: $182,500

9 Units total. 2 Buildings - 6 apartments and 3 apartments.

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

This was a property owned by a non profit organization "The way Home", who helps low income residents find their homes. They had some qualifying conditions such as new owners needed to have property management and subsidized tenants experience. The buildings were gutted and rehabbed in 2015 using tax credits and could only be rented to low income tenants until 2027.

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

It was on MLS. It was a very long process since they had a bunch of restrictions and I had to be approved by NH Financial Housing Authority

How did you finance this deal?

25% down payment. 1031 Exchange using only proceeds (no out of pocket cash) from a 3 family we had sold.

How did you add value to the deal?

The price of the property will significantly increase once all conditions from NHFHA are lifted in 2027.

What was the outcome?

This is a perfect example of the "boring" stacking method to grow your portfolio. I bought a 3 Family in Methuen MA in January of 2019 for $365,000 and sold in August of 2020 for $523,500. Without any out of pocket funds, we transitioned from 3 Units with $1700 monthly cash flow, to 9 units in a much better condition with $3,300 monthly cash flow.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Learned a lot about affordable housing and tax credits

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

Yes, I did not have my NH license yet, so used an agent who is really close to our team @JeremyWirths

I got a phone call from a police inspector letting me know that the night before there was an arm robbery in an apartment of a building I own. Apparently the tenant had a room full collection of Nike Air Jordan worth close to $200K. The robbers got greedy and were caught on their last trip to the third floor.

We have a saying - "it's not who eats the bread, but who gives it to him". If you want to get some of the "guilt" of your shoulders, you could rent to Section 8 tenants. On the can of worms, I lived in communism. It only looks good on paper and from distance!

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment in Lawrence.

Purchase price: $785,000
Cash invested: $193,750

6 Family with 3 Bedrooms each, two garages and nice parking lot. Property was managed by a slumlord for a long time. Needed to get rid of all tenants but one, update the units and bring rents to market value.

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

Was a good price with plenty of value add.

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

Off market deal that was brought to me by an agent who I made on a RE event. The power of networking!

How did you finance this deal?

Commercial loan through JDCU

How did you add value to the deal?

We updated 5 out of 6 units and raise rent by an average of $450 per apartment. Rented the garages separately for an additional income of $400 a month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The seller was acting really unprofessionally throughout the whole transaction. On a couple of occasions I got really fed up and almost backed up. Lesson learned was to always keep cool and look for the bigger picture. It is a great asset right now.

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

I was representing myself in the transaction

Offer 10% over the cash offer. It is ok to overpay for properties right now, it is actually the only way unless you find something off market. Try to put your money to work ASAP and get as much loans as possible (on cash flowing properties of course). With 3% interest rates and 6% inflation, it is a no brainer. Overpaying today will look like a steal a year or two from now.

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $495,000
Cash invested: $123,750

This property consists a 3 family main building that initially had 1 four bedroom apartment ( we turned into five beds) and 2 three bedroom apartments ( we turned into four beds) and a small 3 bedroom house in the back.

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

It had all the things that I look into an investment property - great location, large units with an option to create an additional bedroom, plenty of room to increase rents, it was deleaded, very high rental demand area.

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

MLS

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional loan with 25% down payment

How did you add value to the deal?

Created 3 additional bedrooms and brought rents to market value

What was the outcome?

We now have almost $4,000 pure cash flow a month

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

I was representing myself

Find a partner, who does not have the money but can qualify for a loan.

I would do a year or 6 months lease. If you like the tenant you could always renew, if you don't like them you won't be wasting too much time. If you decide for some reason to do 2 years, the second year should be on a higher rate, not discounted.

Good luck!

Welcome Real Estate Investing lovers - beginners and advanced! We’re an in-person investing-enthusiast group hosting live speaking events on a range of Real Estate topics. Please join us on Tuesday November 16 at the Bulgarian Center of New England - 310 River st Billerica MA if you want to learn how to invest in small multi family properties. The event starts at 6.30 pm. Enjoy free drinks, food and plenty of networking.

Hello Brendon, Epoxy countertops are also a great solutions for rentals. They are much cheaper than granite,  just as durable and look great. I primarily rent to section 8 and epoxy has been a great solution for me. Check tangraepoxy.com, you can mention my name. Good luck!