All Forum Posts by: Tommy Brant

Agree that house hacking is the best way to start. This is friendly on the "live under your means" mindset. 

I prefer buy/hold investing in my area. For me - I would add that acquiring the second/third rental properties are important. The obvious reason - it forces you to think about scaling. If you're house hacking you're primary residence to a friend or co worker, you probably don't need to think too much about lease agreements, evictions, etc. BUT if you have 3 properties, doing tenant screening, collecting rent, etc, it forces you to think about 1) what systems/processes do I need place to support this, 2) should I hold these properties in an LLC, 3a) can I afford to hire a property manager, 3b) can I afford NOT to hire a property manager, 4) what am I doing to find my next property?

I love working with my hands and putting in sweat equity, but the reality is me wanting to work IN my business isn't effective for working ON my business. It's valuable to know the 'how', but I'm at a point where I'm more interested in the 'who's to help me operate.

Hope there's something in there that's valuable. Best of luck on your journey!

@Mary Joe I love this question. Short story, option 3 is how I'd operate my business. I'd exercise option 2 depending on applicant's credit score.

I came across the same dilemma when I was trying to fill up a rental property late last year. My mind was mostly at ease, and here's why.

In my tenant screening process, they would need a verifiable income. I would expect someone with a employment at this point in the pandemic to have the ability to consistently earn. I know it's all day to day, but if they have a job today, good references, and decent credit, then why not?

I'm not saying the worst of the worst can't happen, but be mindful to exercise your network. If your tenant stops paying for 6 months, then you'd better be in communication with your lender to let them know what's [not] coming down the pipe. Work with them. They don't want to foreclose on you.

Last tip I have -  if your tenant loses his jobs, stops paying rent, etc., then you're BEST option is to and coach them how to find money. How to file for unemployment, how to withdraw from 401k if they were infected with COVID, how to file for small business assistance programs, etc.

Hoping there's something in there to help you out. Best of luck!

Congratulations @Bryan Berrios on the investment property! 

Great question. There's a tendency to dress up houses like you'd want to live in them. The right thing to do is at least mimic what the market is doing. 

In theory -  dressing up a house's finishes to be better than market CAN draw better tenants.

My personal preference - aim to be par with market comps. 

Other common reno things I look for:

1. Boob lights in hallways
2. Recessed lighting in common rooms
3. If cabinets are wood finish, AND it would take the house from a C to B, I'll refinish and paint white. 

Best of luck to your on your landlording journey!

Agree with @Greg H.. Storing their stuff is one of the next things you want to think about. 3-6 months depending on the state. If you throw their stuff away immediately, a tenant has the right to come back with some months and accuse you of damaged goods and take you to court. Abandoned rentals are quite a burden, but it'll get better after this.

Random thoughts:

1. You'll want law enforcement to help you enter the rental. I do NOT advise getting a locksmith and entering. :)
2. Put everything in a local storage unit. Will cost a little, but will be so satisfying when you can give them the keys to the unit and be done with it. (if they came back) 

@Luka Milicevic That's encouraging to hear @ your townhome, especially since my other townhome is in Mboro! ;)

Thanks for the share, @Nicole (Dunlap) Pendergrass! Appreciate the level of detail invested in your post. Congrats on scaling. Onward and upward!

@Michael Plante Thank you! Here’s to investing in the ‘path of progress’, ha!

Thanks @Jonathan Feliciano! Don't mind at all. I net +$200/mo after expenses. 

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment in La Vergne.

Purchase price: $164,000
Cash invested: $34,000

My first buy and hold property. End unit townhouse. It is a turnkey property, and came with some pleasant surprises along the way. This was a "base hit" for me. I will take it, considering this is the start to my rental portfolio.

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

Low barrier to entry, low investor competition

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

My real estate agent is also an investor, and also rents a townhouse as a rental property.

How did you finance this deal?

I liquidated my previous property, and used part of that cash to fund this.

How did you add value to the deal?

This was a turnkey property. I probably spent $1000 on minor repairs and touchups.
The 'bigger items':
- added a water heater expansion tank
- replaced fluorescent lighting in the kitchen with recessed lighting.

What was the outcome?

After hiring a property manager, this took only a couple weeks to find a tenant, even in the winter months

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons learned:
- HOA covers trash and grass cutting (lower stress/risk)
- HOA ensures outdoor and roof are in order and functional (lower stress/risk)
- Townhomes are SIGNIFICANTLY less to insure
- Townhomes rent just like any other single family home
- I likely won't get lifetime tenants in this location, but am surprisingly getting rents comparable to a more expensive Nashville suburb

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

Gabriel Besleaga with Bill Jakes realty helped me out here. I'd recommend him to anyone looking at properties southeast of Nashville.

Hi @Kyle Washburn, and welcome to the community! 

I'm a HUGE fan of house hacking. That's how I got started. I bought a single family home with multi bed, multi bath, and rented a bed+bath to a co worker while I was rehabbing. With COVID, maybe sharing spaces(living rm, kitchen) isn't the best idea at the moment, but you could still accomplish this with a duplex/tri/quad or even a home with a finished basement/mother-in-law suite.

Personally, I'd rather buy in suburbs than cities. Families rent too, and you can resell if you get in a pickle. If you need to resell and expensive city property, you're not going to have near as many buyers as a single family home in suburbs.

Couple comments:

1. - Like any investment, don't invest money you can't stand to lose
2. - Manage risk according to your comfort level. I'm paraphrasing someone's quote, but "better to go broke at 25 than at 35"
3. - For me, I'm looking to invest in 1) significant value-add plays(purchase distressed property, then rehab) or 2) buy and hold cash-flowing rentals. Not to say that you can't have 1) AND 2), but those are the typical investment opportunities I look for within residential real estate.

Hope this helps, and best of luck on your real estate journey!