All Forum Posts by: Tony Iaconelli

@George Skidis , I am definitely ready! Tanks all or the advice and input!

Hey BP community. My wife and I are about to go through a big move to another state (Marquette, Michigan). My wife will be attending Northern Michigan University this August. We currently live in Illinois, just west of Chicago, and have been here for the last 4 years. Our goal is to purchase a 2-4 unit property in Marquette in an attempt to house hack and save on expenses. I have not done any deals yet, but have wanted to for a while now and finally decided to start taking action. We purchased our first home in December of 2016, here in Illinois, for $171,000. Just a little over a year later it is worth roughly 200K. I used a VA loan to purchase our home and was shocked to see how much it has gone up in value in just over the year that we've been here. I have thought about renting out the house once we move, but the numbers aren't great so I will most likely sell.

I recently found a 4 unit property on Craigslist in Marquette for $315,000. It is fully rented and brings in $3,125 per month. I emailed the seller for information on the property. It is an older gentleman who has owned the property for 20 or 30 years. He is looking to retire and move south. I don't blame him as the winters in the UP are rough. The property is in great shape at least from the pictures. Zillow's zestimate on the property is around $260,000, so I think the price can be haggled down a bit. I ran some numbers through the BP calculator and if my wife and I lived in one of the 1B, 1B units at a purchase price of $290,000 we would cash flow $25 a month living rent free. From my analysis it seems like a pretty good deal. My goal would be to use a VA loan to purchase the property but we are still in our home and will probably not be leaving for Marquette till June-July. I hate to let something like this pass, and am really just looking for advice on what we should do! We do not have much savings at the moment as we have been putting money into updating our current home. Should I contact the seller and tell him thanks and wait for another opportunity down the road, or find a way to pursue this? The property is located 6 blocks from the college in the heart of downtown!

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Best, 

Tony

@Account Closed Thanks for your reply as well!

Thank you for the reply @Micki M. If I purchase the house with cash for the 8-10K, how would that work for the line of credit? Would the bank appraise the property as is, then give me a line of credit for 75-80% of the property?

@Account Closed How do the 0% convenience checks work? I only have a couple of credit cards and I try not to use them much. My credit score is around 760, although, I don't believe I have ever received anything like this in the mail... I receive card offers for 0% all the time but its only for the first 15 months, then it is raised to 12.99% to 18.99%. 

@Shawn Holsapple

Thanks for the reply. Can you explain a little more in depth on those tips?

Hey everyone!

I'm looking to purchase a house out of state to use as a rental. I live in Illinois, and am looking to purchase one in Indiana.  The home will cost around 8-10K, and the rehab will cost another 10-20K. I would like to purchase the home with cash, but do not have enough to fund the rehab. Does anyone have any creative financing ideas, or advice, or any other ways you think I should go about doing it?

Thanks in advance for the replies!

@Dale Stevens, I will definitely look into setting up an in person meeting with the seller. Thank you. 

@Gilbert Dominguez

The Condo that were in now is not under a different HOA as the unit I am interested in. I will have to look into getting in contact with that specific HOA. Now, if and when I decide to do a walk through and lets say it does need quite a bit of work, who do I bring in to do an estimate of repairs? Would I have to hire an appraiser, or a contractor? Excuse my lack of knowledge, I have never done a deal before. Hoping this could potentially be my first one!

Hey BP,

So my wife and I are currently renting a condo, and I take my dogs for walks around the neighborhood daily. I have been walking by the same condo for over a year now, and it looks like it has been vacant for quite a while. It is not the same complex we live in, but right down the road. I have always thought to my self, whether or not this place is for sale. Well, today on my walk, I noticed there was a sign in the window that said "For Sale, Seller Financing Available!" I took a picture of the sign and am interested in calling on it. I have never done a deal yet so I am unsure of what I should ask. Now I would like to purchase it, fix it up if need be, and live in it and rent it down the road. Or, just fix it up and rent it out, if it has potential to be a good deal. Any tips on what I should say when I call? 

Thanks in advance!

@Zana Blue, thank you. I was a little Wowed by @Hattie Dizmond comment as well... 

@Chris Sciolino

Thanks for the information! That is sort of what I figured. Its good to hear from others who have been through that specific scenario. I will look into. I have come across properties that were a little to far away for me to live in, but have potential to be a good deal. 

Thank you @Hattie Dizmond for your response I will definitely take your advice into consideration. I wasn't looking to be spoon fed, rather just asking a simple question. I am new to the forums and didn't think a simple question would offend anyone. I am a person with thick skin, and your comment did not bother me, but there are probably some new BP members who would have taken your comment negatively and it would have probably killed all confidence that they had.