All Forum Posts by: Tony R. Yagiela

My advice is to keep your tenant/landlord relationship strictly as-is.  In my experience, entering into those side agreements can only complicate things.  Your and their expectations rarely match up, and it can cost you more in the end if he/she does a poor job or catches the eye of the city because of a half painted house for weeks.

I had a tenant that asked for a $50 per month discount if she mowed the lawn.  Since that was half of what I was paying my landscaper, I figured it was a no brainer.  Ultimately, any money I saved was wiped out from city violations from an un-kept lawn.

But above all – Alex’s comment above says it perfectly.  Always make sure to cover against damages with a security deposit.

Evan, I agree with what everyone has said above. But to add to that, putting the funds towards a patio or bbq/entertaining area in the back yard has had a great impact on attracting tenants in my experience. If the back yard can be a big selling point for the property, I would make it stand out before upgrading to granite counter tops. Congrats on the new purchase! Tony

I have done a few refinances before, but there has always been a few years in between them.  I don't know if/how doing multiple refinances in a short period of time will impact your loan eligibility. 

Is there a reason why you wont use the proceeds from your primary residence refi as your down payment for the second rental?  Or forgo the primary residence refi all together and just take more equity out of the first rental property to buy the second?  Closing costs can add up so Ive always tried to avoid them (unless you significantly save on the interest rate)

Most big banks will loan 75 to 80 LTV and having a signed lease to show income on the property will help your debt-to-income ratio. If you can show sufficient income on the first rental, I don't think youll run into any problems.

Good luck!

Valentina,

Are you sure that its not bank owned?  If its boarded up, it might have been foreclosed on.  That's odd that you cant find anything on the county site.  Maybe its still in limbo and the county auditors site hasn't been updated?

Without being too invasive, I think the only other option you might have is to see if any of the neighbors know anything.

Beth,

Unconventional financing breaks down into several categories, but the most common is Hard Money Lending.

Typically hard money lenders will want to review a portfolio of your past successful projects and read through your project cost estimates in detail.  They will look at the deal you found and decide for themselves if it has high potential, marginal, or poor.  The more risky the investment, and the less experience you have, the higher rate they may charge you.  Hard money lenders lend mostly in the short term (6 to 36 months) and charge interest rates around 12-15% plus points for even the most experienced investors.  You’ll need to establish a history of successful projects and a relationship with a hard money lender before you can expect the best financing terms.

I know that might seem intimidating, but you can get their quicker than it sounds if you are knowledgeable.  I recommend the book “Investing in Real Estate with No (and low) Money Down by Brandon Turner presented by BiggerPockets.  It breaks out several other kinds of ‘unconventional financing’ that may be useful in your situation. In the meantime, try and find a local BiggerPockets meet up in your area and start networking with other investors.  Most of them will jump at the opportunity to help mentor someone.

And always remember, in the world of Real Estate, the deal of a life time comes around once a week.

Good luck!

I flew out from Cleveland Ohio to hear success stories and get great advice from the experts themselves. I thought the trip was well worth it and met some great people!

J. Martin did an excellent job at organizing the summit and the speakers and topics were exactly what I was hoping for.

I thought the furnished rentals session was a great ‘outside-the-box’ approach to increase cash flow with my existing portfolio.

Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do in your real estate investing career is to hear success stories and meet the experts first hand!

As Robert and Bryan both mentioned, with higher end properties, you have the possibility to see appreciation. However, in most areas, rent over a certain amount decreases your tenant pool and can result in higher vacancy rates between tenants.

Cash flow is much higher for lower-end properties, but you are also dealing with ‘lower-end’ tenants which increases your costs on repairs and renovations between tenants.

Its not exactly black and white because it depends on how high-end or how low-end you plan on investing in.

I’ve heard many successful investors explain it like this: “My lower end properties pay the month bills, but my higher end properties account for my gains in net worth”.

Hi Matthew

I invest in North Canton myself.  I have yet to do a flip down there since I live in Cleveland where my full time job is, but I have 5 units that I rent.  I grew up in North Canton so I know how nice the area is.  I buy houses close to the high school since it's a great school system and it attracts higher caliber tenants.  It can be hard to find a house that's priced low enough to make the numbers work but if you're willing to put in some sweat equity, it can be a great pay off.  Feel free to reach out if I can help! 

Tony