All Forum Posts by: Travis Sperr

@Martin Warren very rare I would go for a 5 year balloon vs 30 year money - but this loan amount is so low and the bank fees on the 30 yr are outrageous.

I am confident rates will be higher in 5 years than they are today, they can't get any lower. So I think it is best to ask look at how long you plan to have the property? 5 years from now, in a 15 yr am you will have a lot more principal pay down vs the 30 yr. If you need to extend it is going to likely be at a higher rate.  When you compare the amount paid toward interest and the fees, I think you will find the rate could increase significantly in 5 years and you are still ahead with the 5 yr balloon.

@Adam Rezner  Welcome to Biggerpockets!

I do a fair amount of business in Colorado Springs, please let me know if i can help with anything.

Welcome @Sheila Goebel !

Craigslist is working really well as hot as the rental market is. Be sure not to put the full address in your listings, there is a ton of fraud around that right now on the interwebs. Share with any agents you know, they often know people looking to rent or can share with their office.

When you start getting calls, have everyone show up in the same showing time frame to maximize your time.

If you work with a Fannie/Freddie direct lender, there are no title seasoning requirements - i have used hard money to buy, fix, rent and refi in as little as about 6 weeks. 

To your hard money questions, just be honest and put people on your team that have experience in the areas you do not. Be responsive to the HML requests and have all of your ducks in a row - comps, banks statements, taxes, repair budgets, what agent you are using, your agent and contractors experience.

Talk to a few lenders and find the best fit for you. After you have been successful on a few deals look at working with private lenders at a lower cost. A good HML isn't going to fund a bad deal for you, we are in the relationship business and want to do a lot of deals together, another set of eyes on your investment. Your family may not know what to look for and a bad deal makes for a bad Thanksgiving!

There is little control as to when the mailings deliver if you are doing all of it on your own and not in the same market. Just start sending them and see what happens. The message and cadence are much more important that the day of delivery. 

Start by looking for - renovation loans, bank financing and hard money lenders.

The best way I have done a deal like this is to acquire with hard money financing that will lend purchase and repair money, repair the property, lease it up and refinance into a long term loan.

Pros and cons to both - I am not as familiar with the winters as I am the bourbon in KY. With the baseboard heat there is a strong argument for only heating what you need rather than the whole house. The cost of electricity is more than gas.

There is also typically a value adjustment for electric baseboard vs gas forced air- less of concern if you plan to hold for long term.

You might find that when you start pricing the install, with an electrician, potentially more circuits, dry wall repair, etc that the furnace isn't so bad after all. The furnace can likely be replaced in one day in the event it goes out during the winter.

I am curious as to what you find.

@Zac P.  what is the cost for the conversion to electric baseboard heat? Seems like that would result in much higher utility bills for the tenant?

@Andrew Emery  I would recommend speaking to a title company 1st, you might find that they can help with the docs you are looking for in regards to owner finance, etc. Empire title in Colorado Springs is great -Michael Podoyak can get you in the right direction. 

If you are really interested in working with owner finance deals, find Micheal Jake in the Springs. 

Good Luck!