All Forum Posts by: Frank Fiore Jr

Hello Christopher Wilbur, just quick hello and welcome; I'm a new member myself, although I don't have any "words of wisdom" at this time; I have begun my REI education with the the BP's "Ultimate Beginners guide to Real Estate Investing" and would recommend reading this as one of your first steps... its a quick easy read with a truck load of information; and has many links to follow up on for additional reading in areas of interest...

Mike Hurney by "offline" you mean, not in this post thread I'm assuming. I don't think I can contact you unless we're "Colleagues" correct? I'm still sorting out the details of this phase of the site. I have sent a Colleague request... let me know if are referring to a different method...

Paul Donoghue, John Thedford, thanks for the feedback.

Paul, I am getting 900$ for the 2 bedroom, I was going to raise it by $50 but I know they are on a tight budget and she was non to happy when I mentioned it. They are very good tenants so I decided not to raise it @ this time. I believe the rents for a 2 bedroom such as mine ranges from 850 - 1000$ so I'm in the middle with a great tenant. I'm taking the peace of mind over the extra 600$ a year... It wasn't an easy decision.

As for the 3 bedroom; I was getting 1100$ a month, in January I raised it to 1200$. Not that it made a difference I started having issues with that tenant and I just got him to leave at the end of May; he owes me just under 7K!

So I'm cleaning up the place, buying a new stove (he broke that) doing some painting and I should have the place ready for July... we'll see.

John, I have just started reading posts, articles, etc... and the Beginners guide. I am taking this very seriously and hope to gain all the knowledge I should have had before purchasing my first place a few years back.

Regarding the refi option.... house is underwater; "by a lot" and if I bring cash to the table it will remove any and all my cash reserves; which I just don't want to do.... besides It will be close @ that point if I drop the balance enough to refi based on what the property is worth. +/-. I'd rather use the limited funds to purchase something with positive cash flow and balance it all out across the 2 properties... as Brandon Turner mentioned a few posts ago....

Hello Mehran Kamari;

Here is what I think I know about the suggestions....

1. I agree this is a good idea; but gun shy at the moment and it will deplete my funds significantly - risk / reward situation here....

2. My credit score is excellent; I can't do a "normal" refinance; the home to loan value (if that's the correct term) is way off; I'm to embarrassed to give the #'s here.
Pertaining to the modification (HARP) AMY mentioned I don't qualify; missed the cut off dates....

3. Short sale; funny you mentioned that; I have given it a very little bit of consideration; and without diving into all the details of what it would take I don't think its the best bet for me; I have funds, a good job, etc... its my understanding they are not going to just let it happen; I have to be in a situation where I can't afford the mortgage.... not to mention the time it would take to rebuild my credit allowing me to buy another property....

I do appreciate the feedback, thanks...

@Brandon Turner, I am leaning more towards purchasing another property; I am extremely gun shy at the moment. I have been beating myself up for a long while over the mistakes I made and to top it all off I just had a “friend” become the biggest problem tenant; refused to leave and didn’t pay for months… I finally have him out but he has “disappeared” and I will have to take him to court to get the money, and from what I’m hearing that will do almost nothing in my quest to get paid.
So, I need to take a step back, get my ducks in a row; fully understand my expenses; short and long, income potential, sure up my lease paperwork, better understand the eviction process and my legal rights in Massachusetts; which are not favorable to landlords.
I will also be doing some reading up on rehabbing; my area has a lot of potential in that arena; I have a few solid contractor connections which may assist in a potential rehab / flip.
As you can tell; I’m a bit of a mess at the moment; tired of being aggravated by the whole thing; but I am determined to turn this around and right my ship; I believe there is money to be made in RE; currently I’m leaning more towards long term investment properties, but if I can build a solid network a rehab or two maybe a worthy investment.

@ Amy Oltendorf Appreciate the feedback, I did look into that; I do not qualify, my credit, payment history all of that is excellent, but I miss the cutoff date. This is a bit of a long story but file it under a result of one of my mistakes….
I have a 80/20 loan which also doesn’t help.. .with rates of 7% and 5.5%....
I lived in the place for a long while but for the last year or so I have them both rented out. This is where my thought about paying off the second mortgage and trying to refinance but I’m still not sure after doing that I will get a favorable appraisal.

Hello everyone...

Little Overview:
I work for a telecommunications company..... Fun, Exciting, and already bored talking about it.... :)

I purchased a 2 family about 10 years ago. Made many mistakes along the way; when both units are rented I'm still paying about $200 a month on the mortgage payment plus the yearly expenses; I'm trying to figure a way out of this mess. The house is underwater; will not appraise for anywhere near what I owe, needs some cosmetic work but a sound building. I have a 1/2 a mind to walk away from the thing altogether.

The little bit of number crunching I have done; from reading on this site; I don't know if I'll ever make money on this property. Short term expenses (year to year), + long term expenses (repairs, updates etc...), plus the insane mortgage I currently have.... its just not looking good.

What am I doing here? Trying to figure out a way to improve my current situation. I have just enough for a down payment on another multifamily, but I'm not sure if that's the right move; with the other idea being I put the money into my existing 2 family and try to get that Income / Expense ratio to a more reasonable level! But than I'm back to square one with no cash reserves... I'm currently siding with finding a solid investment that is paying out a few $$'s each month.

I am reading through some of the information on this site and hoping to get a better understanding of what I should have already known before getting into this mess.