All Forum Posts by: Cole VerBruggen

I apologize, life happens and I’ve been away from BP for while and honestly don’t have a real big excuse for it besides a lot of life changes and starting a construction company. Still working on getting my rental portfolio back. Had to sell my one property due to personal reasons but Minot can definitely be successful as long as you know what areas to stay away from “aka valley street” just to name one. I will try to keep up on my successes and failures. We may be buying and completely gutted house soon and hope the things I want inspected (basement walls bowing, sewer pipes, and basement floor) don’t turn out to be too expensive to fix everything should turn out pretty good for that property as long as comps support it. I don’t know if I want to flip it or rent it out yet. Our market is definitely a seller’s market at the moment but that may change soon. Hope everyone has a great day.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Minot.

Purchase price: $184,000
Cash invested: $2,400

I bought this house as my primary residence and never intended on buying properties for investment purposes. I realize now with my new mindset that I've developed that this wasn't the best property for a rental. I got a first-time homebuyers FHA loan and the State of North Dakota paid $5,500 for my down payment. All I had to pay was $2,400.

I had some things happen in my life which forced me to consider the option to rent my property and move back in with my mother and help her pay for utilities as my rent to her. So in March 2019, I started to search for a tenant while I was getting the place cleaned up and rent ready. I found a nice young couple who had 2 dogs and moved them in on April 8th. I charged $1,495/m for rent plus $25/dog. I was pulling in $1,545 a month with my mortgage payment being $1,300. Not too bad in my opinion for not intending this place to be a rental at all. But I realized I needed to put money aside for future repairs, Vacancy, possible management, and of coarse Cap-Ex. So I stayed on the low end and put the extra $245 away every month + $200 of my own money.
Over the course of a year, I put gutters on the mudroom and garage. I fixed the microwave once and replace some water filters in the fridge.

2020
Towards the end of my first lease Covid-19 was cranking up and my tenants wanted to move out in the end of March. I told them if they are out before April 1st I won't worry about the rent for the 8 days they would have left. They moved out early in March but still left some stuff and paid for March's rent.
While they were gone on their first run back to Wisconsin in mid-Feburary my furnace decided to give up on life. (If you're from North Dakota you know this is a very bad thing this time of year) I had a pipe burst in the basement and my sub-pump float got caught up against the side of the hole it was in. Leaving about a foot of water in the half-finished basement during -25F temperatures. Thank God for insurance (for the most part), I was unable at the time to even see the place or anything. So I relayed between contractors and insurance adjustors. Eventually, I got the furnace running, pipe fixed, everything dried out, sheetrock patched and sub-pump running again. My tenants took advantage of the situation to get completely moved out except a few things in the garage. I didn't mind one bit because it gave me a chance to get pictures of the place to advertise and fix up a few things.

Well, I decided to paint the entire interior since I got laid off from my job and had a lot of time. I replace the shower facets with matching new bronze brushed finishes. I put a new sub-pump in that doesn't have the type of float that can get caught up. I got the place looking really nice and retook pictures with my professional camera and lights.

Currently, I have a Military couple that moved in for $1,395/m and they might get a dog in which I'll charge $25 extra a month for them to have it along with a security deposit.
For repairs left, I have to rebuild the stairs going into the basement and get them carpeted, the 35-year-old furnace is running but I will need to replace it this summer, my water heater looks very corroded and is leaking on the bottom.... so that will need to be replaced in the near future. My tenants want a water softener and I'm going to work out a deal where they will pay the monthly financing for the system if I pay the downpayment and the installation fee. I also have some landscaping things I want to get done as well.

All in all, I'm getting my mortgage paid for and I'm increasing the value of the property. I'm planning on selling in the next year or two when the current tenants move out and using that money for a way better investment property.

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

I just wanted to move out of my parents and buy a house. I didn't intend of this being an investment property.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA first time home buyer and a State program (I'm sorry I don't remember the name of it) packaged together

I'm new to the BiggerPockets community and I'm born and raised in Minot, ND. I'm 25 years old. The military presence here is something that I've known for my entire life and I'm very interested in becoming an investor in the area. I work as an electrician in the oil field right now. I like the money but I definitely want to have more time with my family and friends. I have one rental house that kinda accidental happened and I'm kinda hooked. I want to invest in the Minot area and I'm open to long distance investing as well. I'm thinking I'm going to go with the BRRRR strategy to start off. Any investors in the area or beyond that would like to network for advice, ideas, etc.. I know a decent amount about construction and I can offer advice or even services as a handyman. Looking forward to taking this next chapter in my life.

@Irwin Ayala

Hi there, I’m new to the BiggerPockets community and I’m born and raised in Minot, ND. The military presence here is something that I’ve known for my entire life and I’m very interested in becoming and investor in the area. I noticed this post was from a few years ago. I work as an electrician in the oil field right now. I’m kinda in same situation, I like the money but I definitely want to have more time with my family and friends. I have one rental house that kinda accidental happened and I’m kinda hooked. How have things been going for you so far?

Thank you to everyone!

 I followed the procedure that I developed in preparation for getting into real estate investing. They would not pay and fill out the "smart move" screening. So I told them that I won't move forward without that screening. Using the professor reference is a really good idea and I didn't think about that at the time. Having a real phone conversation is a great idea as well instead of texting and e-mailing. I tried to call them but they always seemed unavailable. 

I've never heard of that scam so I am glad I asked you guys for a professional opinion. I was talking with a friend or two about this and we wondered how they could even scam me at all... I have the property and they are paying me... but the check bouncing didn't even cross my mind. It's amazing how this world is so corrupt with scammers.

Thank you guys for the information. I really appreciate it and I hope to be more active on BiggerPockets.

Special thanks to @Kelly N. @Theresa Harris@Marcia Maynard

Does anyone know about any renter scams on Craig’s list and how to detect them? If they are promising money and mailing a check what is their endgame? I’m looking for a roommate or 2 and I got 3 similar candidates that say similar stories. They say they want to finish their masters degree and that their dad is going to be paying the fees and rent. Any advice?