All Forum Posts by: Victor N.

@Sebby Gabre Madhin it is unfortunate for you but the sellers and their attorney are correct. Once you make an official demand ( repairs, money credit, change of timeline, etc ) that will change/ was not part of the original contract that "means" that you have rejected the original contract. This is a counter offer even if you do not call it as such and the other party can decline and walk away. They are no longer bound by the original contract that they signed. Legally, they have the right to walk away.

You knew you had a great deal but you still pushed too hard for more discounts even though the owners were willing to work with you on the repairs. You pissed them off!

Try to play nice and see if you can get the deal to close or maybe you can hire a lawyer who can find a mistake in the contract somewhere because as it stands, they are in their legal rights to walk away!

Good luck!

@Lawrence Taylor if you already have decent credit as you said, then there's no need to hire a credit repair company. Some of those companies do great work but others can actually damage your credit. Also, keep in mind that it will be expensive to hire for just a marginal improvement since your credit is already decent.

I would recommend that you try to improve it yourself first ( you can do the same things those companies do). Then if you are not satisfied with your own results you can hire a company.

Start by getting your free credit reports: we're all entitled to one free copy of our credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies ( Experian, Equifax and Transunion). You can order online from www.annualcreditreport.com. Be very careful because there are tons of websites out there pretending to be the official website.

If you want to use the reports to monitor your credit, don't order all of them at once. Stagger them: order a report from each company 4 months apart. For example, order a report from Experian on January 1st, then order from Equifax on May 1st and finally from Transunion on September 1st. The following January 1st you will be ready for your new Experian report. This way you cover the entire year.

There are some free credit monitoring websites such as www.creditkarma.com which are very helpful. They give you a score but keep in mind that it's not a FICO score. It is still a very good indicator of where you stand. CreditKarma only covers Equifax and Transunion. It is still very helpful. They can even notify you of any changes in your report.

Discover card  offers a FREE FICO SCORE. You do not need to be a card member to take advantage of it. The score they provide is a real Fico score from Experian.

Finally, if you do not mind paying for reports and Fico scores ( you are already considering paying for credit repair service) you should consider www.creditchecktotal.com. I think that it is an Experian company. They charge $29.95/ month. They provide updated Experian reports each time you log in and once every 30 days you can order  reports and Fico scores for all 3 bureaus. To get the monthly fee cut in half, just cancel the membership after the intial $1 trial. Then they will automatically offer you the same service for $14.95

Sorry for the super long message. I use all the strategies above and wanted you to have as much info as possible. 

All this will give you access to your reports and scores but disputing/ improving them is the next step! By the way, you can dispute inaccuracies directly online, which is a very easy process. Inbox me if you need help with that.

Good luck!

@Charles Stubblebine TD Bank does HELOC for investment properties. You must own 4 or less properties TOTAL regardless of whether or not you have a mortgage on them. Basically, if you own 5 free and clear properties they wont do it. Since you only have 2 you should be ok.

@Brendan Canning thanks for the Tip! Are they local? I checked but couldn't find any location in CT

@Bill Couture that's great info!!! Is there a limit on the number of properties an applicant can own? Also, is there any limit on the # of loans someone can carry?

@Scott Hollister I've already checked with FINEX credit union and they only do it for owner occupied properties. I will check the other options you provided. Thanks for sharing.

@David Miller that's probably the route I need to go since I own a few free and clear properties and plan on keeping them long term. 

Does anyone has a recommendation for a bank or credit union which will do a Heloc or any other type of cash out for a non owner occupied property?

Im looking for a Heloc on a duplex that I own free and clear.

TD Bank does them but you cannot own more than 4 properties ( regardless of whether there is a mortgage or not. They dont look at the number of mortgages you have they are more concerned about the total number of properties). So if you own 5 free and clear properties then you are disqualified for their Heloc.

Your recommendations will be appreciated!

@Francisco Feliz the pet stains are your real problems! 

pet stains that soaked through the wood cannot be removed and it is not the contractor's fault that areas where there were pet stains don't match the rest of the stained floor. You can try to stain again/darken the floor even more so that those pet stains spots are less visible but because they absorb the stain differently you might still not have a perfectly even floor. 

I disagree with those trying to put the blame on the floor guy. If you resand and restain you will still have the same problem with the pet stains.

On the last picture, is the darker area which seems to be in the center of a hallway also pet stain? 

I would pay the floor guy to stain again. Maybe you can negotiate a cheaper price. Also keep in mind that the stain needs to be applied quickly so if the brand you use is too thick as the contractor complained about then you might have some marks everywhere they "stopped". Think about the reason why painters need a wet edge.

I had similar issues with pet stains in hardwood floors. I even used wood bleach products but the floors still looked uneven. The sure way to fix the problem is to replace the pet stained wood but that would be very costly. 

Welcome to BP @Ben E.. You are currently in a great position owning 2 free and clear properties, well done! For the 3rd property, I agree that a HELOC is the way to go but Im not sure about the rest.

Doing what you proposed, meaning using the HELOC proceeds to buy outright the duplex into an LLC is not a bad idea. But if you are looking for asset protection, then how about the property which you will collateralized to obtain the HELOC? that one will not be in an LLC. In other words, why is it important to you to put the next property in an LLC while the previous 2 are not? If you are strictly looking for asset protection, then it's time to talk to a professional who can guide you. If on the other hand your main concern is liability protection then do not forget to purchase an insurance umbrella policy! And off course you can do both the llc and the umbrella policy!

You can potentially buy the property with 20% down and a mortgage then transfer the property to your llc after the fact. There are tons of discussions on the site regarding the potential pitfalls of the due on sale clause if you go that route. I do not think that is needed in your case but it's always good to know what's available.

I would go the HELOC route and put the new property in an llc as you are looking to do. Then repair, rent, refinance and repeat to acquire your forth property ( that is the BRRR strategy as described by @Brandon Turner). Happy investing!

@Erin Monday, almost everyone is telling you not to make the extra principal payments. In theory, this is good advice but great advice must also match a person's personality and risk tolerance. This explains why some people prefer to leverage to the max while others work hard to payoff their mortgage.

It looks like you belong to the latter group because you said : "I get so bummed about my mortgage that if I can actually get rid of it sooner, I'd do anything!!" So follow your instinct and do what works best for YOU even if it is not the most effective financially... You will sleep better at night. There is also value in reducing the total interest of your mortgage and cutting down the number of years you will be carrying that mortgage.

Alternatively, you can deposit that extra money into a separate account and never touch it so that it will be a back up for mortgage payment if your income drops drastically since you are a contractor and you seem to have some concern about that. Even a small amount like $100-$200 extra principal payment will make a big difference over the years but you will barely make $2 in interest if that money seats in a saving account. 

Maybe you can even do both. Set up a small extra $100 payment towards your principal and keep the rest in a special saving account. You can set up the payment via your online banking or set it up on your mortgage company website, which I recommend because if your mortgage payment changes say due to an increase in escrow, your monthly payment will be automatically adjusted by your mortgage company website.

Do what makes you sleep better at night!