All Forum Posts by: Wei Jie Yang

For u newer REI guys interested on where to begin

Beginner Real Estate Investor Map

I created a map listings various turnkey/Turnkey-Lite/Investor friendly real estate agents as well as their areas of operation. I also put in commentary of what I know about them. I originally made this map for my own use, but I figured why not share it since Turnkey and turnkey like services are a hot topic for us OOS newbies.

This map is by no means a comprehensive one. These are just ones that I've come across, talked to, or just found mentioned often on various forums or by people. The commentary I make about each company shouldn't be taken as gospel either. They are just general thoughts and information about the various providers I gathered from talking to people and just looking around.

If anyone knows of any company that is not on this map please tell me! I want to add as much as I can on here.

Well, I canceled my homeowner insurance last year. We had it for 20+ years and never used it and decided to cancel it because we never ever used it and it would be a 1K expense every year. Fast foward to today, when I am researching HELOC's and HEL's and I find out that banks won't give a HELOC unless the house is insured.

My question is, what type of insurance is needed to get a Heloc? What type of coverage? I did quick quotes online with major vendors and they all come back 3K-4K a year, although Lemonade only came back with $1k. From what I understand my insurance needs to cover the HELOC amount right? So if I only want a 200k Heloc, could I just purchase insurance to cover 200k of value of my house? Or do insurance carriers require me to cover the full valued amount?

Hi Everyone,

I own a SFH in NYC that I converted to a Duplex almost a decade ago. The title on the house is me and my wife but I want to open a HELOC in my name only, where I would be the only one responsible for any debt. Is that possible? Or does everyone need to be on board with the HELOC and everyone will be responsible for it?

@James Wise Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.

@Jason Belovich I know right? I was shocked there wasn't something similar out there already actually. I guess turnkey-review was a good resource but for the most part hasn't been updated in a while.

@Mike Dymski Good point. I converted my SFH to a duplex almost a decade ago. Did that all in cash though. At the time I was completely ignorant about financing. I guess I still am.

@Mike Dymski Are you able to get Fannie/Freddie financing with value add properties though? 

@Edward Liu I want to own a combo of A-B-C as well, but I'm trying to figure out how to sequence my buys to take full advantage of Fannie and Freddie guidelines. I would like to buy my biggest and most expensive properties on my first 8 properties (me and my wife) in order to take advantage of that 20% down but that will slow things down considerably and who knows how much housing values and interest rates will be once we finally completed 8 big buys.

@Frank Wong That was my initial thinking as well, but after talking to a few property managers, I'm not so sure I feel that way anymore. Honestly I'm just trying to parse out a strategy in my head, and I keep swinging back and forth.

In the markets I'm looking at, an 82K house is a lower middle class house. Not warzone/D level ghetto. They are just as likely to stay long term as the family that stays in a expensive house. When the house goes vacant, less mortgage, lower turnover cost, and less carrying costs to worry about.

Of course with a bigger house the profit is much bigger when the mortgage is finally paid for, but I' m not sure if I ever want to snowball my payments or if I should always just perpetually maximize equity returns.

Hi Guys,

I've pretty much come to place where I am having an incredibly difficult time deciding whether it's a better idea to buy more smaller cheaper rentals or go for higher priced rentals that can rent for more and should be in "better" neighborhoods.

Scenario:

1) A $179,900 unit that rents for 1650-1700. After mortgage and not taking Vacancy/Maintenance will net me ~$400. Down payment of $36K

2) Two $82K  units that rents for $825. After mortgage and not taking Vacancy/Maintenance will net me ~$400. Down payment of ~$33K.

Pro of Cheaper rentals:

1) Scales much faster

2) Lower vacancy risk

3) Lower vacancy carrying cost.

Cons of Cheaper rentals:

1) Lower quality tenant pool.

2) More maintenance risk.

3) Higher maintenance turnover costs

Pro of Higher priced rentals

1) Higher rents

2) Assumption of Higher quality of tenants

3) Higher probability of appreciation

4) Ideally less worry overall

5) Better use of 20% Fannie mortgage for properties 1-4 (6? Not sure how many number is now for 20%)

Cons of Higher priced Rentals:

1) Higher carrying costs for vacancy

2) SLOW to scale.

3) Appreciation in midwest markets might not be any better than working class neighborhoods

Which is the ideal strategy? A portfolio of mid cost rentals? A portfolio of High cost rentals? A portfolio consisting of both? Please share your experiences.

Hi Everyone,

I created a map listings various turnkey/Turnkey-Lite/Investor friendly real estate agents as well as their areas of operation. I also put in commentary of what I know about them. I originally made this map for my own use, but I figured why not share it since Turnkey and turnkey like services are a hot topic for us OOS newbies.

This map  is by no means a comprehensive one. These are just ones that I've come across, talked to, or just found mentioned often on various forums or by people. The commentary I make about each company shouldn't be taken as gospel either. They are just general thoughts and information about the various providers I gathered from talking to people and just looking around.

Beginner REI Map

If anyone knows of any company that is not on this map please tell me! I want to add as much as I can on here.