All Forum Posts by: Will Foster

Hello BPers,

Is anyone doing rentals in Quincy, IL.?

The reason I ask, is my parents have 2 houses in a great neighborhood next to Madison Park, and they're interested in renting them out.

One home is a two story, 3 bed 2.5 bath. Large living & family rooms. Insulated sun porch. Large kitchen. Two car garage. Beautiful Large lot

Second home is a 3 bed, 1 bath. 1 car garage. Small kitchen, living and family room.  

Looking on Zillow there were only 2 homes, in good neighborhoods, that match their houses. These homes are asking rent for around $875 - $1,400. The higher priced homes have been on the rental market for 80 + days.

If you're renting single family homes in Quincy, what are your experiences with renters, days on the market before renting, etc...?

Thanks for your time

~Will

@Andrew Postell Thank you Andrew for that info.

@Bill S. thank you for that information Bill. That will be good to know, and a question to put forward to the banks, when asking for a LOC.

Last night I listened to BP Podcast 311 with J. Scott. He and the local Real Estate Investor Group I go to both have mentioned that now is the time to begin to open up Lines of Credit. Their reasoning is, because when the recession comes in the next year or two, we all are going to want to have the ability to access cash. 

My question is how do you go about opening a line of credit, and what typically are banks looking for from you, in order to do this?

I'm sure it's not as easy as walking in and asking for credit.

I live in Colorado Springs, CO, so if anybody has a bank or someone to speak with about this, that would be great.

Thank you all for your time a input into this question.

~Will

@Maurice D.

I just read the article about STrs in CS, which you can read here.

https://gazette.com/news/colorado-springs-city-cou...

My understanding is the city wants it cut of money; a license you have to pay every year, Plus a 2% fee of your total income from each time you air bnb to someone.

Hello @Teri Feeney Styers @Maurice D. @Tyler Work @Matthew G.

Thank you for your feedback. The house was built in 1899, with an updated kitchen, and dining area. 

The house is in Colorado Springs, in Old Colorado City. This area is really starting to prosper, with people buying homes and fixing them up. I bought mine for $217K, with updated homes in the area on the market in the $280-330K range. With a healthy yearly percentage gain in the high 20% range. My home is in a great neighborhood, walking distance to OCC's downtown, and a 10-20 minute drive to great outdoor hiking and mountain use.

The size of my home is 866, the lot is a little over 5,000 Sq Ft. I talked with the city and it is zoned for multi-family, so I could build a little cottage. But I do not have that much money, and the master addition is in my financial ballpark, from talking to GC's I've had come by and give me quotes.

As for the job, I'm going to be looking for a new one, so I will have to wait the two years before I can purchase my next property.

My master plan was to build the addition, which will add a little over 200 Sq Ft, and rent out or AirBnB the front room, the city allows homeowners who live in the home to AirBnB. By doing one of the two rental ideas, this will help me with my mortgage cost, and give me the ability to put money away each month from my paycheck. 

I was figuring after the two years, my home will have appreciated enough that I could refinance, or do a HELOC, to get the money I put in back, and use that money, along with the money I have saved, to buy my next property, which will be a full-on rental.

So I think I have answered my own question. I will do the addition, and move forward with my master plan.

It was good to hear other peoples thoughts on this matter.

I thank you all for your time

Will

Hello BPers. Mu question today is, should I build a much needed master bedroom to the home I recently bought, or keep my money for future real estae purcheses?

Here is the scenario: I bought my first home in Colorado, a small, 866 Sq Ft house, with a large lot. My idea was to build a new master bedroom, then rent or AirBnb the other bedroom, in order to cut down my mortgage cost, basically house hacking.

If I build the addition, then my home's value and equity increases very quickly, and in two years I was going to refinance and pull out the money I spent on the addition, and buy my next rental property.

Or is it smarter to not spend that money on the addition, use it to rehab other areas of the house, keep it growing, have money in the bank, and then in two years use it to buy my next place.

I say two years, because I'm going to be getting a new job next year, and will have to be employed for two years before I can apply for my next home loan.

Thanks in advance for all your thoughts and ideas

Will

@Benjamin Thompson I'm closing on a house today in Old Colorado City, and will be moving there next month. Very excited. I originally wanted to buy a duplex also, but could not find anything that nice. Most of the duplexes, Tri's and Quads are on the east side, and not in the best neighborhoods. Which is why I got a house on the west side. I would not go further east past Union Blvd. It's just not that great. Crime rates become much higher. I thought about Pueblo also, but again, nothing to good down there either, that didn't need massive rehabing. I spent months looking for places, and have a good realtor @Les Goss, who really went out of his way to find my place. I do not know what your loan will be, mine was $230K, so a smallish number, but I got a great house, in a great neighborhood for $217k. Research your neighborhoods. Trulia has great crime, school, etc...info on their site.

Good Morning BPers,

I'm buying my first house In Old Colorado City next week, very excited, and will be doing some expanding and an addition to the house.

I'm looking for recommendations for general contractors and handy men or women, to work on this project.

If anyone has good experinces with companies or individuals, working in the Springs area, I'd really like to get their information.

Thank you in advance

~Will

@WayneBrooks

Thanks for your reply