All Forum Posts by: William Bucklin

Are there any online meetups going on in Maine?

My thought is that even if a tenant left you would be in the same position you are  in if you just leave it unoccupied. And there is nothing worse than a potential asset being a Liability. I think that if for some reason there was a law suspending rent collection there would also be laws suspending costs to the landlord. I think if you have a good property manager doing your tenant screening most of your risk will be mitigated. It would be tempting to pay extra attention to those applicants whose jobs are "essential". However this could be tricky due to some discrimination laws where you can deny someone based on there income amount not their, source of income. But length of employment could be a useful gauge. Hopefully this was helpful to you

Will

So you chose the emotional response and got defensive.

@Jack B.

“I’m not being rude”. Also jack b “btw your opinion isn’t all that great”

My objective opinion (which you also find not all that great) is that you were actually quite rude then very juvenile when called out. That behavior is a better fit for reddit rather than BiggerPockets. These forums are filled with professionals who take note of interactions. Someone who is quick insult and slow to apologize is not someone most people look to do business with. In real estate, your brand is your business, and I’m not sure your building the brand you really want to. So you could go with your emotional response and get defensive with me when I try to give you some constructive feedback. You could just not respond. Or you could just own your part whether you think your right or wrong on everything. The last will do more for your business than continuing to posture via forums

Respectfully Will

1. 1.Replace The Toilets… all the Toilets, everytime
2. 2.Don’t use the seal that comes with the toilet, They’re junk, and toilet water may drip into your dining room. Which will make for an awkward dinner party.
3. 3.Wearing a safety helmet during a demo doesn't make you a sissy. There is a reason your risk conscious partner bought them.
4. 4.Suck it up and ask for a private loan. If you are confident in your purchase and the numbers are good, talk to your family about helping you out. As long as you haven't screwed them in the past and they are able to, most likely they will say yes. You'll keep yourself from wasting six months trying to scrape the money together yourself. Ego has no place in REI
5. 5.If its a good deal and you can make it work listen to Shia Lebouf and “Just Do It”
6. 6.Run all appliances and flush all toilets before your plumber leaves this will save you the headache of having them come back when you find a collapsed pipe, or another leak.

1. 7.Get multiple estimates. I saw plumbing estimates from 3500K to 14k. It ended up being about 5k and the guy did a great job
2. 8.Be positive, because nobody else will be. ( Some will be, but definitely not everyone)
3. 9.Maybe it's better to wait to put flooring in last, but I say put it in as soon as possible. It's something you can do easily, it doesn’t take long, and it makes everything start to feel like it's coming together. This is purely psychological, but it can save your renovation and keep you from crying in the unfinished bathroom.
4. 10. 100 dollars is well spent on having someone else remove all the nasty toilets. Maybe it's a right of passage but I think Brandon Turner paid that price for all of us already.
5. 11. Everybody has an opinion on how things should be done and where you should spend the money. Listen, but in the end it’s your call, so make it and stick to it.
   
6. 12. Assign a contractor or helper a job. Give them a budget and let them handle it. If you do not trust them to do it well you probably should not be working with them.
7. 13. If you're just starting out let's face it, your time is not worth all that much. So use sweat equity to do whatever you can yourself. For instance replacing faucets and sinks, building steps, drywall, flooring etc. It gives you an idea of what goes into a task as well as saves you money for extras.
8. 14. A caveat to the last lesson, budget as if you were paying someone else to do it. This will give a clear idea of what to expect in the future.
9. 15. Do something on your property daily, Don’t let it sit idly and forget about it. Maybe it's just doing a walk through, or maybe it's looking over your budget again. But do something, This keeps it at the front of your mind.
10. 16.Spend a few hours in the house after its done. Wash some dishes, Eat some pizza in the living room, sit on the toilet, and stand in the shower. What do you notice, paint on the door handles, something leaking, an inconvenient window that needs shades? A Lot of these things aren't noticeable until you are living in the house. Chances are if something bothers you it will bother your tenants
11. 17.Don’t be cheap, get the inspection done, you’ll be glad you did.
12. 18. Hit up thrift stores, or the ReStore for faucets and hardware
13. New doorknobs make a huge difference.
14. 19. Embrace the suck, You’ve wanted to be a real estate investor for a long time and now you're here. Keep your head up, smile and say thank you when you get a bill, and say “it happens” when you find a crack in the sewer line.
15. 20. Don’t stop, look for the next deal and keep going.

These are my non-professional opinions from my first deal which I’m still working on. Maybe I’ll post a follow up after a take on refinancing and renting it out. I decided to write out everything I learned so far and decided to share it with some other lucky soul who’s addicted to real estate. What lessons have you learned? Do you agree with all of mine?

Thanks for reading!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $30,000
Cash invested: $18,000

A BRRRR that turned into a LIve-in BRRRR. I'm Currently living in the residence while the rehab is completed. I plan on renting out this residence and moving into a owner occupied multi-unit

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

It was owner financed at good price, reasonable rates and with a down payment i could afford. I knew that worst case scenario i could easily make the monthly payments and pay off loan at the end of 5 years if needed. This would mean if I wasn't able to refinance or rent it out I'd still end up with a piece of real estate that was worth more than what I paid and appreciate.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found it on craigslist.

How did you finance this deal?

Owner-financing and private money for the rehab

I’ll be there plus one.

Just wanted to update on this post. I ended borrowing 8500 in private loans at zero percent ( thanks Family) and about 2,000 of my own money.I believe the ARV to be around 80K meaning ended up with hopefully 45K in equity. Now onto trying to refinance, Thanks for the advice and if you have any tips you'd like to share on refinancing it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I purchased a single family home with my sister through an LLC. The deal was a single family home. 3 bed and 1 1/2 Bath. I was able to get it owner financed with 25 percent down which i had saved. Purchase price was 29,900 with 7475 down. Making the loan 22,425. The loan is for 10 years with 6 percent interest with a 5 year balloon. So monthly payment is 250. I i used 8500 in private loans with zero percent interest. (thanks family) and about 2000 of my own money. At this point the renovation is basically complete.

So this is the break down:

Purchase Price 29,900

Down Payment: 7,500

Closing cost: (1500 I think)

Owner Finance: 22,425 6 percent interest, 10 year, 5 year balloon, 250/month

Private Loan: 8500, 600 monthly

My rehab Investment: 2000

ARV: Should be around 80K

Total Debt: 30,975 Total Equity: 49,025 After Cost of holding expenses and rehab the total "profit" would be about 35500

So my question is while i've got a good deal and value is it really plausible for me to refinance this for a BRRRR with poor credit? if not what is my best option? Wait until my credit improves or look at alternative refinance options? Thanks, This is my first deal so i'm sure I have not done everything perfect and have missed a few things.

Thanks for your time!

I rented a unit that had window in the shower. Aside from it feeling like your being watched. The water damage was massive and had completely rotted everything around the window. Get rid of it ASAP.