All Forum Posts by: Tim Winter

As Jerry Holt mentioned, it may or may not need to go to probate depending on how the deceased setup the estate (if they had a trust, a will, Beneficiary Deed, local county laws, etc.) 

I would check with someone that understands the local probate laws and find out when the beneficiaries have legal right to sell. Typically this is when they get the Letter of Testamentary, which can happen long before the estate is settled, but every market can be different. 

I would ask around, like with the neighbors, as they may know some of the relatives or what is happening. Typically they know if someone has been around or how you might get in touch with the relatives. 

For years I used HELOCs and personal lines of credit to acquire properties and then use that rental income to pay down those balances and then do it all again. This I found works if you like to lone wolf it, but is slower than using OPM.  

If you really want to scale your business quickly, I'd recommend looking into private capital, partners or a money partner. I wish BP had been around back when I was slogging through this all on my own, because I'd be light years ahead in my investing career path if I had. 

Good hunting!

As you've noticed, if you're not finding the inventory in MF, I would try SFH with guest house, casita, in-law suite, or even basement or large out building. Something that you can convert into a pseudo-duplex are the best deals right now for owner occupy that we're finding.

Also on the agent front, have you tried your local REIA? You might try there and ask around with other investors to find a more investor friendly agent that'll help you find off-market properties and run numbers. Before I got my license the best agent that I knew owned more rentals than me, and always kept me on track with just the simple comment "resale value" when I'd go off the rails oohing or ahhing over man caves or large garages. A good agent can help you find deals, a great agent will help you "make" deals happen that you might not have thought of or seen.

On getting your offer through, as some people have mentioned letters help if you've got a family and you're pitching to a seller that has some emotional equity in the property, but cash always works best. Over offer, escalation clauses, higher earnest money, waiving contingencies (though don't waive the inspection!), shortening inspection periods, shortening closing periods by getting fully qualified with your lender and guaranteed close in 2-3 weeks, etc. You might also look into a semi-hard money lender or private lender to do an all cash offer to up your perceived value to get the deal locked up, and roll some rehab into your loan for when you refi out with your VA loan later.

Hope this helps. Good hunting!

Our favorite three for long term growth is near downtown Phoenix, Tempe and south Scottsdale. They have high population and job growth, large university campuses nearby, many nearby hospitals and high walkability scores making them uniquely able to meet the majority of short and long term renter's wants and needs, so drives rental growth as well as appreciation.

You have to look past price and look at your return. If you are looking for just pure cash flow, then yes out east or Midwest is better. But if you're playing the long game... have you seen the appreciation rates here in the Valley of the Sun? I'll take double digit appreciation and skyrocketing rent rates all day long. 

If you're curious, let me know and can go into more details. 

Happy hunting!

If it's a 4/2 and possibly a 2-story, then you're gonna need some insulation in the walls, at the very least on the 2nd story. 

Unfortunately these kinds of "upgrades" are not visual, so most likely will not raise the perceived value unless you also improve the R-rating as well and market that when you go to sell. 

If you're looking for good ROI on updates, let me know and I can fill you in on some of the best ones for the Valley.

@Evan Skarbek did you pull the trigger and make the move? 

As mentioned previously there's a flood of demand moving to the area, but if you keep your eyes on the price, i.e. the returns and not the price, there are still deals to be made here. It's just more of a challenge to find the diamond in the rough (and sometimes you have to make your own diamond :) 

Good hunting!

@Miguel Bautista if you want to do a house hack in the Phoenix area, you might check out SFHs with rental units on the same lot. It's a challenge to find any small (i.e. 2-4 unit MF) in the Greater Phoenix area that makes sense right now. You can accomplish the same thing with much higher chance of finding something in a neighborhood you'd like to live in. 

There are also some multigenerational homes that have come out over the past decade that also can work with the same setup, though you may have more common space than the other options. 

And lastly, you can make your own small MF. Finding small homes on large lots, places with two homes on the same lot, an outbuilding that you can convert with a 203(k) loan, etc. 

Let me know if you'd like to go over these and other options in more detail.

OPM. If I hadn't stubbornly wanted to do the lone wolf thing and keep doing deals on my own, I would have accelerated my portfolio much faster much earlier. 

Don't overleverage. Just because the banks will lend you 120% of value, doesn't mean you should take them up on it, even if you have dreams of retiring early and this one thing might get you there. 2008 was a school of hard knocks for most people in this regard. 

Seller financing more sooner. Learning that you don't have to own the property to make good money on a deal. If the yield is there, or you can be the deal maker and make a yield that's better than a hold, it's sometimes better to be the bank. Especially as you start approaching your retirement years or want to back out of the business some.

Hope this helps, happy to elaborate on any points. 

Good hunting!

I think this has probably been chewed over quite well, but just in case it hasn't.. it depends on your goals. 

If you're in acquisition mode, then by all means tap that equity with refinance or line of credit; but failing that, sell it and buy multiple more. If you're coming up on the 5 year mark and you originally lived in it is approaching 3 years ago, run don't walk to your agent friend to get it sold. 0% CG is nothing to sneeze at. As others have brought up, you can 1031 it into something else... but what if the current administration does away with 1031s? It's been talked about. 

A good reference to figure out when the opportune time to trade up is, and to pyramid your investing acquisitions, check out Nickerson's book about "How I Turned $1,000 into a Million in Real Estate". The $ amounts are dated and some of the old tax rules as well, but his philosophy is sound and he was one of the very few RE gurus to hold onto his portfolio and fortunes through the trying times to retirement. 

If you're moving towards the end of your investing goals, and looking for an exit or enjoying the fruits of your labor, you might investigate how to transition your rental portfolio into notes. It's the much more passive strategy that can bring you income in your later years when you're wanting more free time, or to be done with tenants/toilets. 

Happy hunting!