All Forum Posts by: Adam Smith

@Jonathan Veloria  Welcome to the site.  There is a lot of great information on the forums and the podcasts are wonderful.  Make sure to set up keywords for Chicago or other surrounding areas that you are interested in.

Great to have you on the site!

We felt the same way when we put our first investment property under contract.  We even paid $10k over listing but my wife is a realtor so we felt confident in the offer.  That was one year ago and now we have great renters and tens of thousands more in equity than we ever dreamed of.  It is a scary process (even with my realtor wife) because it is a big decision and investment.  As @Kim Smith mentioned, a good realtor helps in the process but there is still the "what if's" whether they are true or just in your mind.  If you did our due diligence, trust your numbers and the market and make sure you can weather any storm that may come your way.

The way we look at purchasing a property is we are buying a physical asset that if bought right...in the right location... it can be sold in the worse case scenario for a minimal loss for the risk of a long term gain.

Congratulations on your adventure!!!   

@Joe Mulder, @Upen Patel, @Dan Mackin, @Daniel Kenney Thank you for the advice. I will check into First Bank and see what terms they will offer. I am not sure that an ARM for a long term investment is what we are looking for when rates are so low now. The other option is to save for a few more months and just take the 75% LTV 30-year fixed refi option. Just want to be ready for the next good deal!! Thanks again for all the options/advice!

Adam

In our experience tenants do not look too close at the cost of utilities.  The rent is the only thing they consider.  I am sure there is the exception out there but that has been our experience.  We would also run a "break even analysis" to try to determine if we can make our money back.  It is hard to sell cheaper utilities to a tenant since you can't guarantee it because you don't know and can't control how much hot water they use.

My wife and I have a rental in Colorado that we have had a little over a year. We would like to refinance or get a HELOC (to go towards purchasing another investment property) but everyone we call only offers up to 75% LTV. At this LTV if the appraisal comes in slightly lower than we think (my wife is a realtor and has done a CMA so we are confident but you never know what the appraiser will think) it may not be worth the refi (in our opinion). We are located in Firestone which is near Longmont.

A few other details in case it matters. Credit scores close to 800. Only debt is two mortgages and a small student loan that we really just need to pay off. No credit cards, no car payments, nothing else. DTI is about 26%.

I have searched BP and have found some banks/cu to contact that may do 80% LTV but none of them are in Colorado.

On a side note, we purchased the property with 20% down but it seems a refi is "too much risk" at 80% LTV? Seems to me like it is the same risk? FYI-I am obviously not a loan officer.

@Dan Mackin - Do you have any advice?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Adam

@Nick Brower

 If you haven't already, make sure you check out the podcasts.  There is a lot of information on their even if it is a podcast you think you may not relate to.  Also, as mentioned above, key work alerts are great to seeing what is being talked about in your area.

Happy Investing!

@Nick Brower

 Welcome to BP!  I am just down the road in Firestone.  You will find a wealth of information on the site. 

@William Heath Welcome to BP! You will find an abundance of information on the site. 

Make sure to check out the podcasts as they are full of information.

We are in Firestone so we are not too far away.

What areas are you looking to invest in? 

Thanks!

Can anyone recommend an investment friendly realtor and a property manager in the Clearwater, Florida area?  We have visited several times in the past few years and love the area.  We feel like we have done all the research we can do without talking to someone knowledgeable in the area (i.e-Locations of Class B areas, local rental demand, etc.). 

Ultimately, we want to "semi" retire in the Clearwater area in 5-10 years (hopefully) so we thought one option is to purchase some rentals there now so that when we do move we will have local investments that we can manage ourselves.  

The other option is to continue purchasing rentals here and then either sell or hire a property manager when we move.

I think I can ask for recommendations without breaking any BP rules....If not I apologize.

Any information is greatly appreciated.