All Forum Posts by: Zack Thiesen

Or a different scenario.. buy a collateral property, then buy a fixer that is owner financed with $2k down and go from there? I guess a better question might be (without getting too personal about my credit score), what is a minimum or appropriate score to have for refinance in order to not get laughed out of the office of your local community bank lol

I have a property in California I've owned for 3 years currently in the sale process and looking to net around 120k after closing costs. I am younger and a carpenter by trade looking to get into BRRRR'ing out of state. I anticipate hitting issues with the refinancing aspect as my credit is rather poor.

Although, if I purchase a property completely for say $60k, then another for $20k and put the rest of the money into it in rehab, could I refinance with the property I own outright as collateral? What are better strategies to begin?

Thanks

I've found an area I'm going to pursue a few states away and am moving there in mid-May. I searched the forums and found similar discussions about relocating and subsequently getting bank relationships back up to speed in a new area. Am familiar with the 2 year rule and that it is not hard-and-fast between lenders or types of loans etc. 

But I am curious if there is a max. period in between moves during which the lapse becomes a problem. I would be taking 2 weeks to get my things in order, get there and then once I'm there, to find work as quickly as possible within the same trade. Am not foreseeing great difficulty in doing that, but the question stands, I guess. Just curious for anyone's two cents! 

Thank you both, Upen and Tiffany! Very helpful information. Great to know the specifics on the relocation possibility as well as the local alternatives. Unfortunately, the amount I have saved is not quite in the range of what would be required for money down for owner financing. I have 15,000 saved and the price of the house is 165k. I am a carpenter by trade and the property is a duplex with one side currently rented and in fine shape. I am confident I could move in, do the work required, more than afford it with the other tenant in there especially... but I have been to several finance professionals in the area and they all said no. Banks have no interest in the realistic possibilities with the risk involved, and that's more than understandable. It is their money after all. It's all about the debt-to-income ratio, which by their calculations, they dismissed everything out of hand since it is just slightly below what the mortgage would be.

I think I am set on relocation next Spring, although I am a California native and love Humboldt County very much. Again, thanks to you both!!

I live in Humboldt County, CA and went to a local mortgage broker today to talk about what I would qualify for in the area. I make 1500 a month after taxes and have no debt, with a decent amount saved up for a down payment. All told, she said it's out of the question. The amount I would qualify for translates (in this area) into a property that would unquestionably be too dilapidated for anyone to back.

I'm on this forum because I had an eye on a property in my neighborhood that is a duplex that I wanted to purchase and live in. Now that it's out of the question, I am seriously considering moving to another state/housing market that I can afford. I am a first time home buyer.

The woman I spoke with just mentioned that I needed to have 2 years of consistent employment bringing in the amount stated. 

If I re-locate, do I need to live and work there for 2 years before being able to buy, even if I get a job and have the same great credit and money saved for the down payment?

Okay, thank you Kelly and Chris for your answers! I will remember to look into that specifically when I decide on a market then. Kelly, do the inspections cost you as the owner anything?

I do not own a specific property yet, I am still in the shopping/preliminary phase. Just preparing for what's ahead to figure in potential costs. I figured if it was mechanical or structural then there would be a permit required to do the work. I'm a carpenter by trade and am familiar with building permits, and I should have been more clear in my first question that I'm assuming all renovation work was permitted if required. I guess my question was is there an additional walk-through of any kind that cities will want to do on a house prior to occupancy by tenants? Or that property management companies, banks, insurance companies etc. will want to perform before taking on the property? 

If I bought a multi-family property - most likely a foreclosure that had been vacant for a long period - in need of repair, completed repairs, and then wished to rent it out, do I have to open the home up (and/or pay) to be inspected by the city prior to that? Like for a kind of certificate of occupancy? Will it differ by state or county perhaps? Any information is helpful, thank you!

I am a 30 yr old professional finish carpenter who has managed to scrounge 10k cash from my life savings. I've got extensive experience with rough carpentry, cabinetmaking, flooring, drywall, wiring, plumbing and am confident in my ability to inspect a residential property myself. I've also got a 6x10 trailer full of equipment and tools that can do just about anything I need them to. I just finished reading the Scher's wonderful book "Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country", thinking I was wanting to use the money toward a singular piece of property to call my own. But it dawned on me that I might take a few years to build up a profit-generating portfolio of properties to generate some income before doing so, to pay for more building materials and more of the cost of the land up front as well as providing a steady source of future revenue. 

Is it unwise to buy many properties in disparate states, even if you get set up with a PM company? Should you stick to a relatively close radius? 

I'd like to spend a few years driving to/seeking out good locales to buy property, putting in the work, hiring a PM co. and continuing on my way. But I'm imagining getting a call one day that I have to come out to Iowa or something from the West Coast to deal with something in court. I don't want to buy property where I live... I live in Humboldt County and it's a severely economically depressed region, with horror stories around every corner about the ravages of grow-ops on properties and endless seismic and damp issues. 

My first property I would like to buy as close to out-right as possible. My limit is probably around 50k then, with 10 to spend on a down payment. I've also got decent credit to work with. Probably less if there needs to be any structural or code violation work done. I've seen properties for as low as 15k ready to buy up on sites like Zillow. What's up with that? Is that for real? 

If I could do 2 or 3 of those in quick succession, I could really get it going... or not? I should clarify that I'm looking into single family residential properties. Any books you'd recommend? Next - or first - on my list are NOLO's legal and tax guides... anyone read them? I'm not interested in the "You can do it too!"/Be a millionaire! books... give me the driest, scariest, chock-full-of-warnings stuff you've got. 

I want to get into this as a job, and I am fully prepared and able to do many aspects of it myself, including educating myself on the legal and tax issues. But what has been your experience, and what would you do with $10,000?