All Forum Posts by: Zigmunt Smigaj

Hey everyone.  I'm looking at investing in Corpus Christi Texas and would love to hear your experiences and possibly get a good property management reference.  Most of the companies have horrible reviews, so I don't know how else to vet them without a reference.  Any areas you would recommend or stay away from?

I'm a soldier who lives in the Fort Hood area, Belton Texas area.

Zig

Caito, the answer is yes. I've never heard of a bank only offering commercial for a multifam less than 4 units. I use GuaranteedRate, and a specific bank I've used is Stifel Bank. If your military you can use your VA loan with 100% financing to include closing costs. Local banks in my opinion have high rates, the advantage is that they also have their own lending guidelines and can overlook a bad credit history, assuming they will carry the loan and not sell it off. In some cases a seller may have two duplexes on one legal lot or have multiple duplexes he wants to sell as a package, in those cases the deal may fall into commercial guidelines. A credit union in my opinion has lower rates than a bank, in either case just call the top 5 of each when you google and you'll find a solution in a day. The only private money I've used was Civic Financial, it was a simple and pleasant experience, the cost goes up but these are transitional loans and the intent is to refinance out within a few months after you fix whatever credit issues you have that is restricting you if that's the case. hope this helps, my thoughts are based off my personal experience and worked for me. Both those lenders deal nationwide.

Please send me some details. [email protected]

Thanks Nathan! 

I have two investment properties, cash on hand to pay one off, and combined equity of about 150k between the two. I just recently heard about HELOCs and refinancing a paid off home to purchase another. On a recent podcast it was explained that the FEDs can’t tax a loan and the rental income to pay pay down the financing is subject to lower taxes.  This strategy was an option if somebody lost a job and needed to live off this loan.

So question is would it make more sense to pay off a property off for the advantages described above (greater leverage) or simply roll my liquid cash into a 3rd property? 

Hello everybody,  I relocated from Oregon to Long Beach about a year ago for a job and I'm considering making a purchase on a multifamily as a primary residence.  First I'd love to meet some investor/rehab specialists in the local area.  Second... its been almost 10 years since the last crash, does anyone think that we are at the price peak just before another market decline?  How high can a price go for a property before it simply wont appreciate anymore?  Just seems prices are out of control and a ghetto house is $450,000.  I wont buy for appreciation but I also dont want to loose value if I purchase at a peak.  

Cheers!

I'm reaching out to investors and landlords in Tacoma WA.  How would you rate the different neighborhoods from most desirable to least?  I will be moving to the area mid May 2015 after I return from Kuwait and I'm trying to do as much research as possible. My goal is to buy the nicest multifamily as possible as a primary residence.  

How do you determine (if you do at all) the property/neighborhood class in this area? I'm ok with any of the areas east,west, and north of Fort Lewis.  I only plan to live there long enough to meet the terms of my loan as a primary residence then move to buy another. 

Welcome @Jerrett Lavac  !  

I'm moving to Tacoma area as soon as I get back from a 9month tour in Kuwait. I know nothing about the area other but the area seems more affordable than Seattle and its near the military base and a major port. I'm a newbie too and plan on joining some of the local REI clubs, you might want to check those out and find a good mentor.

@Michele Fischer How do you determine Class A,B, and C areas?  

I'm with @Ali Boone, keep it as simple as possible. Build your team but also consider marketing like a wholesaler in order to find good deals that aren't in foreclosure yet, otherwise you could find yourself competing with lots of cash buyers trying to get at foreclosure at the auction. Establish a go/no-go criteria regardless if its a MLS or foreclosure property, decide on what types of properties you want in your portfolio. Happy Hunting!

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Some good points have been made.  This is probably a necessary evil when I can't manage the property myself and also when the agency has lots of vacancies, which is the case.  In order to compensate time/footwork spent showing properties it makes sense to provide a commission.  I guess the $50 lease up fee just covers the paperwork shuffle and not the hours spent showing the property.