I've had smooth loans close with Kiavi and I've had rough ones, same with Roc.When Loans start to be troublesome:1) The borrowing entity docs are a mess2) The appraisal numbers are lower than expected3) Messy background reports4) Loans happening in an environment where market/rate fluctuating unpredictably 5) Your loan officer and their team are poor at their job6) Title issues that depend on county docs, that can be slow and painfulThere's more but it's Friday and I'm tired....

When they do, you can refinance to a lower rate.Dealing with current high interest rates (about 7% on 01/27/2025) you have the following choices:A larger down paymentAccept a negative cash flowBuy down the interest rateCombine and balance all three to get an acceptable cash flow today.

As more people placed more properties in STR inventory, and as more municipalities taxed and regulated the industry, the profitability of the overall industry has reverted to a much more aligned (lower) risk adjusted return.  

The "land basis" cannot be depreciated, so your depreciable portion will be lower than $350k.We typically consider $1 million in building basis as a rule of thumb where it makes sense to evaluate the potential benefits.

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

They get a higher return since they are covering housing cost, have the $250k per spouse primary residence deduction in gains, is a savings account, higher leverage position, lower interest rate possible, will pay more premium for location, etc.House might be overpriced for REITs but not for home owners.  

There's a lot of suckers who attend these sales, particularly for the lower priced properties and that's precisely who you don't want to be bidding against.

Don't go for the cheapest (unless the price is lower because it is on sale), but also don't go for the most expensive. 

If the loan amount you are looking for is small relative to the value of the first and the second property combined, they are very well secured on a LTV%; ask for a 1% point lower rate.If you don't want to Cross Collateralize, do you have any CD's or MM you can transfer to this bank as collateral. 

This was my first deal, and house hacking made the most sense because it lowered the threshold for risk in my mind.