Finally purchased my first multi-unit, on to the next?

[Tom Kaz]

Hows it going BP! I finally purchased my first 4 unit multi unit property in a suburb of Chicago in early September of this year. The building itself is made up of 4 townhome style units with no common area. 2 bedrooms 1 bath with a full basement and additional “office” or “den”. Each unit also offers there own washer/dryer. Tenants pay electric and gas, I pay for sewer/water/garbage so the utilities are mainly thrown on the tenant which was a huge plus when buying this building. I bought the unit below market value with 20% down, eventually all will be rehabbed.

When I closed on the building in September, 3 out of the 4 units we’re rented and the one that was vacant needed a full rehab. I took it upon my self to do all the work and saved a ton (demo, new floors and tile, stainless steel appliances, fresh paint and renovated kitchen/bathroom) it was a lot of work but I was done in about 2-3 weeks with some long hours after my day job. I did sub out the carpet installation but it was next to nothing. Once completed I had the unit rented within a week of it being listed (price also reflected renovations). The other 3 units aren’t as bad but I definitely plan on doing updates once vacant. Now that’s it’s fully rented my PASSIVE income is about 1k a month, it’s all being stored away in a saving account for a down payment on my next building/investment (along with the equity I pay down on the building via mortgage payments).

This leads me to my question, since I put down a hefty 20% on the building that I got for below market value (units needed work and final price reflected this), what would be the best strategy/route to take in order to get another property by the end of next year or earlier (I want to acquire a building a year for the next 5-15 years!). I also have a home mortgage with a good amount of equity built up but don’t wanna tap into that unless It gets leveraged correctly.

The passive income and equity being paid down should score me another unit, but I’m getting anxious to start searching for another one right now, anyone have any tips or pointers that were once in my shoes? My lender stated she wants me to have 6-12 months under my belt before moving forward, also since 80% needs to be paid down to get more equity.

Thanks in advance, I’m glad I stumbled upon this forum!

[Mark Ainley]

@Tom Kaz I know you don't want to touch the equity but using it to buy an add value property that you get a better LTV based on a higher appraised value once you rehab it and then pay back your equity with the cash out refi that should get you 90%+ back if you find a deal the numbers work.