All Forum Posts by: Adam Tafel

@Anthony Shaw - welcome to BP! The MLS is pretty tough right now, especially with a 10+ cap rate goal. We are doing some pretty aggressive off-market marketing towards 2-4 unit properties in the area, reach out if you'd like to be kept in the loop.

@Todd Solberg - I don't have much experience with MF new construction, but I highly doubt you'd avoid capital gains in on the second duplex in this scenario, or that you'd secure owner-occupant financing. I could be wrong... Do the numbers make sense to build a 4plex vs. buying an existing property? 

@Micah Haworth glad to have you here! Reach out if you'd like to attend our meetups, good way to network with other local investors. 

@Avery Freeman - you should be able to pull property tax records on the county website. If you plan on cold-calling owners  get a whitepages premium account (or similar person-finding service). Good luck! 

You can find a generic estoppel agreement online, it shouldn't matter what state you're in. Important piece of due diligence, don't always trust lease terms/rents provided by listing agents. 

@Izac Sheforgen - we help FHA borrowers occupy 2-4 unit properties all day long, 3.5% down. You can also use 75% of current or projected rental income to increase your borrowing power. It's a great strategy for a new investor.

Very few big management companies are going to allow an individual to do this. Many big class-A buildings in my market have a few units on Airbnb, but they are management by corporate outfits. If you are attempting to do this, pitch your idea towards smaller independent owners. As for HOAs, few allow short-term rentals, unless you are in a major vacation-rental market where it's the norm. 

I've run into this issue on a few recent deals. Non-conforming duplexes or SF with ADU, the appraiser can't find a comp and it becomes a financing issue. On a recent deal we had to take all the appliances out of the upper unit, cap gas lines and have it reappraised as a SF. Another deal had a SF and duplex on the same parcel, and we couldn't get anyone to lend on it. It's frustrating because the additional dwelling absolutely adds income/market value, but banks can give you a hard time if it doesn't conform.

Best advice I can give it to talk to a local broker in your market, confirm with the municipality that it's a licensed rental (separate address is not a guarantee of this), and make sure your lender knows all the facts before getting too deep into the deal. 

I like to think I've got a great nose for BS. I have a pretty good memory, the most common red flag is inconsistency in statements. People who are lying or misrepresenting situations generally have a hard time keeping up with the BS.. as soon as I hear someone make a contradictory claim I assume they are full of it. Lots of that going around in the REI world. Glad you were able to avoid this guy.

@Account Closed - If you are looking at listed properties(Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com), just use an agent. As a buyer your agent is free, and you want experienced representation. Obviously my opinion is biased, so take that into consideration, but why not accept the free representation? 

If you enjoy REI and would like to pursue a career as an agent, absolutely get your license. You've already bought a few properties, which is more experience than many new agents have... Getting licensed for the sake of being able to buy your own properties might not be the smartest move. Having said that, I totally get the desire to be self-sufficient, and you want to be able perform due diligence without relying on others. You can find comps sold on Zillow and Redfin, learn to analyze properties, and learn to market to off-market sellers.

Forclosure.com and Auction.com are great for distressed/bank owned properties, but you'll still need representation for most of these to offer. 

If you find a great off-market deal, it might make sense to leave the agents out of it. You'll still need a broker or attorney to facilitate the transaction, but this can be done for a discount compared to normal commission rates. 

IMO the investors afraid of the new St. Paul/Minneapolis rules are overreacting, but I can understand why people are wary. Research the laws yourself, talk to local investors, and come up with your own educated opinion. 

The good news: most good agents will do a lot of work for free, and help you understand their process.