All Forum Posts by: Adrienne Green

Hi Amos!  Graduating to using HMLs is a natural progression.  @Mike Kennedy with Flipco loans in TN, and I recommend them!  I've had a lot of experiences with them and they do a good job.

@Caleb Spillyards your energy for getting started is fabulous!  There's a lot of good advice on here.  To echo some of it, I'd say:

1- start with really zeroing in on what you want. Yes everyone wants passive income, wealth building, etc. You need to get more specific and personal. Is cashflow or appreciation more of your focus? Do you need to replace your income? STRs can be great for personal use and cashflow, realize they require more work, and learning about hospitality, tech tools, etc. Specific, personal goals will guide you to the correct REI path for you.

2- Get with a lender who knows REI to see what's possible. If you have 2 or more years of experience in your current field, being self-employed should be irrelevant. STR advantage could be using a second home loan and doing 10% down instead of more.

3-  Once you do 1 and 2 and get into the research, the BP spreadsheet is pretty good.  What return is "good" depends on the person.  

For your first, I recommend focusing on a "base hit".  People who will only jump on a home run, especially on their first, end up spending a lot of time out of the game entirely.  In my view, it's better to be in the game and learning then on the sidelines.  Also, when you run numbers conservatively, projected returns are often lower than actual returns.  You may find that base hit turns out to be double, triple, or maybe even a home run!

@Lourdes Delmo Moore smart to look at TN, it's a good location in terms of being landlord friendly, appreciation, low property taxes, and more.  In terms of where to invest, there are a lot of factors that would come in to play.  Short term rental or long term rental?  Price point?  Appreciation or cash flow is more important?

You'll find people who love all parts of TN for investing, from the big city of Nashville to the most rural areas. Nashville is an STR play at a higher price point, Memphis is popular for cashflow and turnkeys, Chattanooga is a hybrid cashflow/appreciation market with LTRS and STRs. Of course there's the Gatlinburg STR market as well.

Personally I invest in Chattanooga.  It has A, B and C class, rent ready would come at price points of $120k-350k for a Long Term Rental, higher for a Short Term Rental.  

I hope this helps as you start to learn!

@Christopher Huber my go-to local lender in Chattanooga recently presented about how they can do conventional loans on mobile homes in most situations.  They are the Gabe Whitmer team with FirstBank Mortgage.  They loan in 47 states, so I imagine they'd be able to help you here!

Hi @Skylar Jennings!  Welcome to Tennessee!  It's a fabulous place to build wealth through real estate.  People speak very highly of Cookeville, I hope you love it there!  Have you looked to see if their are any Bigger Pockets preferred agents in that area?  That's a good way to meet some.  

@Allison Dorman Personally, for an STR or MTR I visit to investigate the area. My reasons are:
- I'm typically investing in an area I want to visit, so being able to write off a trip there is nice.
- Location is so important for an STR or MTR, I want to know the lay of the land.
- I've found most agents are not experienced with real estate investments, so I am the expert here and need to be able to determine areas that are a good fit.

Now I have bought an STR sight unseen, the factors include that I already knew the area very well and the real estate agent was savvy about investing.

@Gina Shumway Congrats!  That's awesome!  Are you looking for a commercial loan or a conventional loan?  On the commercial side, definitely a local bank.  Personally I do mine with FirstBank and TVFCU.  That being said, many I know work with and love their own local bankers.  @Austin Jameson has great commercial loan products, and I believe no seasoning period. A commercial loan will allow you to continue holding the house in an LLC.

If you're going to do the conventional investment loan route, I like the Gabe Whitmer team at FirstBank.  They know investment loans very well.

Also, I would recommend working to get it rented ASAP- if you have a lease, that can be used for the DTI versus the rent schedule on the appraisal. Your lease amount will likely be higher!

Congrats on this package deal!  That's awesome!  As far as property managers, my #1 recommendation would be to really dig in to how they do things.  Not every property manager is the same.  

Ask to speak with a current client, and ask that person what they don't like about that PM, to learn the worst case scenario.  No PM is going to be perfect, I've heard all the gripes from my clients about their PMs, so it would be a red flag if a current client says only great things!

Ask for their numbers: typical turnover time, etc.  They should be able to provide that.

Check if the property manager manages properties like yours: similar type, property class, neighborhood, etc.  They don't need to hit all those boxes, they should hit some.

Review the contract that you sign, as well as the lease agreement the tenant signs.  We have a client who's trying to sell a rental, and the lease agreement with the tenant says they must provide access for sale of the property only within 60 days of the end of the lease.  We aren't in that timeframe, and the tenant is refusing access to anyone for anything, even for an inspection or appraisal, so practically that rental is going to be impossible to sell.

Hi Tim!  Right now, considering the city ordinances are under review, we're working outside the city limits for STRs.  Unincorporated Hamilton County and the city of Soddy Daisy also have temporary moratoriums right now, so we're similarly steering clear of those.  

The great thing about Chattanooga is there are plenty of places to buy that are convenient to tourist destinations while being outside those areas with current restrictions!  

One thing I like about Chattanooga for STRs is it isn't a huge tourist destination that relies on people taking big trips to get there.  In a recession, if people are cutting their vacation travel, those bigger trips may get cut.  Weekend trips from Atlanta or Nashville aren't likely to get cut, as they would be a relatively affordable vacation option.

Hi Jesse!  Well, TN isn't a tiny state, and it's the 16th most populous, so there's a lot of variety over the state.  The more specific you can be about your goals and what you're looking to do, the more helpful advice you'll get!

If I would say anything that would be helpful on the state level, it would be: it's a landlord friendly state, so long term rentals are good from that standpoint; from 2020 to 2021 it was #8 in terms of population growth, so people are moving here a lot; tourism is notable here, STRs do well in certain areas; property taxes are generally lower than many states; if you're investing in East Tennessee act like you're a UT fan, especially with their football team doing so well this season!