All Forum Posts by: Aidan Mulligan

Depends on the type of property. Banks typically don't want to lend on complete rehab homes, those typically need to be cash. If it's a decent home then a bank will loan with 15%-25% down depending on the bank.

The question you should ask yourself first is what kind of property do I want. Do I want an SFR, a duplex, a duplex to live in, a triplex, a fourplex? Anything over four will put you in commercial territory which comes with different terms and higher rates.

Basically this was my process:

1. Figure out what type of property I wanted
2. Figure out my budget based on my savings and project income (W-2)
3. Find a bank that would lend on that budget and get a pre-approval, they're generally good for 4-8 months
4. Find a property I want to buy
5. View the property
6. Submit an offer
7. Offer accepted, call your bank and start the loan process

The bank is going to scour your financials for the last 1-2 years. My bank looked at:

1. Banks statements for last twelve months
2. W-2 for the last two years
3. Paystubs for last two months
4. Permanent addresses for the last two years
5. If you're renting they'll want your lease agreement
6. Credit information

Generally speaking banks want to see a DTI under 43%, a good credit score 650+ but for the best chance 750+, and a steady income. My bank wanted reserves of 6 months mortgage, insurance, and taxes, already sitting in my bank account.

To answer your question, fix the broken items and then evict if the late payments are becoming an issue. Just have a record of when they missed besides the time that there was a maintenance issue.

The two are related and unrelated. As a landlord you have a duty to maintain the property within a reasonable timeframe of being notified and if you do not then the tenant has the option to not pay rent. However, the reverse is not true. You as the landlord cannot refuse to maintain the property due to rent not being paid.

I understand that the rent not being paid is because they neglect to pay rent and not because of the condition of the property. But based on how things are, they can punish you by not paying rent but you cannot punish them by not maintaining. Your only recourse for a tenant that does not pay is eviction.

However again, if you try to evict them and they go to court and say you aren't fixing things and they have proof of that then its a toss up. In most cases, the landlord wins as long as you have performed your duties as a landlord, I.E maintaining the property.

Google your state and city laws. Real estate is heavily dependent on where you are.

Your purchase contract will usually specify how they want it delivered. Are you or the other party working with a realtor? Is the earnest money going to an escrow company?

Some ways are:

1. Personal Check
2. Cashiers Check
3. ACH
4. Debit Card
5. Cash
6. Wire Transfer

@Sylvia B. Landlord question, if someone claims an animal is an emotional support animal or assistance animal, am I legally allowed to ask for proof?

It depends, is the increase in CoC and Cashflow significant enough to risk losing her. If you do lose her, what does the rental market look like, what kind of time horizon are you looking at to re-lease. A higher cashflow is always better on paper but if its a slow market right now and the only tenant you can find is someone who trashes the place you'll be spending that extra money on repairs once they move out. Just food for thought.

I'm in the process of closing on a $50,000 property with a $39,000 loan with Suntrust. I'm not sure how low they will go

It depends on what you feel comfortable with. Both methods, buy & hold and BRRRR, have their benefits but it just matters what you personally are willing to take on. Myself personally, I look for homes that only need some paint, maybe a door or two replaced, and some new floors. That's about the extent of the rehab that I will take on.

To determine a good buy I run the assumed numbers through my proforma and make a decision from there based on the cashflow and CoC. I pay a little bit of attention to the appreciation potential because I obviously don't want my house to lose value, but it's not a deal breaker for me if there isn't a whole lot of action in the area.

@Charlie Moore 

• Pay attention to the layout of the house. Layouts are sometimes hard to change and can cost a lot of money. If it is very closed off with a lot of walls and hallways it might not be great. 
• Cassi suggested foundation issues which is a good one. You can spot this if the walls aren't vertical, the floors aren't flat, or there are cracks larger than a quarter coin in the walls or foundation. Open and close all the doors. If they don't close easily or get caught on the frame you might have a bad foundation OR just bad framing. 
• Look at the electrical panel and see what amperage it is. It should be labeled, if it isn't then that's a bad sign. If it is under 100 amps you might need to upgrade it.
• Try and see how old the water heater is, it should have a serial number on it that you can search.
• Ask to see if the realtor or owner knows the last time the electrical, mechanical, plumbing, or roof were maintained, upgraded, or repaired
• The insurance company will want to know if it is on well or city water, septic or city sewer, closest fire hydrant and fire station, if it has smoke detectors and/or carbon monoxide detectors, what kind of siding it is, if the heating is electrical or gas.