All Forum Posts by: Albert Ellis

Have a duplex under contract in Chicago Illinois, licensed General Contractors please reach out in order to view the property and bid.

I formed my LLC while working my W2 job in 2018, but left that salaried job and have been generating 20% more income from my LLC as self employed individual in the same line of work since January 2020. I want to house hack a 3-4 unit in baltimore as way to get skin in the game and I've identified some really great neighborhoods at very affordable prices for my budget. I could go FHA or conventional, but I know it's a bit dicey for self employed individuals when it comes to getting a traditional mortgage with less than 2 years of self employed income. If any local or non local lenders/mortgage officers could give guidance on this that would be amazing.

@Jeffrey Ward I’m in the same boat, as I look to get in the game of real estate investing and believe the buy in prices in Baltimore will allow me to do that and grow my portfolio quite quickly with a sound strategy.

Although I also believe a lot of investors come to Baltimore looking to get in the game with what seem to be discounted deals. Yet when you dive a little deeper they may likely not be the best deals when you factor in comparative home sales, ARV, and neighborhood.

Investing is risky but you can mitigate a lot of risk when buying at the right price, so if you’re comparing the prices to other markets that’s when mistakes can happen.

Without even knowing the exact demographics of the income or crime in the neighborhood that could cause it to be a risky investment, the median price of sale in this neighborhood of Mill Hill is 29.5k. It It sold for 7,500k in 2018.

Now this home needs way too much work for it to be listed this close to the median list price based on work required, list prices of finished homes in nearby neighborhoods, and the 70% ARV rule based on comparable sales historically in this area.

Now where exactly should the buy in price be? That depends on your strategy and risk tolerance, but there are better homes out there closer to what this property sold for in 2018 listed in nearby neighborhoods or for auction.

@Richard Wilson

680 credit score is absolutely fine and not a deal breaker as a new investor. I sit and research loan products for investing all day for fix and flips in New Jersey. 600 is often the minimum credit score I see for fix and flips. For refinancing, and bridge loans 680 will be acceptable for most lenders in the area.

@Mark F. Thanks Mark that’s very great advice, I’ll definitely use that.

@Mehmet Arslaner there are a couple lenders I’ve found in this range that I’ve been looking to use myself once the time arises. Please PM me so that I can refer you without violating the promotion policy on the forum.

@Vaughn Smith thanks for the reply. I’ve been working with what seems like a very nonchalant realtor and need to take matters into my own hands to get property viewings and properties under contract. My only worry was that I’d have my property under contract but wouldn’t have access to great contractors with freedom in their schedules to jump on my project. Thanks for the insight on this. 

@Vanessa Regalado I’ll definitely be in need of property management and interested in what your company offers as well as contacts for Contractors! 

@Anthony Lafata Yes, let's connect. With Covid and shelter in place orders in effect all the REIA meetings have been cancelled and I haven't been able to network with other investors.

@Anthony Liguori I’ve found the deals through my hard money lender who uses public records. A lot of properties have been pulled off the market this month due to Covid, but I’m planning to reach out to agents who had listed these foreclosures as I’m sure banks would love to get these foreclosed properties off their books. 

I'm looking to BRRR properties in North Jersey and need to grow a team of contractors and Investor friendly Realtors.

Any recommendations would be great! I've targeted a bunch of single family/Multi Family off market properties in East Orange, Paterson, and Jersey City with estimated purchase and rehab costs being 35-45% ARV. At this point I need to start making offers, but I need an investor friendly realtor and contractors I can call to perform painting, electrical, plumbing, flooring, cabinetry, bathroom/kitchen renovation etc.

@Diana Lugala

Hi Diana, I’m not sure if you are on Instagram, but there a couple of investors that I follow that produce a lot of content/mention what to look for as a real estate investor and are transparent with how they make their money.

_investr - Real Estate Developer in Houston

flipping_nj - Home flipper from New Jersey

dougdepte - Home flipper in Philadelphia

b_rule - Real Estate Developer DC/Milwaukee

hoodestates- They flip and hold in Jacksonville

mgthemortgageguy- Mortgage Broker on IG with a lot of content and holds YouTube lives during covid with constant updates on changes in the market.

“Earn Your Leisure” podcast has also been a valuable resource that has interviewed everyone above and where I found out about them.

The above probably can’t be official mentors for you, but you can definitely learn a lot from their content they’ve worked on for a long time.