All Forum Posts by: Alex Larcheveque

Should be fine to use Venmo. Out of curiosity, why not Paypal? They have better "paper-trailing", and can also be free if you send as a friend.

Congrats! Will you be investing in CA or out of state? 

I think this depends on your risk tolerance. 

If you're risk adverse, I would start with airbnb arbitrage. You can start an airbnb arbitrage with around $10k with furniture, and you'll be off to the races. If things go poorly, you can sublease the property out until the end of the lease term. You could probably sell the furniture too, and recoup hopefully around ~50% of your initial furniture costs. 

If you're okay with some risk, section 8 can be a good route for you to start. I wouldn't say it's "beginner investor friendly," as you need to PROPERLY vet your tenants - and it's properly harder than you think it is. Conversely though, with section 8 you're guaranteed income, and can start building equity into your home.

Both are viable options, it's ultimately up to preference.

Repeat the process. Cash out refinance, and invest in more properties that cash flow :)

With that liquidity, you can look into commercial if you want more passive investments.

In order to pursue legal action, you may need to provide evidence that the HVAC unit was not properly installed or that the seller was aware of the issues and did not disclose them to you before the sale. 

Unfortunately, the fact that you had inspections and the HVAC issues were not discovered makes your case weak.

You should contact a real estate attorney for proper legal advice, but in my opinion you don't have legal recourse.

I would continue to talk to him, and see if he can cover some of the costs out of the kindness of his heart.

 You can report this to Google. They should be able to help. 

For the most part, lenders don't really care about the industry or position of your job. As long as you have 2 years of consistent work, you should be fine!

To answer your question about owner occupancy, using this as your primary residence won't hinder you unless you use an FHA loan and plan to move within a year. If anything, using this as a primary residence will only benefit, as you can get better terms (interest rate, downpayment) on your loan.

No management fees? You're going to be managing eight properties by yourself? 

Management fees usually come in around 8%, which should equate to around ~$650. Your property will negatively cash flow. 

FYI, if @Bjorn Ahlblad mentioned if it's been on the market for 500 days, that sounds like a ripe opportunity to lowball HARD. 

It sounds like you are in a difficult situation with your potential investment property.

For the financing contingency in your contract, you may be able to use this to get out of the deal if the lender denies your loan due to the low debt service coverage ratio. However, it's worth noting that lenders may be more hesitant to lend on a property with a low DSCR, so it's possible that you may not be able to secure financing even if you wanted to proceed with the purchase.

For the appraisal contingency in your contract, you may also be able to use this to get out of the deal if the property does not appraise for the purchase price. What do the comps looks like? Did you get a deal on this property?

Another option you may have is to try to negotiate with the seller to see if they are willing to lower the price of the property to reflect the lower rental income. However, this may not be possible if the seller is unwilling to negotiate.

Start getting into multifamily! Since you're new I'd recommend you to start with 1-4 units, then once you're comfortable you can go for larger multifamily.

Here's why multifamily is great for scaling: 

1. Higher rental income: Multifamily properties typically offer the potential for higher rental income compared to single-family properties. This is because you can collect rent from multiple units in one location, rather than just one.

2. Economies of scale: Owning and managing a multifamily property may be more efficient from a cost perspective than owning and managing multiple single-family properties. For example, you may be able to negotiate bulk discounts on supplies or hire a single property manager to oversee multiple units.

3. Diversification: Multifamily properties offer the opportunity to diversify your portfolio by having multiple tenants in one location. This can reduce your risk as an investor by spreading it over multiple tenants, rather than relying on just one.

4. Financing options: It may be easier to secure financing for multifamily properties compared to single-family properties, especially for larger properties. Many lenders are more comfortable lending on multifamily properties because they offer more stability and security due to the multiple rental units.

5. Potential for appreciation: Multifamily properties may have the potential for appreciation over the long term due to strong rental demand, particularly in markets with strong job and population growth.

Hope this helps!