All Forum Posts by: Amber Stout

Jorge, great post and topic. I personally think the barrier to entry of stocks is so much lower than real estate. The masses do it, it's more accepted and feels safer. 

With stocks, it's simple. I could go on a platform right now and with the click of a couple buttons, I'd be the owner of stock. There's low barrier to entry in terms of effort required to purchase stock and naturally more people are going to do it. 

When it comes to real estate, there's more effort required and it would take actual effort to close on a property. One would need to connect with a realtor, lender, there's inspections, there's needing a specific amount of capital to invest, tenants, property management, etc. 

In addition, I think there's more "control" with stocks in the sense that you can pull your money out whenever versus real estate, the money is not liquid. 

What are your thoughts? @Jorge Vazquez

Hi Declan! I love that you're looking at acquiring a multifamily property, that is how my husband and I got started as well. We started "house hacking" with a duplex in Saint Pete, then bought a triplex, another duplex, and now we're working on some development projects. It becomes addicting ;) and we decided to quit our W2's to help other's create financial freedom through real estate! 

That said, my husband @Rick Stout is an agent that primarily works with investors in the Saint Pete and Tampa market. I am a lender that primarily works with investors. We would love to connect and are happy to connect you to property managers in the area or any other contacts that may be valuable on your real estate journey. 

Hey Joey, congrats on your beginning of real-estate investing in St. Pete. That is where my husband and I got started AND we "house hacked" which is your strategy :) highly recommend - it's served us well. 

I personally invest in areas that there have development plans for the future knowing that I will likely gain appreciation from the investment. I also like to be close to Central Ave as demand for rentals will be higher and I can also ask for higher rents. There are a lot of great pockets in St Pete that are gentrifying and those are the areas I tend to favor as well. 

From a lender perspective, multi family is also a great strategy as the income of the other unit(s) will help you to qualify for a higher purchase price. As an example, I'm working with a first time investor who qualifies for 300k single family OR 475k three units. You typically only need to put down 5% on a 2-4 unit which in my opinion is a no brainer! Making the decision to purchase multi-family has been the best decision we've made. If you want any further insights on St. Pete, lending, investing, local meetups, shoot me a message :) 

 

Hey Bill, I have a couple of agents I can refer you to in the area. Do you have a specific price point you're looking at? I have some agents great at luxury STR at $1m+ range and some at lower points so want to understand what specifically you're looking for so I can connect you with the right agent.

Great chatting with you, Laura! :) To follow up on our conversation, each DSCR will have different requirements however I am not seeing an issue with you not having personal rental history so you should be good there. Reach out with any other questions!

Hi Nadia, congrats on opening your brokerage in Tampa! That's amazing & exciting! 

My husband and I started investing in real estate in 2019 and quickly became passionate about helping other's create financial freedom through real estate which is our mission. He's an agent primarily working with investors and I am a lender specializing in working with investors + we buy deals of our own. 

I'd love to connect and see where we may be able to collaborate. :)

I'm sorry to hear that it's not working out for you currently. In my opinion, the important thing is that you get your property cash flowing so you're not burning cash. 

Have you spoken with other property managers in the area to get an idea of target rents? I've had property managers tell me my property will rent for $1,800 and I've had other's say $1,400 for same property. Also, make sure the property manager is a solid one. I've had property managers have my property listed for a month with 5 showings, 0 apps. I stepped in and got it rented in a week so it could be the property manager. 

Other ideas to increase gross rents: 
Can you change up your strategy and do a short term or mid term rental? 
Can you do a Padsplit with the property? 

Hey Alfredo, reach out to local regional,community banks, & credit unions. I had to call through 19 before I found 1 that will do them. They only serve Florida otherwise I would give you the contact. Best of luck!! 

Hi John, lender here - it really will just depend on your debt to income ratio which is the percentage of your gross monthly income that goes towards paying your current debt payments. If you have further questions, feel free to send me a private message. :)

Hi Laura! DSCR is a type of investment property loan that lenders use to evaluate the cash flow from a property relative to its debt obligations, rather than primarily focusing on you, the borrower's personal income.

Down payment: Expect to need at least 20% to 30% as a down payment, though this can vary by lender and property type.

Interest rate: Interest rates for DSCR loans are typically higher than those for conventional loans because lenders view them as higher risk. The exact rate can vary based on the lender, the borrower's creditworthiness, and the specific property. 

Approval will be based on income potential of property, your credit score, appraisal, down payment, the DSCR ratio - there are quite a few factors that play into the approval. 

I am an investor and lender, if you want to chat more specifically about your situation and options, feel free to shoot me a message. I'm also just across the bridge in Saint Pete :)