All Forum Posts by: Ann Bellamy

Cassie, I'm a NH landlord.  I believe he can require that you list him as additional insured.  It is normally no downside to you other than some insurance companies charge a normal fee to add him.  
I think the bigger issue is his behavior, but that's up to you to decide whether to deal with it.  I know there is such a housing shortage in NH that finding a new place is difficult.
Good luck.

Chris, it is common for real estate "gurus" to tell students to take experienced real estate investors out to coffee or lunch and pick their brain.  But what you are really telling those investors is that all those years of knowledge and experience that they have acquired the hard way is worth about $5.  Or in the case of lunch, maybe that is upgraded to $15-20.   And not only that, but they should stop everything they are doing that day to provide that information for the price of a meal.  

My comments above may not be the popular view, and I'll probably get some flack for this.  But I believe there is a better approach.  Start attending local events around you.  Many of the small meetups are free, some are $10, some are $20.  You'll pay the cost of a lunch and get access to lots of investors.  Strike up conversations with the experienced people, and ask them how you can help them.  Once you get to know more people in the real estate investor space, then choose a couple and offer to volunteer or work for free.  Once you are putting your efforts where your mouth is, you will learn a lot.

At Black Diamond Real Estate Investors, we have several volunteers who help us with events.  One of them we made a full partner in Black Diamond over time.  Another is a real estate accountant and we recommend her on a regular basis, and promote her at our events.  These are just a couple of examples.  Being on the inside of a group of experienced investors has value.  

I'm not approaching this from a strictly selfish basis either.  If someone calls me about a specific deal I spend a significant amount of time reviewing the deal for free and discussing it with the caller, pulling comps and discussing ARV.  It is my way of giving value even if they don't end up using my lending services.  I am very open and direct and sometimes recommend alternative ways of funding that don't involve me.  

Right now you need a lot of information.  Approach this from what value you can provide to the other person and you will learn a lot.  Ok, end of unsolicited rant.  Good luck as you begin your journey.

If you wait until Spring when everyone is buying, you'll have less chance of finding a deal anyway.  For the most part, if you identify a property right now and make an offer, you won't close until early January (remember all the holidays inbetween now and then).  Then you can take a few weeks to make sure the units are sparkling clean and do some small updates, if you have empty units.  Then you are at 2/1/20.  That's the beginning of the spring market, and you won't find a good tenant who wants to move in that day anyway.  They will have to give notice.  So then you are at March sometime. 

So actually, it's the best time to be looking, not the worst.  What are you waiting for?

@Blaise Doremus, NH definitely has higher taxes, but it also has a much more landlord friendly climate. And sometimes a better tenant base, depending on where in NH you buy. (Note this varies tremendously by location.) I never had trouble getting tenants or making a profit, and I never bought anywhere else but in NH, because I didn't want to deal with MA tenant-friendly courts. But at this point in the market cycle, foreclosures are definitely not "very cheap". The best deals are found by doing your own marketing for leads, not by buying off MLS. @Mike Griffin as long as the total numbers work, the taxes by themselves are not relevant.  When you value-add by separating utilities, the tenants pay utilities and that more than overcomes the taxes.  

Hi, Mike, 
I lend in those areas, I'll send you a PM.

Thanks for the Black Diamond shout out, @Anthony Thompson. 

The rehab situation is easy to remedy.  You finance the purchase and rehab with private funds and then refinance using conventional.  To find those lenders, you attend RE groups, like RIREIG and Black Diamond, (which I host).  I also lend on exactly this type of situation as well as house flips, so if you have questions, feel free to reach out.    

Thanks for inviting me, @Gal Peretz!

I'm sorry, @Jim Iorio, I don't know anyone practicing out there right now.  

@Jay M. Thank you.  I do sort of have a horse in the race, however when Chris called me yesterday, I told him he was better off getting conventional residential if he could.  I referred him to a LO who I think can do it in time.  Also told him to come back to me if he couldn't get it done.  His timeline is 3 weeks, which is plenty of time for me, but difficult for residential.

Chris, let me also jump in with further clarification. If you purchase with hard money in an LLC, your refinance will also be in an LLC and will require a conventional commercial loan. (For example, Cambridge Savings) Commercial loans are a little more expensive than conventional residential, and the rates can adjust every 5-10 years. INsurance and appraisals are also more expensive.

If you buy with a residential loan, and refinance in 12 months, (this is called seasoning) your refinance will be conventional residential.  Both of these loans will be cheaper than hard money and conventional commercial.  That's why I suggested going residential when you called, instead of using hard money.

So run the numbers in both scenarios, after you get the costs for both.  Don't forget to take increased insurance and appraisal into the mix.  I still think you will be better off with residential to start, and then residential in 12 months.  So what if it takes 12 months to refinance?  You'll be in an election year and should still get good rates in a year while enjoying residential rates for that entire 1st year.