All Forum Posts by: Annchen Knodt

Hi @Norman T Eng, these days you can get a 30-year conventional loan with interest rates in the 4s (I'm paying a fraction of a point to get 4.25% on my current loan which I'm very happy with).  If you play your cards right, you can find a lender who will allow you to use the "delayed financing" exception to do a refinance without having to wait the usual 6 month seasoning period.  If you're interested in that, Alex Felice talks about it in detail on episode 301 of the BP podcast.

Hi @Victoria Leon, there are lots of great resources out there for evaluating single family rentals, here are a quick few that I think would be great paces to start:

• This video tutorial on estimating cash flow: https://www.biggerpockets.com/…
• This blog post on making sure the numbers make sense: https://www.biggerpockets.com/…
• I also find this guide to estimating capital expenditures very helpful: https://www.biggerpockets.com/…

You'll find lots more great content if you search the BiggerPockets blog.

Good luck!

Hi @Vicky Luu, from your initial rough estimates this sounds like something that could work well for you.  You want to be sure to also figure in allowances for taxes, insurance, vacancies, repairs, and capital expenditures as well.  If you haven't already, I would start out by diving into some resources to help you estimate these numbers, such as:

• This video tutorial on estimating cash flow: https://www.biggerpockets.com/…
• This blog post on making sure the numbers make sense: https://www.biggerpockets.com/…
• The sections of the BP Ultimate Beginner's Guide relevant to you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/u…
• I also find this guide to estimating capital expenditures very helpful: https://www.biggerpockets.com/…

There are many more resources out there but those are some quick suggestions!

I bet you would also benefit from speaking with a property manager in your area for advice on what works well for a rental there, especially in case you want to think about continuing to invest and hold the property after your son-in-law moves out.  I have heard that Phoenix is a great market currently, so that could be something that would work really well for you!

Best of luck!

I definitely know how you feel!  Thank goodness for all the resources and help available on BiggerPockets - definitely feel free to reach out with further questions.

Hi @Jahzia Williams! Congrats on getting started thinking about REI so young, and on already taking a great first step by attending meetings! The first thing to do to get started is of course position yourself financially to be able to invest. Once you're there / if you're already there, I think that the "house hacking" strategy is really worth looking into, especially with your access to VA loans. I highly recommend reading Scott Trench's book Set For Life for great advice on both of those topics. Good luck!

I'd definitely recommend something local for your first fix and flip - you haven't yet mentioned where you are, but if you add that, folks from your area might chime in with specific neighborhoods and local tips that should be helpful!

If you are looking in your area, definitely emphasize that you are a local human being and not some huge company!  Don't have much experience with this myself yet, but I think people have had success with including a casual photo of themselves (e.g. with family or pets maybe) to really add to the personal touch.

Hi @Ahmad Shah, I'm following this since I also found myself searching for content with specific details in the areas you mentioned, and haven't really seen much.  Lots of it will vary by area, but I certainly any information can be helpful in general.  One place I have seen some informative details is J Scott's blog 123flip.com - he goes into full detail especially on rehab costs for his first 50 flips, but you'll also see some informative anecdotes on inspections, costs of buying and selling etc.

Hi @Julian Gonda!  I really enjoyed that book too.  My biggest take away was the idea of carving out time every day for working on your "One Thing" and guarding that time as a top priority.  Keeping the word guarding in mind really helps me, since, as I'm sure is true for most people, distractions seem to be one of my greatest challenges on the path towards achieving my goals.  Blocking out time on my calendar for my most important tasks has helped me to ensure those things get done, and then in the time remaining I end up doing other less important things more efficiently since there's less time to waste.  I definitely appreciate this side effect as well!

Glad you're enjoying the book and thanks for posting this!

Hi @Danielle Tucker - this decision will largely depend on your personal attitude toward debt and your specific financial situation.  Many people prefer the security of owning property free & clear, but other factors to consider are the currently low (very low) costs of borrowing and the potential risk of becoming a target for litigation on assets with lots of equity.  

If I were in this situation, I'd probably want to take out the HELOC, fix up the property, rent it out, pay off the HELOC, and then do a cash-out refinance to a 30-year mortgage with a low interest rate that my tenant will pay off. Of course that depends on finding a lender with a product that fits your situation, but I would think it should be doable! You'll also probably want to talk to a local property manager to get a good idea of what you can rent it for to make sure that the numbers work for you.