All Forum Posts by: Anthony Vicino

As a first time landlord, you need to understand the federal, state, and city-level laws governing landlord/tenant interactions in your area. Many cities offer helpful resources and classes to get you up to speed quickly.

Once you have a firm understanding of the rules, the next thing to do is start creating systems, standard operating procedures, and basic means of organization.

To that end, read The Book on Managing Rental Properties by the Turners. It will save you SO much time and headache, guaranteed.

Congratulations, Lauren!

There really is no one-size-fits-all answer here. The right loan for your circumstance is going to depend entirely on what your goals for the property are.

Is this a value-add play with a refinance in month 18 and a 5-7 year hold? If so, you want to avoid locking into long term agency debt with prepayment penalties.

Are you going to hold this until you die? Are you bringing outside investors, joint venturing, or going solo? 

There's a lot of questions to answer, one of the most important being, where is your market going to be in its cycle when the loan term comes due? 

Finding the right debt for your deal starts with clearly understanding your business plan, current market conditions, and viable exit strategies.

If you could clarify your goals for the property, Lauren, I think we could help point you in the right direction.

Can't really put it much better than that @Neil Henderson!

Never too soon to start building relationships with local banks and brokers, but a year out on an FHA is still quite a ways. Probably won't have much to talk about until things get a bit closer and you're ready to get preapproved.

I'm with @Michael Noto on the 6 months PITI. It never hurts to be conservative.

As for using a percentage of total purchase price as a way of estimating ongoing costs, that's not a great method. So much depends on the property's construction, age, and general condition.

A rule of thumb like that isn't so useful in a world where every thumb is so darn different.

It's a bummer, but the quicker you move on, the quicker you can find a great tenant who actually pays their rent.

Don't waste another minute on this tenant, cut them loose.

It's been hit on multiple times already, but it can't be overstated: Find good tenants.

Beyond that, remember, little things can quickly grow into really big things, so don't defer basic maintenance.

I'll second @Jacob Repreza here: Probably not a ton of value in getting your license if those are your only reasons. If you're working full-time, chances are good you're going to need to forge strong broker relationships to help source the best deals. For the time and energy they save you, it's well worth the commissions.

Likely too late to go back and do things over now, so I'd recommend really leaning into the license and make the most of it.

We're currently working with Zach Robins on a syndication. He specializes in securities, so might not be exactly what you're looking for.

 Thanks, Arthur! I'm personally not buying turnkey. Yields don't meet my minimum requirements. Sure it makes sense for somebody out there, though. :)

@Keith Mudiappa Those are great goals (and totally achievable)!

By "internal" numbers I'm referring to what sort of revenue versus expense the property in question generates. What sort of properties are you looking at? SFH-Quad, 5+? Banks will valuate each differently depending on how strong the financial position of the underlying asset is.