All Forum Posts by: Axel Ragnarsson

@Tashinga Musekiwa The lenders I work with pulled my credit initially but haven't after the first deal that we've done. They are much more concerned with the numbers on the deal, the plans for the property, and the terms on the debt. I think this is pretty standard practice for the smaller lenders who make a few loans to a few investors a year, as for the larger lending companies, maybe not - but I haven't worked with them so I wouldn't know. 

Hi Ronald, welcome to BP and congratulations on taking the first steps towards securing a real estate investment. You're certainly in a very good financial position to start shopping for a multifamily and obviously are prioritizing your real estate education. As for what market you should look into, allow me to suggest Manchester, NH as a potential market.. NH vacancy rates are extremely low and with the right property you will achieve a nice combination of equity appreciation and cash flow. I own a number of units in the city and would be happy to answer any questions related to the area.

@Jeremy Mangen I hope I can offer some value to those who are in a similar position to me, so your reply means a lot - thank you. I agree with you, everyone scales differently dependent on their strategy and goals - I was in a position where I could scale more quickly and decided to do so. Of course, this adds a level of risk to my portfolio that I (and anyone who does) needs to consider. One of the things that makes BP a great forum is that there are plenty of members who will reply to a post and offer a different opinion, challenge the OP, or offer cautionary advice. Sure, some people may not be able to sleep at night if they had more mortgages than they could count on two hands but the best I (and anyone else who scales quickly) can do is make sure they are doing so with both eyes wide open.

@James Yang Thank you James! I use a few methods to find solid, off-market deals. Most of my deals have come from small direct mail campaigns I've done to motivated sellers of multifamily properties, Craigslist, wholesalers, and through referrals from other investors and service providers in the industry. In the future, I think I'm going to start sourcing more deals with direct mail and through wholesalers in my market. 

@John McKinnon What we do when we buy a building with below market tenants is dependent on how significantly below market the rent they are currently paying is and what time of the year (lease cycle) it is. If we buy a building in the winter and the tenants are only slightly below market, we'll issue a slight increase to get them closer to market with the intentions of getting them all the way to market rent within six months. If they vacate, that's fine, we can now lease the unit at a peak time of the year. On a side note, we've found that issuing rent increases to tenants who are paying extremely below market rates (for example, $550 when the market rent is $1,000) typically doesn't end up well (the tenant feels you are taking advantage of them, doesn't believe the rent you are charging is market rate, the relationship between management/tenant becomes contentious). In that scenario, we typically just issue a notice to vacate, turn the unit over, and lease it at market rate. 

Of course, this is all assuming that the tenant is M2M. In NH (and most states) you only need to give 30 days notice to issue rent increases/notice to vacate that everyone in this thread has mentioned. 

@Javier D. Thank you, I appreciate it!

@John McRae

@Elijah VanDenBerg

Thank you both!

Hi everyone, 

I'm thinking of purchasing a condo in Bartlett, NH (about 10 minutes from downtown North Conway) and holding it as a short-term rental property. It's a pretty good off-market deal but was hoping to speak with an STR management company in the area before making a decision on it. Does anyone have one they would recommend?

Thanks in advance! 

Keyword alerts.. White Mountains, Lakes Region, NH, New Hampshire, North Conway

@Derreck Wells Just an initial reaction to your post - the lead paint laws are significantly more strict in MA than they are in NH right now. I believe what @Matt Lefebvre and @Chris Luksha were suggesting to the original poster is that the best way to approach the broad lead paint issue is to try and take steps to mitigate the chances that it will become a problem to potential tenants. As @Chris Luksha mentioned, be sure to hire licensed professionals to do work that exceeds state requirements or if you want to truly have an abatement done. As for your story about the owner you know in MA who got sued, that's pretty crazy... NH laws have not become that stringent yet.

Make sure you have door stoppers in every bedroom, it will save you from having to repair holes in the wall when turning a unit over. Additionally, when you buy a property and are renovating it, be sure to replace all the old outlet/switch covers with brand new white ones (especially if you are painting) - it is a simple but effective thing you can do to make a unit look more aesthetically pleasing.