All Forum Posts by: Barbara G.
Barbara G. has started 10 posts and replied 827 times.
Post: BRRR Have WE GONE TOO FAST? A Financial Diary

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
Originally posted by @Doug McLeod:
@Barbara G. - if the bank you are dealing with will do up to 10, you likely have an investor-friendly bank. Are you buying and financing with an entity or your own name? This will make a big difference in options available to you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Doug
Yes the bank sounded friendly and they did say they do up to 10 mortgages. We have spoken to the Loan officer on the phone and she sounded very positive. She said they refinance at 70% of the appraised value. This Duplex cost us $72,000 and the max on renovation will be, we believe, $25,000 so if the duplex appraises for $120,000 after renovation we should get 84,000 while we would have laid out $97,000 so the down payment would come to $13,000 plus costs. That sounds good to us. Can we do the LLC after we get the mortgage?
At this point we are not sure about the rents and we think it will be berween $850 to $950 a month on each side.
Post: BRRR Have WE GONE TOO FAST? A Financial Diary

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We will not go over budget on renovations. Estimating the cost of renovations is our strong point. We also self manage. This is a our 5th property. The banks count our primary residence as a property. This bank that we have spoken yo said they finance up to 10 and we are counting on them to refnance once we Renovate and Rent. Should we keep looking around for a 2nd bank in case for some reason this bank denies us?
Does everybody in Real Estate really make money in the Long Term?? That sounds like a good thing. What do you base that statement on?
Post: Help with an 8-unit property in East Dallas ($100K, completely vacant)

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
We are looking at a duplex in a town that is known for a high crime rate but the street is a family street with a mix of single family and duplexes. It is a fairly new duplex BUT one side is water damaged because the pipes froze and burst. The bank owns it and they turned the heat off in the empty apartment. The other side is in excellent condition and rented to a long term tenant who pays $1,350.00 We are thinking about this as BRRR but are concerned about the probable lack appreciation, about the crime statistics, about not owning anything else in this town and the high taxes. With all these negatives the house would still have a good cash flow. So we are considering it. What does everyone think. Should we try to buy it?
Post: BRRR Have WE GONE TOO FAST? A Financial Diary

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
Originally posted by @Mike Jones:
My Philosophy is buy them first, then try to fix them, if it's a good deal the money will come later.... I found myself with 9 property's which mostly all needed renovating but I somehow managed to get it done and you can always seek hard money or leverage credit cards to renovate, what I usually do anyway... maybe I operate too fast also though...feeling overwhelmed in this business is pretty common, it's how you manage that stress that really counts..
-----------------------------
Well we bought our first 2 Duplexes and figured we could fix them later as they were all rented. One person moved 2 months after we took over. There were other repairs and we are into that one for $20,000 worth of needed renovation all coming out of the cash flow. That's exhausting.
Now the 2 Duplexes that we have gone to contract on is demanding Paper work and Paper work that should cover buying the Empire State Building and that is driving us crazy and they are still demanding more, they even want to know the ages of the children, and where every cent we are putting down comes from and On and On. These 2 duplexes have tenants in place so if we can get through this Bank torture the Duplexes should be easy to manage as they are in excellent condition and need no renovation or repair and are only 11 and 13 years. Its only the existing tenants we have to worry about. It should cash flow
None of this is fun.
The other Duplex that we have contract on, is the duplex that we are going to renovate and pay cash for. It is hopefully going to be a BUY Renovate, Rent and Refinance. The Bank that we are hoping to deal with, can not possibly be more difficult then this so called conventional mortgage Bank. We hve to worry about tenants and renovation and financing on this one
Post: BRRR Have WE GONE TOO FAST? A Financial Diary

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
We started last year and bought our first 2 side by side Duplexes. We did not have enough money at that time to renovate them but they were occupied and they cash flowed about $20,000 a year. We bought the 2 of Them for $334.000 and they needed about $35,000 worth of renovations. We have had to put back all of the cash flow into renovations and will have to continue to do that for an additional 9 months before we see the cash flow as we still have approx $16,000 more in renovations and then we will first start seeing our positive cash flow. We like the town and feel there is appreciation on this property but we still have to wait 9 months to finish this and see any money here although the renovations are being paid for with the positive cash flow.
The problem is we have continued to buy. We now have another Duplex under contract that we intend to BUY Renovate Rent and Refinance. We are paying cash for the duplex and cash for the renovations. This town is not as good and has lots of renters and it might take us 2 months to renovate and rent the 2 apartments and then we are going to go to a bank that has told us we can refinance. We hope this will work as the Bank indicated it would be something that they would do.
We also have under contract another 2 duplexes (4 apartments) that we have a conventional mortgage on. These 2 duplexes are rather new and in perfect condition and will cash flow. They are occupied but one person has a lease for only $950 when the rent should be $1,100 and his lease runs for one more year. The problem is we are getting a little nervous that we have expanded too fast. We self manage.
So in a little over one year we own the 2 duplexes that still need more renovation and we have 3 other duplexes under contract.
Have we bitten off too much. What is the worse that can happen? Perhaps the single duplex that we have to renovate and then refinance will be a problem? Should we have gone slower? But we are all in now. What do the experienced BRRR think?
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
I GREATLY appreciate all the support. I tend to want to know everything right away so I'm working on taking my baby steps:) Also, I signed up with my local REI association and am attending a meeting tomorrow:)))
I plan to pick up several of the books you guys mentioned so I can better prepare myself. I'll keep y'all posted on my progress!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excellent Beginning/ The REI Meeting is Perfect. Try to find a MEET UP group and go attend. Meet some people and read the Bogger Pockets forums n let us know how yu are dong. Update us on how you made out at the REI meeting.
Good Luck!!!
Nothing wrong with talking to your bank. You are far too uncomfortable to be doing anything right now. Join a Real estate club. Get involved in Real estate Meet ups. Read Bigger pockets every day. If you can't focus on this it means you are not ready for it, at this point. You were able to get through school and become a teacher so you cn do something when you want to do it. Sounds like something is going on that has nothing to do with Real Estate
Post: Obtaining a fixed loan on minimum wage? Can it be done?

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
:
Thanks for all the advice! I've read up on FHA loans and there seem to be some snags. Taken from here: http://www.zillow.com/mortgage-rates/finding-the-r...
- Must have a steady employment history
- Your front-end ratio (mortgage payment plus HOA fees, property taxes, mortgage insurance, home insurance) needs to be less than 31 percent of your gross income, typically. You may be able to get approved with as high a percentage as 46.99 percent. Your lender will be required to provide justification as to why they believe the mortgage presents an acceptable risk. The lender must include any compensating factors used for loan approval.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------John
- I believe rental income could be included in your formula. If you find a duplex or a triplex that is occupied with tenants paying rent then perhaps you could make a case that a bank under FHA guidelines could approve you if including your tenants rent as income would put you in the 30% of your income or up to 46%. IF I had a low income I would go around to different lending sources and see what kind of FHA loan I could qualify for and try to get some pre approval. I would ask them if they would consider the existing tenants rent as part of my income so I could qualify perhaps for a low priced entry level property.
I would touch base with many lening institutions and see if one of them might do this for me. Does FHA allow co signer and would your parents be able to do that for you??
Post: Hit and run at duplex

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
Originally posted by @Matt Faix:
Hi All - Yesterday we had a car run off the road and onto the property of our rental. Luckily it didn't hit the house, but it caused some damage to the sidewalk/railing. Nothing too major surprisingly, but the driver and passenger fled the scene and were later caught. This is a first for us, so I have a few questions.
Since the police were called and a police report filed, do we press charges or get our attorney involved? Or let the police handle everything for the time being. I wasn't at the scene, but I've been trying to contact the police department for more information. No response yet.
Also, Is this worth turning into insurance if it's minimal? It's probably less than $1000 worth of damage (Small Railing and some damage to the sidewalk). Or do we have to turn it in since the police were involved, etc. Our policy is with Foremost if that makes a difference, or if anyone has had good or bad experiences with them. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
==================================
Nothing is minimal when you have to get work done
The other driver's insurance com[any will pay you.
Get the drivers name and address and insurance carrier from the Police blotter. Call your insurance company and ask them how to file against the Hit and Run driver's insurance company.
Get estimates for all the work. The hit and run drivers insurance company will send an adjuster out to estimate the damage. Make sure you get paid for everything, side walk, railing, grass. If they are not insured your insurance will pay. In NY there are special insurance coverabe when an uninsured driver hits you
Post: Hit and run at duplex

- Hartsdale, NY
- Posts 874
- Votes 218
Originally posted by @Matt Faix:
Hi All - Yesterday we had a car run off the road and onto the property of our rental. Luckily it didn't hit the house, but it caused some damage to the sidewalk/railing. Nothing too major surprisingly, but the driver and passenger fled the scene and were later caught. This is a first for us, so I have a few questions.
Since the police were called and a police report filed, do we press charges or get our attorney involved? Or let the police handle everything for the time being. I wasn't at the scene, but I've been trying to contact the police department for more information. No response yet.
Also, Is this worth turning into insurance if it's minimal? It's probably less than $1000 worth of damage (Small Railing and some damage to the sidewalk). Or do we have to turn it in since the police were involved, etc. Our policy is with Foremost if that makes a difference, or if anyone has had good or bad experiences with them. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
==================================
Nothing is minimal when you have to get work done
The other driver's insurance com[any will pay you.
Get the drivers name and address and insurance carrier from the Police blotter. Call your insurance company and ask them how to file against the Hit and Run driver's insurance company.
Get estimates for all the work. The hit and run drivers insurance company will send an adjuster out to estimate the damage. Make sure you get paid for everything, side walk, railing grass etc