All Forum Posts by: Rebecca Belnap

Hi @Tony Marcelle, The seller financing they are talking about would be a wrap around mortgage or taking the property subject to.  These just basically mean that you want to take over the sellers payments.  Suppose the seller owes $60,000 on the property and you have agreed on a price of $62,000.  You pay them their $2000 in equity and you start making the payments on their loan, AFTER they quit claim the property to you.  Or you can make the payments directly to them and they make the payments, but you can get burned if they stop paying the bank.

How to set this up can be very different in different states, so make sure you talk to your title company on how they need to set it up legally in Georgia.  I prefer title companies to lawyers for this, since the title company has a lawyer and they will usually talk to you for free.

Good luck.  I would take that deal in a heart beat.

No, it is usually about 10 loans before you run into trouble. If you structure it right, you can have 10 yourself, 10 with your spouse, and then add the 2 from Macu, 5 from Angel oak, and a few others from other special in house bank programs. Refinancing into a HELOC will also open up some available loans. Most of the time you can find a way to buy 20 to 30 properties before you need to start bundling them into commercial bunches and then you bundle the ones you want to keep as rentals forever. At that point your conventional loans are paid off so you can start again.

But it isn't something to worry too much about.  Start with one or two good properties and let your lender give you tips as you start hitting the limits.

One problem you will start to see is when you start setting up LLCs for them.  Most lenders want the loans in your own name.  You can do some of the loans in LLCs, but the HELOCS almost never are.  I need to do more research on that issue.

I know America First will do HELOCs for up to 80% LTV on rentals, but I don't know how many rentals they will allow.

Welcome @Grant Keaton and @Olivia Hansen Yes, MACU has a 10% down program, but you are limited to 2 of those loans. Most companies have loans for 15% down for single family homes and 25% down for larger units. Hard money is an option if the home is in bad shape or if you have a really good deal and need 100% financing. Most want to lend no more than 80% of purchase price, but there are a few who will do 65% of ARV.

The age is a big plus since cap ex is likely to be low.  If you were in Utah I would say jump or you will loose it.  Hard to say since I know nothing about your area.  I think the main issue is, do you want to live there for a year.  If so, you just found an affordable place to live and picked up a good long term rental for only 3.5% down.  

I'd go for it.

I messed up there.  Single family non-owner occupied can get 15% down.  It's a duplex so it's 25% down for non-owner occupied.  Sorry.  But owner occupied is still only 3.5% down payment.

You said owner occupied, so you shouldn't need to come up with 15% down. You probably already have an FHA loan since you said that is how you are picking them up, but you may be able to use the Utah housing NO MI loan since it is conventional. No mortgage insurance, no down payment, but it does have a higher interest rate. Right now it's 5.125% if you closed today.

If you do have the 15% down, you can do a non-owner occupied loan and get all of the rent and save your commitment to live somewhere for a year for a place you will enjoy living in.

Stringham and praedo are both really good.  Praedo is less expensive.  When I became a Realtor I used Stringham and had no problem passing on the first try.  I used Praedo to get my loan officer license and again had no trouble passing, but I haven't used their real estate courses.

Once you have your license, if you only plan to use it to help family, friends, and do your own deals, remember there are brokers who charge nothing unless you have a closing. The best one I have seen just has a flat $500 per closing plus E&O insurance and caps at 10 closings.

http://www.bestplaces.net/housing/city/utah/fillmo...

@Ben Clayton Fillmore is a place that for most of us in Utah is just a place to fill up with gas on your way to somewhere else. A 17.71% vacancy rate is obscene for utah, but it does appear that a lot of those are vacation homes.   It can work if you have a good tenant first.  As long as the economy stays good and gas prices stay low, you should be fine.  I just keep thinking of 2008 and its affect on rural housing in Utah.  When gas prices went to $4 per gallon, values dropped and people abandoned their homes in favor of renting places closer to work.

@Ryan E. is right.  Utah is a big place and unless you have properties in Vernal, ogden or somewhere rural, I can't imagine finding a duplex right now for less than $200,000 unless it is unlivable.  I would also recommend HELOCs up to 80% of the values.  Make sure you are getting the maximum rent you can so they still cash flow.

Once you have the Helocs, you could buy more small units or move to something bigger.  I would think you would have 20% down on a 20 plex.  There are less buyers for them, so you often get better cash flows, but run the numbers.  Look at at least a dozen since you appear to be someone who is comfortable with long distance investments, you can look anywhere.  Don't forget to take into account cap exp, since a lot of times they are selling because they know something is about to break.

Good luck.

@Chris Masons and @Deanna McCormick are both correct.  Never give tenants a hard time, and they are tenants, not squatters.  You must be civil and follow your state's eviction procedure TO THE LETTER.  You told us they have poor credit, you do not want to seller finance to them.  I had a tenant tell me they wouldn't move, I had them out in 15 days, and they did end up going voluntarily, but Utah is a Very landlord friendly state.

I'm a little confused about one of your posts.  Are they renting a home with no kitchen?  What is CO short for?  Good luck, a lawyer isn't a bad idea either.