All Forum Posts by: Bryce Y.

Karen Margrave

I have access to Landvision at work. (I work at a tax lien company) It's a great product. It has nationwide coverage. You can click on any parcel and see the property lines, appraisal and owner info, and some counties even have mortgage data.

We're a mid-sized company and do business in multiple states, so it makes sense for us. Not sure if they offer services for just a particular state/county though.

Ryan Halverson

I'm in a similar position. I have a 4-plex under contract now, but will not be living in it. Don't forget about PMI. Still looks like a good deal though.

Can you confirm the ability to get FHA financing? The lender I'm working with says minimum down is 25% and not eligible for FHA (only SFH and duplexes qualify). This doesn't seem right to me, but it seems to line up with fannie mae guidelines: https://www.fanniemae.com/content/eligibility_information/eligibility-matrix-082112.pdf

Elliot Mendoza

What lender quoted you 20% down? I am under contract to buy a 4-plex and I'm pretty sure the minimum is 25% for a 3-4 plex, regardless of if you plan to live in it or not. See link below:

https://www.fanniemae.com/content/eligibility_information/eligibility-matrix-082112.pdf

Thanks Brandon Turner. Yep, I counted them. 10 dogs. And that was just what I could see through the fence!

What's your take on the pet deposit? Should I require one when it comes time to renew their lease and how much? The security deposit is only $200, which I think is typical for the area/type of home (I need to verify this).

I have accepted that I will probably have to pay water/sewer/trash. I think psychologically it'd be better to increase rents rather than make tenants pay water, even if it comes out to the same dollar amount.

Good call on the craigslist post. I plan to do that.

Also, a couple of the units have really old carpet. Maybe they don't mind, but if they were to move out I'd definitely have to redo the floors. How do you factor the cost of things like this into your calculations? Maybe I increase rents and they move out relatively quick, so in reality it would be like deferred maintenance, or maybe they stay another 5 years and don't complain about the carpet.

Thanks.

Just got a 4-plex under contract for $120k. Each unit is a 2/1.1 and rents range from $540 – 580. Gross rents of $2250. They are all currently leased with tenants of 12, 7, 5, and 2 years.

I just met with the owner and got to see the inside of each unit. It is in decent shape (better than I was expecting) and by my untrained eye nothing needs to be fixed immediately. Roof, foundation, and HVAC appear to be okay. I am going to get an inspection done but in the meantime there are a few things that concern me.

1. The landlord (seems like a nice guy) is way too lenient in my opinion. He does not charge late fees on rent although he claims they all generally pay on time. All tenants have pets and he does not take a pet deposit. One of the units has 10 small dogs and 1 pit bull. I think the tenants keep them outside for the most part, as the inside of the unit looked pretty good. He said he asked them before to get rid of the pit bull. If possible, I would like to remedy this before taking ownership. How should I go about doing this?
2. In the same lot, there are 3 other 4-plexes. They are all on one water meter. Currently landlord pays for water (about $160-180/mo). In the future I would like to pass this cost on to the tenants by dividing by four and billing each individually. The problem I see is that everyone knows each other (Hispanic community) and they will inevitably talk. How should I deal with this? Also, the seller owns one of the other 4-plexes in the lot so I will really look like the bad guy.
3. I believe rents are under market. Right next door sits a 16-unit complex (similar layout), all 1/1’s and renting for $500. I think rents should be ~$600 at least. Should I just come in and raise rents off the bat (when their lease ends)? What about the risks of losing such long term tenants?

That’s all for now. Thanks!

Chris Martin Chris L.

What is your plan for when the balloon comes due? Refi again?

Do you know if this is true for owner occupied multifamilies? For example I'm looking to get my first property as a 2-4 plex. Will the rent from the other units count towards my 2 year clock or does it not count because it is technically owner occupied?

John Chapman This is the property in question: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1411-S-Barry-Ave-Dallas-TX-75223/2117908336_zpid/

Are you saying that 4plexes tend to be in bad neighborhoods? Do you find the same holds true for duplexes and triplexes?
I was thinking that starting out with a 4plex would be great because it would give me landlording experience plus the rents could offset the mortgage and allow me to live almost for free.

Vincent Prunier Thanks for the advice. I guess I was thinking that I don't mind living in a not so good area just by myself. This would definitely be a temporary thing, but it seems the area is worse than I thought.

On that note, how bad is living near a sex offender really? Obviously I would never rent to one, but as I'm looking at a map of Dallas it seems no matter where you live you will have a sex offender nearby.

Carlos F. Thanks for that. I never knew about the TXDPS website. That's a valuable resource. I'm currently using investway, and I can't view any multifamily properties. Makes me wonder if I should renew my subscription...

@ Carlos F. Wow! What website did you get all that info from? I guess this is an easy pass then...

(sorry not sure how to do the @ thing)