All Forum Posts by: Ben Wilde

@Travis Lucy is an architect in Austin, does good design work, and has been involved in several aspects of development based on our discussions.  He would be a good resource.  If you need marketing renderings for raising money or any other purpose, give me a shout.  

@Andrew Postell

Great advice. I’ve kind of stumbled into an understanding of the commercial vs residential loan departments after several calls. Many of the folks that took my call heard me ask for “ a line of credit on an investment property” and say “O, we don’t do helocs on non owner occupied properties”.

Do you think it’s appropriate to ask for the commercial loan department first, and then use the following wording?

“I’m looking for a line of credit that is collateralized by one or more of my investment properties.”

Giving this a bump to see if anyone has any ideas.  Thanks in advance.  I have a list of about 45 local banks that I'm working though.  I'll report back if I have any success.  

@Shaheen Badiyan

Welcome. I’m like Scott White, still at the beginning of the journey, but with a couple of properties under my belt. Reach out if I can be a resource.

Best,

Ben

@Rodger Fore

I heard the same podcast and it opened my eyes to section 8. I have on my list to do more research, and will for sure be following this thread. My father in law was a landlord in the program in San Antonio, but stopped due to tenant issues if I understand the history correctly. Thanks for posting!

I have two duplexes, and have more than 50% equity in both of them. Each property is worth about 200K. In addition, I have about 60K (and growing) in personal cash set aside to invest. Because of this strong financial position and because I'm still new to the real estate business and learning, I'd like to pursue my first true BRRRR deal funded exclusively with my own money. I want to improve my system to the point where I will be able to pursue private money with confidence that I can earn my investors good returns It all starts with doing some laps with some of my own hard earned cash and equity. I have considered cash out refinances of the properties, but do not want to drop the cashflow on either of them by increasing their mortgages. They are both home runs in terms of cash flow. It doesn't make sense to give that up if it can be avoided. I know that it has been asked here before, but I'm looking for any suggestions on where to obtain a Line of Credit on these two properties. Texas law seems to be a little uptight about the whole concept, and all of the banks (local and national) that I have called seem to think I'm looking for a HELOC, and then tell me "no" when they understand that I'm actually looking for a line of credit collateralized by one or two investment properties. I have a goal purchasing another property by 2-1-20 and this piece of the puzzle is holding me up. Thanks for your suggestions.

Best,

Ben

Thanks for the referrals and encouragement. After a few tough weeks at work, I realized that I need to get more serious about real estate investing as a strategy to supplement and eventually replace my day job income. I'm working through the BRRRR book by David Green. He's constantly talking about how you need to bring the skills you are good at into your real estate investing, and find others to fill in the gaps (and your own shortcomings)

It has occurred to me that one of the big ways that I can still bring value added is through my architectural skills. I work on additions and new builds day in and day out here in LA, and spend lots of time thinking about how to get the most out of any given space or property. On the tight lots in LA, we often have to build right up to the allowed zoning envelope. I draw kitchens, baths, and all the spaces in between, and have the privilege of seeing the final results and knowing what works and doesn't work. I produce drawing sets for permit on a regular basis. I reconcile and mark up contractors bids fairly often as well. Lastly, I'm on site when jobs go into construction to make sure it gets done right and get to see all the ways that it doesn't. These are all skills that should directly transfer to investing with the BRRRR strategy.

I think my twist on the BRRRR strategy would be to always look for properties that are ripe for additional bedrooms and extra dwelling units, as is allowed by code.  I can look at a plan and site map and the zoning regulations and quickly determine if there is room for the interior space to grow either out or up.  If there's room for extra space,  I could put together builders sets to get bids and go through permit quickly and efficiently, hiring on team members like structural engineers if needed. As I understand it, additions and extra units raise ARV more than anything else.  Has this been your experience?  

How many of you out there do rehabs that require architectural services/ permits?   Are your contractors providing these services, or do they hire draftsman to make permit sets?  Thanks for letting me know.  

Eventually, I plan to be back in San Antonio full time, and plan on starting a business as a design/ build contractor, saving substantial money on rehabs by performing them with my own company.  For now, the idea is to grow the portfolio and get some "reps" in the local market, learning about the specifics of what works and doesn't.  

I'm San Antonio born and raised living in California now. Looking to develop a network in San Antonio to help find deals.  I'm an architect by training with pretty robust construction experience.  First property was a home for myself in Austin that was literally a meth house before I got a hold of it.  I did the rehab myself and added a bathroom and second unit.  Second property was a duplex purchased from relatives at a discount (a gift).  Both properties cashflow, and I mange all four units from here in CA.  I want to expand this portfolio, but haven't really done a true investment deal yet, so looking to talk it through with more seasoned folks.    I live in CA, so my ability to perform a rehab myself is limited.  However, I still want to put my money to work in Texas real estate, as I plan to be back there in the next 2-3 years and would like to have my investments in one region so as to be able to manage them more efficiently.  From my perspective, my competitive advantage of being able to do rehabs myself has been removed with my move to California.  But I know that there is still a way to make money with real estate investing from out of state, so I guess I'm just looking for advice and stories of how others have done it, specifically in the SA metro area.  I'm also looking for local realtors and contractors that specialize in investment properties.  I still need to do a bit of research into how much cash I could pull out of a refinance of my first property, but I think that I would have somewhere in the range of $60,000 to $80,000 cash available for my next deal.  Can't wait to hear from y'all.