All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Charles McDowell I know an investor that buys/focuses on Munhall.  Would you like to discuss?

Welcome to the site, Zeke!  

@Eddie Perez

Hi Eddie!  I would start with the podcasts.  There are a ton of great interviews with wholesalers, flippers, and those that have transitioned from wholesaling to flipping.

J Scott's books (you can buy on BP) on rehabbing and estimating costs will cut down on your learning curve too.  I focus on buy and hold but his books are valuable for anyone in real estate, especially wholesalers and flippers.  No fluff in these books, just great and useful information.  

Good Luck!

I agree with most of the posters.  I've also found that part time owners are not charging market rents and maintenance tends to be lacking.  A full time job and life just get in the way of managing a portfolio efficiently.  I started to invest in real estate because I wanted passive income.  I found my properties, completed due diligence, completed updates and repairs, and then managed them.  There was nothing passive about it.  I've since hired a property manager and am much happier.  If you can swing the fee, I'd turn it over to a professional manager.  Just keep a close eye on everything.    

I second listsource.  I searched for 2-4 unit properties last sold 10+ years ago and under $200k.  I then used yellowletters and sent letters to 300 or so owners.  It worked well in my market.  I actually bought an investment property from an owner looking to wind down his investing career (he was 65).  He offered to sell me more of the properties he currently owns.     

@Brad Gibson

What's common in your market?  I agree that going with laminate is a good choice in terms of durability but you may want to see what's desirable to prospective tenants.  Just my two cents.

@Dave Roberts I purchased with a HELOC and later refinanced to a commercial mortgage. The property needed work and the interest only HELOC lowered our carrying costs while the property was vacant. The first one I completed was with two separate banks but the lender I'm using now is fine with it. We discussed our plan with lender up front to confirm they were fine with this.

I recently bought another property (all cash using a HELOC). The property's rents are about $200 under market value in the current condition. The property is rented through next May. The property is conservatively valued at $110k. We purchased for $86k. We could have purchased the property with an LTV based on the purchase price of $86k. This would have required us to come up with $21,500 + closing costs when we purchased. Our HELOC is 1.99% interest only through the end of the year, at which point it jumps to 3.25%. I believe it made more sense to update/increase rents to market and then refinance the property based on a conservative 65% LTV following repairs. The seasoning period won't come into play because we will have owned the property over six months. Our out of pocket investment will be less completing it this way.

I'm still a new investor and am open to your thoughts on this strategy.

Thanks! 

Dan,

I agree with both @Ned Carey and @James Syed , the CCIM classes are excellent. The classes are expensive but you also receive cash flow analysis spreadsheets/software with them. Nothing beats analyzing (even if just for practice) income/expenses of multifamily properties. I've worked on more than 100 multifamily appraisals and it definitely takes time to learn what typical expenses are and if a operations can be improved. Since the NOI is what drives the value of a multifamily property, I think your time is best spent learning and understanding each of the income and expense line items. Some people use the 50% rule for determining expenses. I would be extremely cautious in using something this simple to determine expenses for an apartment building. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions. Best of luck.

Brendan

Welcome to BP, Adam! I'm a newer buy and hold investor in Pittsburgh, PA. I'm always looking for good contractors in the area. I'd love to speak with you.