All Forum Posts by: Braden Smith

Hi @Grant Med. I own REvitalize Property Solutions and GNO Realty, both local companies in the New Orleans area. To answer your questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with older homes and the associated costs to truly maintain them?

Typically speaking the older the home, the more maintenance and repairs you will have, but that all depends on how well the house has been kept and whether or not it has been renovated in recent years. 

2. What questions would you ask the seller to best CYA to truly know if it's a good investment?

Be sure to get all the records you can for the income and expenses over the last 2-3 years.

3. On average, how likely are sellers willing to disclose utility bills for the past year? (No separate meters for the 3 living areas)

No reason for them not to, so shouldn't be an issue in my opinion.

Expenses to consider:

Insurances.. hazard and flood. Pretty much everything is in a flood zone, it is just a matter of which flood zone. FEMAs Risk Rating 2.0 that took effect 10/01/2021 has caused premiums to jump up considerably and under Risk Rating 2.0, flood zones and elevations are not that important anymore. Rating is based on the subject property's proximity to water (flooding source) and the likelihood of flooding. Even some X flood zones are seeing 3-4x the previous rates. If a property already has flood insurance on it, you want to make sure the seller doesn't let it expire or cancel it so that you can assume it. Rate may still increase, but they can only raise it 18% per year.

Annual termite contract. If a property is not treated for termites and regularly inspected, it is just a matter of time before termites get to it and some, such as formosan termites, can do a massive amount of damage in a short amount of time.

Pest control... some people, such as myself, include pest control in the rent. I have my properties treated twice per year.

Property taxes are higher in Orleans Parish versus neighboring parishes such as Jefferson and St Bernard. Insurances are typically higher in OP also.

Lawn care can add up quickly in the spring and summer when grass needs to be cut weekly. Some landlords require their tenants to handle the lawn care, but they rarely ever do so adequately.I

suggest using 15% for vacancy, repairs and maintenance. One month vacant per year is 8.33% so just round that up to 10% as it may take longer than one month to do a make ready and find a new tenant sometimes, and use 5% for maintenance and repairs. But the older the house is, the more maintenance it will need.

Cap Ex... be sure to check and know the age of all your high ticket items, such as the roof, HVAC, etc.

Foundation. Be sure to check all foundations well as we have a lot of settlement and subsidence in the New Orleans area.

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out! 

Best of luck to you!!

Typically when personal belongings are sold with a property, such as furniture, that is done on a separate bill of sale. The lender is not going to include personal items in the mortgage amount. 

Hi @Konstantin Ginzburg

Welcome to BP! You've come to the right place to learn anything and everything about real estate investing.

Be sure to check out the "education" tab at the top. Lots of great resources there. A good place to start is with the free guides, such as "The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Real Estate Investing". The bookstore has some great books and the podcast is full of valuable information.

Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users

Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

Check out BP Podcasts: https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast

If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box. He or she will be notified of being tagged so that the conversation will continue.

See here for the Guides: BP Guides

See here for the FREE video series: The Financial Independence Blueprint

See here for the blog: The BiggerPockets Blog

Search MeetUp.com for local meetups.

There are a couple of local real estate investor groups in the New Orleans area you may want to checkout. See below:

New Orleans Real Estate Investor Association

Westbank Real Estate Investors

Northshore Real Estate Investors Association

If you have any question I can answer, don't hesitate to reach out!

Good luck and happy investing!

Hi @Amanda Jewell. 

 Welcome to BP! You've come to the right place to learn anything and everything about real estate investing.

Be sure to check out the "education" tab at the top. Lots of great resources there. A good place to start is with the free guides, such as "The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Real Estate Investing". The bookstore has some great books and the podcast is full of valuable information.

Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users

Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

Check out BP Podcasts: https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast

If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box. He or she will be notified of being tagged so that the conversation will continue.

See here for the Guides: BP Guides

See here for the FREE video series: The Financial Independence Blueprint

See here for the blog: The BiggerPockets Blog

Search MeetUp.com for local meetups.

There are a couple of local real estate investor groups you may want to join. See below:

New Orleans Real Estate Investor Association

Westbank Real Estate Investors

Northshore Real Estate Investors Association

If you have any question I can answer, don't hesitate to reach out!

Good luck and happy investing! 

See here for the most up to date info I have found:  The Ultimate Guide to TCPA Compliance and A2P 10DLC Regulations

You might want to look into the new rules and regulations. SMS marketing is 100% illegal without prior written opt in consent from the recipient. 

See here for the most up to date info I have found:  

If you haven’t been following the news around SMS (text message) marketing and cold calling, there is some serious legislation being passed, and new protocols being implemented by carriers that you need to be aware of.

If you do not take time to educate yourself, you could be facing a massive drop in response rate (best case) and very large fines and lawsuits (worst case).

In this article, you will find everything you need to know to stay compliant while navigating the new rules of outbound marketing as a real estate investor.

The Ultimate Guide to TCPA Compliance and A2P 10DLC Regulations 

The standard rate for all private lenders I know is 10%. Some charge 1-2 points also, and typically want that paid up front. They will also want first position so they can easily foreclose if things go sideways. This is for flips and spec builds. I don't know anyone that uses private money to buy rentals. I am sure you could, but would need to refi into a long term loan at some point. 

Thanks for the shoutout @Stephen Keighery!

Hi @Jermaine Jones. I own REvitalize Property Solutions and GNO Realty. I am both an investor and a licensed realtor. I'd be happy to help you. Let's schedule a phone call to discuss your needs.

Have you looked here: https://www.onlinejobs.ph/

What city is the property located in?