All Forum Posts by: Scott E.

I have had mentors throughout pretty much my entire adult life. But with that being said, of the thousands of people I've crossed paths with, I could count on one hand the ones who have become a "mentor" of mine.

Anytime you meet somebody much older than you, who has accomplished the precise things that you would like to accomplish, and who you genuinely get along with, that could be a potential mentor.

I wouldn't get too hung up on landing a mentor right here, right now. They will come and go throughout life. Instead, focus on defining your goals, getting educated, and actually doing deals.

First thing I'd do is nothing. I'd just sit back for another ~6 months and let the market find a bottom or at least pick a direction. Things are too uncertain right now to deploy that much capital, in my opinion.

But when I was ready to buy I think I'd buy 3 NNN commercials deals for $1,000,000 a piece. 70% leverage on each of them. All in A+ locations. Then the remaining $100k I'd hang onto for reserves.

(Finding these deals would be MUCH easier said than done. There's a lot of demand for deals like this.)

You haven't even had a review in 8 months? Did you make the listing 'unlisted' for a while? Or block off a bunch of time for yourself? This might have thrown off the algorithm.

Regarding the Super Bowl bookings, unfortunately I have a few friends in the same boat. Everybody has these expectations that they will be able to charge $1000+ per night and book out for the week. But the teams have been selected and the market has spoken. There is too much supply in the Phoenix market, and not enough Super Bowl week demand.

If you are working with a big commercial reputable plumbing company, that price sounds exactly right.

Another route would have been to pay 2 day laborers each $20 an hour to dig the hole. They would have that hole hand dug in 3 hours tops. There's $120 in labor. I'd just throw them $100 each.

Now you need to buy the clean outs. Material cost is not much, probably $200 at the most.

Last pay a plumber $150/hr to install the clean outs. Should take them 2-3 hours. There's $450.

$200 + $200 + $450 = $850.

I'd find a way to hang onto the home. Sounds like it's in a great area, and you will probably never have the opportunity to borrow at 2.3% again in your lifetime.

It might not cash flow as strong as you'd like but the appreciation should more than make up for this.

If you ever want to tap into the equity, there are some lenders who offer HELOCs on investment properties.

I wish I would have found a way to hold onto every property I've sold.

The biggest challenge when you first get started is building up the courage to do your first deal. EVERYTHING about the process is intimidating in the beginning, no matter how many books you read and no matter how many podcasts you listened to.

When you're ready to do your first deal, just make sure you are surrounded with high quality people who will help "hold your hand" a bit through the process. You should have a great real estate agent, general contractor, designer, lender, and title company all by your side. And try to connect with another local experienced investor who can help you navigate the inevitable challenges when they do come up.

The risk will be higher if you are doing 100% LTV financing and there isn't opportunity to add value through renovations.

But if you're putting 10%-20% down, plus you can add some value through renovations, plus it is cash flowing strong every month, you should be in good shape when the balloon hits. Just don't spend all of that cash flow. Make sure you're socking it away into a reserve fund.

I'm here to echo what @Jacob Sloop said.

Hard money lenders (or any lender for that matter) are not in the business to foreclose on borrowers. If you call up your hard money lender and explain the situation, they will likely extend your loan another 6 months for a couple of points.

Another option is to throw a tenant in there and refinance using a DSCR loan. You say your DTI is high but that doesn't matter if you're doing DSCR financing.

The same issue exists in my market. Whether it's a house hack or just buying a rental, deals wont cash flow unless you put a ton of money down (~40%-50%).

Some positives for you buying a house hack now are:

1. You might not cash flow a ton, but you will probably be paying less than if you kept renting

2. You and your tenants will be paying down the principal balance on your loan every month

3. You'll get tax write offs that you don't have currently

4. Over time you will build equity as the property appreciates

5. If/when interest rates come down, you can refinance to lower your monthly payment

6. If/when the home appreciates enough, you can refinance to eliminate the PMI