All Forum Posts by: Brad Hammond

Hey @Daniel Goldfinger, sounds like you have some great options on the horizon.  The one thing I can tell you is to make sure you WANT to live where you are going to be.  Cashflow doesn't mean that much if you don't like living in an area.  I grew up in Cleveland, lived in Denver, and now Portland.  I can tell you they are all very different cities so while you are in CLE, make sure you can see yourself living there for 5+ years.  

Hi @Jocelyn Mo.  I haven't used a hard money lender but I always hear about Rain City is a good option.  

@Stone Bettersworth, I think it does.  The way I look at it is each day a unit is vacant, costs me $43 ($1300 in rent divided by 30).  If I can't complete the project in a weekend, it is worth it for me to hire a GC to make sure it gets done quickly.  Not to mention the stress I'm feeling all week because the unit is just sitting there, not performing. 

Hey @Nick Flint, I think this is a great idea. The first thing you want to do is check with the city to make sure you can permit that to be a livable unit and the cost of that. If that all works out for you, make the decision that it will or will not ever be a garage again. If it won't I would do a studs out remodel. Put in new electric, fiberglass insulation and remove the garage door. Instead, you could put in a man door or a big window. For the flooring, you might want to go with LTV to give it more of a homey feel.

Great question!  Here are some of the things I've taken away from my first few investments.

1. You can't improve the property (charge more rent) then the neighborhood will allow.

2. Having a vacant unit is the most stressful part of investing for me.  Because of that, I want a property that is easy to rent and I now purchase properties that have amenities that rents want (dishwasher, larger units, 2 bedrooms, storage, etc). 

3. I manage my own properties and do as much maintenance work/rehab as possible.  Often times it is better to pay a contractor to rehab the unit to turn it faster so it doesn't sit vacant as long.  

4. Forcing appreciation is the best way to go if you are trying to grow your portfolio.

Hi @Travis Athougies, this sounds like a great opportunity for everyone!  While I don't know too much about the Vancouver market, @Mathew Wray would be a great resource for you.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday the 12th at 6:00 for our Portland Investor Master Class on Buy & Hold and House Hacking. Let me know if there are specific topics or questions you want to go over.

Hey @Bett Rogers, sounds like it could be a solid deal, congrats! I think you are on a good path for finding the ARV through comps but I wouldn't compare SFH to Multifamily. I would suggest looking at cap rates for similar properties. That should make things a little more apples to apples. For that, you will need to find your ARV monthly rent and I would suggest going to Rentometer.com for that.

As far as financing goes, I would suggest looking into conventional. They have low down payment options that rival FHA and you don't get stuck with paying PMI for the life of the loan.

Hey @Eric Morales, I think that is a great strategy and something you should go for.  The one thing no one seems to talk about is going from your first property to your second.  Assuming that you will not want too much money down (3%-15%), you will need to grow your equity substantially before you can use it as colorectal (refi) to purchase another property.  Assuming you are going to be putting 20% down on your next property, you will need to have at least 40%-45% equity in your first duplex.  To do that you will need to purchase at a significant discount, put lots of rehab into the property to raise the rents, or wait for natural appreciation.  

I think a better option would be to owner occupy your next property and do the same thing all over again.  

Hi @Jenna Jacobs, congrats on your first flip, I hope it goes well.  As far as finding a good contractor, I would try to get recommendations/referrals. This can be from other investors, real estate agents, neighbors, other contractors, etc.  If you are using a few of them, have them complete small to mid-sized tasks to see how they perform.  If you like their work and how they worked with you I would go with them.  

As far as price goes, get bids for the same work (hopefully it won't be too complex of a job) and compare quotes.  Don't go with the cheapest option but someone in the middle.

I just thought of this and haven't tried it so take this with a grain of salt, but what if you asked the contractors what corners you can cut on the project?  That might tell you a lot about how they work.