All Forum Posts by: Bradley Padula

Conduct research to set an appropriate (not too low, not too high) rent amount for the property. I made the mistake of setting rent too low the first time rented out my first property, and will never make the mistake again, lol

One mistake I haven't made but see others make is thinking that if the mortgage on an investment property = the rent, then it covers itself. It doesn't, due to capex, vacancy, etc 

You can get a HELOC on an investment property. LTV and requirements will vary by lender. The LTV requirements may have become more strict due to covid and all the forbearances. An investor I know used State Department Federal Credit Union for an HELOC

@Ashley Goes Welcome! Start networking with everyone in the space, lenders, realtors etc. It is always better to have an initial relationship when you don't need anything and get to know them a bit and they get to know you and can tell them what your goals are. From there as you have questions down the road and need things, you aren't hitting up someone you've never talked to for loan, advise etc 

As Jon mentioned, house hacking is a great way to get into real estate. It is how I started with my first property, a house hack fixer upper. 

Feel free to shoot me a message anytime if you want to connect on a call, I'm also local to Boston area

Cozy.co 

You can turn a 30 year loan into a 20 year loan by paying more principal each month, but you can never turn a 20 year loan into a 30 year loan by paying less ;) . Say you become short on cash, you then give yourself the option to make the "normal" mortgage payment to get you through that situation and then could revert back to you "increased" payment plan. Regardless, you'd want to confirm with your lender you're able to make extra contributions to principal under the loan terms 

That is the water meter / main water line for the whole house. The main water pipe comes in off the street, through the foundation, and goes into the meter, which then calculates how much water you use. Call water company and or town ASAP (some towns have specific water meters they sell/provide) and a plumber and also address the what looks like black mold at the same time 

@Dave Laird wait, a local PM was saying it would be $4500 to refinish the hardwoods in 2 bedrooms? How big are these bedrooms?

In your initial post you said $1600 which sounds more like what the cost should be 

For setting the rental price, you'll find a number of threads here on BiggerPockets. Go on zillow etc and see what your competition is, rentometer, etc

**NOTE: in the “before” picture black is just old carpet pad/adhesive

Hardwoods all day long. Those don't look like they are in bad shape. You could do a buff and poly recoat (2 or 3 coats) yourself for under $100. Or do a full refinish yourself with rented home depot equipment for a few hundred more. For buff and poly watch a few vids online but essentially you just sand/buff the existing finish on the hardwood and then put down a few coats of new polyurethane.  Or if you're not a DIY'er you could get a quote from your hardwood person and compare buff and recoat cost to full refinish cost if you're trying to save some $

Below is a buff and poly example:

@Hud Malik talk to them all and find what is a good fit for you 

@Hud Malik you got it man! Definitely talk to at least 3-5 lenders. The interest rates / offerings may differ, you may be able to get two lender to compete for a lower rate for you. Or at least find a lender you like and want to work with, and just leverage a quote from another lender "can you match this?". Ultimately I want to work with a lender who responds in a timely manner, knows their stuff, etc. Definitely have them explain the in's and out's of the FHA loan (i'm assuming that's what you're trying to use based on your 3.5% downpayment in your analysis, as well asking them what other options you have in terms of loans

You can research this ahead of time but you could ask about - 
- Upfront MIP charge
- Monthly PMI on fha loan vs conventional loan (downpayment of under 10% with FHA the PMI stays on for life of loan. 10 % or more downpayment the PMI drops after I think 11 years. With a conventional loan, the PMI drops off at 78% LTV I believe)
- Points, and if there is a situation where you would need to pay points to drop the interest rate
- Ask about how FHA inspections of property differ from convectional inspections (FHA inspectors are more strict, no peeling paint, handrail requirements etc)
- etc etc