All Forum Posts by: Brandon Jones

Got it, thank you Chris!

Hello,

My wife and I have 2 condos in a smaller town in NC. We borrowed money last year to buy them under market value with cash & renovate them. We ended up renovating one unit and increased the overall value pretty significantly. The other condo has a long-term renter so we didn't do any renovations at the time. We have since then done a term and rate refinance and taken on new loans at the new appraised value for both properties.

We plan to do some renovations to make the 2nd condo more rentable, but we are not sure if re-doing the bathroom will be worth it. This unit is currently rented out for $1,200 & the renovated unit is rented for $1,400. Is it worth it to spend $5k to renovate the bathroom to the same level as our previous condo?

We will definitely be re-doing the kitchenette since it currently has a mini-fridge only & we want to add a range & medium sized fridge.

Hey Myles, I’d be happy to connect at some point. My wife and I live in Easley & invest in this area. We’re only a few years into investing but would be happy to connect. Thanks for sharing your story. 🤙🏼

No, more specifically deals found through networking with local real estate professionals, finding pocket listings, direct mail, etc. Finding deals through agents on the MLS is going to be much more competitive & it can be harder to find deals where the numbers work. Connecting with local investors would be my number 1 recommendation. That's where we've have the most success.

Hi Orchid,

Welcome to the group! There is a great REI in Greenville, SC called UCREIA. I would recommend attending some of the monthly meetups. I'm not familiar with loan applications for non-US citizens, but Greenville is still a great place to invest when you find off-market deals. I would also recommend looking at cities close to Greenville, like Anderson, Easley, & Simpsonville as well since Greenville can be competitive unless you are looking at off-market deals.

Also the non-occupancy tax would be based on the tax assessed value of the property and not the income it produces. I would talk to an accountant about future planning for any REI investments for your 1031 questions & to discuss depreciation for rentals.

I agree with Bryan & have actually worked with him a few times so he is a great lender to work with for REI deals.

I typically only run numbers based on concrete things that I know of right now. Since appreciation isn't a guarantee I don't ever bank on that when crunching numbers. It's more of a bonus when it ends up happening. That's more of a personal choice though.

I would also keep in mind your long-term goals for REI. Are you wanting to own lots of properties or just a few? That might also change what strategy you use seeing as you might be able to find some ways to use less up front cash to get a property by using the BRRRR method or finding something you can force appreciation with.

Hey Harika, 

Are you buying it as a primary home and then looking to rent it out after a year or so? Or are you buying it as investment property? Key things to keep in mind with your numbers are:

Rent should be > PITI (principal, interest, taxes, & insurance) + maintenance + vacancy + capex + property management fee.

Usually your reserves for those categories will range from 25-30%, although maintenance & capex should initially be minimal since the home is new.

Thank you both for your input!

Hello,

My wife and I are doing a BRRRR on a condo that has square ceiling tile. It's in good shape, but I'm wondering if we'd see the ROI in the refinance from a higher appraisal if we decided to rip it out and add sheetrock and recessed lighting. Any thoughts?

Is there a reason you are wanting to wait 1-2 years to rent out the guest bedroom?