All Forum Posts by: Brandon Wagner

@Ryan Cramer

To my knowledge their is no issues with making a below market price sale from one family member to another family member.  

A title company is who you will want to reach out to for this.  Along with a lender.  Happy to connect you with some in MD if you'd like.  They have lawyers on staff and will be able to walk you through this unique situation.  

In my real estate career I have seen comparable sales and they'll mention that the home was sold to family, so not to use it as a fair comparable sale.  (ie they sold it below market value)

You could also look into creative financing strategies to buy it from your family.  There is a lot of options that are a little harder to review on a text thread, but essentially buying it at market value, but paying a much lower interest rate say 4%, and your payment will be similar to a $665,000 sale price at say 7% interest rates.

If you're looking for someone closer to the NOVA area, I'm always here to help. I prefer working with investors.  I'm happy to educate/help anyway I can.

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

They are few and far between, but in some areas of VA, about 1.5 hours away from DC, there are a few options for homes in the 200K range. Allows you to still be able to drive there if you'd like to follow the others advice.

You can try Winchester, Strasburg, or Front Royal.

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

I'd try talking to some lenders to see what options they have for low down payment construction loan programs.  It's totally free to discuss with them and compare options.  

Could also try partnering with someone with the money, and you bring the land/construction experience. That sounds pretty great too.

I'm not aware of any singularly focused STR groups in the NOVA Area. Sounds like it'd be a great opportunity for you to start one.

The 2 biggest real estate event meetups in the area for general real estate investing are GRID and Cashflow Breakfast Club. They both have multiple locations around the NOVA area. You will often find some STR investors at those meetups. Myself included.

If looking to invest in the NOVA area with 20-25K down, you'll have to look into an owner occupant (house hack) type situation.  

You'll need about 3% down for the loan, and 3% for closing costs.  So 6% of purchase price.   So look around the $400K range based on your 20-25K cash amount. In this area that will most likely get you a townhome or a condo.  (Don't be discouraged though, you'll be able to build upon this over time)

Try to get as many Bedrooms and bathrooms as you can based on your purchase price qualifications, and rent out as much as you're comfortable with. 

You won't positively cashflow, but you can certainly live cheaper than it is to rent the same house.  Best of luck and congrats on the new job!

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

Number Nicolas provided are all pretty accurate.  I'd second everything there.  

Can check out Home Pro Property Management. They work in that area.  I know the owner, he is great. Happy to connect you if you'd like or just check out their website. 

https://homepropropertymanagement.com/

Another note, watch out for markups on repairs/maintenance from property management companies. Sometimes they add an extra fee to repairs.

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

@Michael Baum 

This sounds like a good learning opportunity for me. I always read it as those apply for a 12 month plus rental. At least all the text in these documents specifies 12 Months in them. (can see following link) I tried digging in deeper for STR rules, but didn't find anything specifically stating that. Maybe a challenge of not having good definition for STR's vs LTR's. As an agent I have always provided these to clients when looking for a 12+ month rental. Do you interpret the law differently?

The following link mentions what happens if you don't have a lease with them.  It does seem to be a little riskier if something were to go wrong but overall sounds like they just want you to be a good landlord and provide a hospitable home, with some rules around what that means.

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/v...

I've had people stay up to 6 months in my STR. I did it through Airbnb and without a lease. They have already paid the money to rent your home if it's on AirBNB so there is no risk to them not paying you. If a tenant damages your house, you'd go after them/use insurance. Their length of stay for 1 day or 60 doesn't make as much difference.

Sounds like a huge win to me to get the 30+ day booking.  That's why you started investing in the first place.  Good Job!  I wouldn't try to turn a positive into a negative personally.

Hey Eugenia, 

Happy to help you network and get started investing in the DMV area.  House hacking is the best way to get started for sure.  Favorable down payment programs and interest rates.  
I'm happy to discuss markets and options that are available.

Welcome to the investment world. Good on you for getting motivated and moving forward.

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)