All Forum Posts by: Rob Brautigam

@Randall Kates, all numbers aside, one question that comes to my mind is what is the rental market like in this small town with a population of 1300?

Is it an attractive place to live? Is there currently a surplus or a shortage of properties for rent? Is the town within commuting distance of a large city that provides a constant job flow? Are other investors doing business in this town already? These are the macro aspects that I would personally first look into.

Don't let your emotions make the decision. Look at the real numbers of how the property will perform when it will be rented out and buy into your investments on those facts. It is your choice to owner occupy your future rental and you really should not be letting the fact that you are going to be living in it change your thoughts about if its a good or bad deal. I have dealt with making a similar choice of slightly downgrading my living situation over the short term to benefit over the long term. Good luck!

 Gotcha. Thanks Luka!

Is there a way to review the settlement statement before the closing? Would save a decent chunk of time if you could privately review it before the closing rather than going through it line by line at the attorney's office.

Although it's not a 'conventional' property, you should be able to secure a mortgage with 20-30% down. Always think of your exit plan(s) though. Being an unconventional property type, it will be less likely to sell in the open market, in comparison to an average/normal property for the area.

On a side note, could you subdivide into 2 properties? Check out the town's zoning regulations and talk to the Director of P&Z to see if it's possible. If so, in your market, could the 2 parcels be valued at higher than the price you would buy the property for, less any surveying/subdividing/permitting costs?

@Chiagozie Fawole hit it on the spot. If you currently have no capital, you have two main options: Save up capital, or find a creative way to secure your first property. Always have necessary reserves for unforeseen expenses especially if you're doing a rehab. Seems like you should spend some time investing in yourself and your education. I highly recommend the BP Podcasts...listen to all of them!

@Jeff Mikos this is a great question and I am curious if different MLS systems have the ability to search by keyword. I just checked my client portal through MyMatrix and I do not have the ability. This would be a great feature though and I'm sure it will be around in the near future!

 Awesome step by step instructions here Mark, thanks for posting.

@Michael Noto

From an actionable point of view, if you plan on investing as a sole-proprietor, it's better to put all of your time and energy into finding and getting into your first deal, rather than setting up an LLC. I was at a stage where I was reading into setting up an LLC which was slowing myself down from reaching my main goal. Once you own your first investment property, consult your attorney/accountant and discuss setting up a business entity. If you are looking at the entity as a legal shelter, consider purchasing a $1M+ umbrella policy on the property.