All Forum Posts by: Brenden Mitchum

@Samuel Coronado I did not know that - very cool! However, you will likely still need permits for development so if the county doesn't want you to build a park, they can still make your life pretty difficult. So, make sure you understand their process and what ways they may be able to restrict you. 

Hey @Kamilah Spencer, welcome to the BP community!

Did you have any questions/concerns that we may be able help with?

I am not an expert on the West Atlanta/GA area but there are several folks on here that would be happy to help if you had some questions.

Hey @Samuel Coronado, welcome to the BP community!

Your title suggests this would be a discussion on whether to build duplexes or a mobile home park on that land. However, it sounds like you have already decided on those duplexes. If there is still a question of which to do, your first step would be to check zoning. This is something you've likely already done since you're planning to build on that land. Chances are if it isn't zoned MHP, you aren't going to get approval from the city/county to rezone it. Most municipalities won't allow this as they would actually like there to be fewer MHP in their jurisdiction. So, this will likely answer that question for you if you haven't already.

Keep in mind that when looking for a builder, you are also looking for a developer, unless all the infrastructure is already in place. Some builders will do the development too but you may have to first bring in a developer. The builder you go with will likely have one or several they recommend. 

Hope this helps a bit. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

Hi @Kamuela Haasenritter

You should be good with just the GA tenant/landlord laws. You can find these pretty easily online. These laws don't really relate to the occupancy laws and are set at the state level, as far as I know.

The occupancy law for Fulton and Dekalb County are both 6, I believe. However, the city of Atlanta is higher but also kind of confusing. I've been told it's 10 but don't hold me to that! The best way to find occupancy laws for each city/town is to call the planning/zoning department. They should be able to point you in the right direction. 

Hey @John Joyce, there are many different ways you could go with this..

I'm going to assume they own the property free & clear. If not, these options would still apply but would need to be tweaked a bit.

1. Just purchase the land from him with a construction loan, build a new home, rent it out & refinance. This is ideal if he wants absolutely nothing to do with the project and just wants $$ for the property. 

2. Partner with him on the project by having him add you to the title and going in on the project together. This is ideal if he wants to be fairly hands on or has capital to invest in the project and wants to split returns with you. 

3. Purchase the land from him with a seller carry. This could get tricky if you'll also be getting a construction loan for the new build. Maybe he would even finance that too? Essentially, this strategy is great if he does not really want to play a hands on role in the project but has capital and still wants to see some returns in the form of loan payments. Make sure you discuss terms and when/if you'd pay him off in full after refinance. 

I am certainly not well versed in new builds so there could be more options than this but these are the three big ones I see. 

Hope this helps a bit. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

Hey @Kamuela Haasenritter, welcome to the BP community!

As you've probably noticed, lots of folks do this. However, you should be aware of the risks involved. Obviously, there are higher maintenance costs associated with college housing. But, the risk I'm talking about is with the County. Cobb County has a very strict occupancy law for single family homes: No more than two unrelated adults in a SFR. I believe they limit number of cars in the driveway too. The city of Kennesaw may be different so my first step would be to check with them.

Probably not what you wanted to hear but it's always good to be aware of all risks with any investment so that you can make an educated decision. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have any questions or just want to chat!

Hey @Daley Gunter, welcome to the BP community!

If you do not yet have any rental property, don't worry about this too much. This is one of those things that new investors like to dig into the weeds on but doesn't actually have a direct impact on starting their rental portfolio. It's important to get your ducks in a row before purchasing but deciding how many LLCs you need or what entity structure to do is not necessary (unless you'll be partnering/syndicating). 

Plus, you won't be able to take advantage of conventional financing if you purchase with an LLC. Just make sure you have plenty of liability insurance. You can always move the property into an LLC later (which you should do for each property as you grow).

Hope this helps a bit. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

Hey @Greg Larson, great question!

With any asset class in any listing service (MLS, loopnet, even OMs from brokers), you never want to take reported income or expenses too seriously. You can use them for your initial underwriting, but always verify during due diligence with P&Ls and bills. 

$500 annually is bs. They either missed a zero or they meant monthly...or the place is a total dump with a ton of deferred maintenance. Run your calculations with your own expense ratio and ignore theirs until you see proof. 

Hope this helps a bit. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

Hey @Joao Castro, welcome to the BP community!

Well, the real question here is simple. Do you want to invest your cash and start growing a portfolio of "passive" income? Or, do you just want to buy a nice house to live in with your family that won't help you get any wealthier and actually could even make you worse off financially than if you'd said "screw real estate" and stuck your money in low fee index funds? Basically, do you want to invest in real estate or not?

I'll admit that I mostly live under a rock so am not familiar with what is going on in the European market or banking system. However, I can promise you that real estate is not going anywhere. The market might become difficult to get into for some time but this will cycle. As long as people need a place to live in your market, there will be opportunity to invest at some level. Chances are, you buying a primary residence now will be a worse idea (financially) than you continuing to save until things stabilize again and then start investing. 

Hope this helps a bit! Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

Hey @Joseph Lane

You already have access to state approved forms. Why would you need to go out of your way or pay extra to create contracts you already have access to?

Plus, then you make it easy to assign contracts to other agents who might be against using a non-state approved contract.

Maybe I am missing something here?