All Forum Posts by: Brett Peters

My pleasure. If you stumble upon anything don't hesitate to reach out!

@ Felix Vargas I may be a little biased but I can only speak on what i know. There are many areas in south central PA that are very attractive to investors, including myself. There is York, where you can buy and hold 2 units for 50k turn key..there is Reading where you can purchase just about anything with the property tax in many areas being only 1400 per annum. There is also Lancaster which is booming in every way imaginable but is geared more towards buy and sell.

@Ru Shaefferkoetter Wow, I don't know if mine can top that story but i will give it a shot. Mistake #1 I overbid my first REO by 8k, #2 Paid a commercial HVAC team to do electrical, plumbing and central air which cost 37.5k...#3 Never checked for a water pipe, and almost excavated the sidewalk before jackhammering the wall out #4 There was a massive pit bull next door who I never made friends with!!!

An LTV that high is most likely coming from a local bank on a personal refinance. A commercial loan is typically 70%. If you can secure that my suggestion is go for a 30 year fixed rate, which is cheaper than any available ARM at the moment.

@Michael Acheampong My first advice is if you're going to finance go for the 30 year fixed rate, make sure you have 30% equity in case you have to sell at some point, and have a minimum of 4 months of reserves for mortgage payments. My other suggestion is buying a duplex and living essentially for free is great, but there is also "live and flip". If you live in the property for a min of 2 years and sell you avoid all capital gains tax and there is no minimum of times you can employ this strategy. However, your numbers going in will look much different!

@Pamela Sandberg , It just clicked! Thank you

I understand, that gives me a better idea. My motivation for asking is I am half way through a rehab and I'm trying to determine what to add or not to add that would yield the most value. I am nearing break even and trying to maximize my return without overdoing it.

When adjusting comparables, how do you determine the value of amenities relative to the increase in value of the home? In other words, how do you know an extra bathroom adds $500 in value? Or a let's say a garage adds $10,000? Is there any real way to calculate these differences or is this strictly art?

@Pat L. My thoughts exactly lol. I invest in Pa and that's exactly what I pay for the water even though it it is disconnected. Our industry is not for the faint at heart!

Wow! I attempted to reach the pipe by going into the basement wall but no luck. Then went to the county courthouse to pull the subdivision blueprint...which was from 1905! Obviously no help. The water company could care a less and on top of that I'm still paying for water!