All Forum Posts by: Brittany Woosley

@Liz Brock Connect with a lender to figure out what kind of interest rate you could get on a cash-out refi. Then run the numbers to see what your cash flow would look like after P&I, taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, etc. It sounds like you're already half way through a BRRR, with the next step being to rent it out and refinance. After that you have the cash on hand to do it again. This is a great way to scale your portfolio more quickly!

Real Estate is typically a long-term investment strategy so the earlier you can enter into it, the better. Most people I encounter don't start thinking of real estate investing until later in life, so you're definitely ahead of the game getting started now! There are so many strategies you can use to get started, it just depends on your goals and which will work best for your situation. Best of luck!

Other than a couple of tenants needing to pay late in the beginning of COVID, it's all been relatively smooth sailing as far as rent collection for the properties I manage. In my opinion, the market is as competitive as ever but take winter conditions into account - not as many people are looking to move in the snowy months. @Daniel Volk I live in Detroit/Shoreway area and things are renting fine, it's the high end rentals that will be sitting longer and possibly needing to lower rent.

@Andrew Brown You can definitely find solid single-family rental properties in good areas here in Cleveland within your $100k budget. Multi-family properties usually require a higher cost of entry in good areas. Once you get pre-approved (if you haven't already) you'll know which Investment strategy is best for your situation and can go from there!

Hey Anthony, congrats on the duplex purchase! When I inherited tenants in a triplex I purchased in March, I just had them fill out a full application so I could have all their information on hand. Inheriting tenants can be tricky as you don't necessarily know how thoroughly they were vetted or their history, so I chose to place mine on a 4 month lease while I got to know them. After that I issued a 1-year lease and it's been great ever since!

Hi TJ, Nicely done on the house hack! Not sure if you got this answered yet but wanted to chime in. I refinanced out of an FHA loan a little over a year after purchasing in order to get into another one here in Cleveland, OH. A lender would be able to give you specifics, but as long as an appraisal shows enough equity in the property you should be able to refi out (my experience I needed to show 20-25% equity, which I achieved through forced appreciation/rehabbing it). As far as using the rental income...My lender was able to use 75% of the rental income on the property toward qualifying me for a new loan (I needed to show the signed lease agreement and claim the rental income on my taxes). Definitely talk with a lender so they can look into your specific situation and give you more detail regarding using the rental income, refi fees, etc.

What city is your duplex in? My initial reaction is that $25k for rehabbing one 1200sqft unit sounds way too high, although I could be wrong as I don't know the full extent of the damage or the location. It's tough being out of state, but I would get quotes from other contractors and consider piecing the work out so you get the best pricing and don't have a GC adding money on top. Ask a local realtor to send you comps for renovated duplexes in your area. If property values in the area are higher than your all-in after rehabbing the place, you could either refinance and keep the asset, or potentially sell the building for a profit and move on. Best of luck!

@Kishun Barker cash is king and could definitely help get you a better deal on the duplex. Is there room for improvement on the property? If you buy at the right price you could have a solid BRRR opportunity on your hands which would allow you to scale your portfolio more quickly. If I had the cash, that's what I would do.

Location hands down is #1. Pay attention before you buy so you end up with the right properties and tenants!

Look up Brian Hartwig with First Equity Mortgage Group. He's been my go-to lender for several purchases and refinances here in Cleveland. Highly recommend!