All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Seibert

@Gregory Breeden I've pulled up sold land costs nearby my property to help. I believe you can search this on Zillow. Comps are about the only thing that you can use to determine raw land cost.

@Tom Port yes, each person's own criteria is different and depends on your goals and market. I have an excel sheet that I put fill out in less than 5 mins to determine if a property fits my criteria. The main metrics I use are cash flow, COC return and ensuring a property fits my BRRR criteria for purchase price. I would check on BP to see if others have metrics that you would like to adopt and make your own. I followed @Brandon Turner's at the beginning and then slightly shifted them to fit my goals.

I would definitely recommend finding a good realtor. They can help walk you through the investing process and can lead you to other qualified professionals. Hope this helps!

Investment Info:

Duplex in Hagerstown, MD

Purchase price: $91,150
Cash invested: $17,000 (plus closing costs on the acquisition and refinance)

Contributors:

BRRRR in Hagerstown, MD. It is a duplex with units of 4 BR 2 BA and 3 BR 1 BA. Purchased this and performed $17k in rehab and currently have both sides rented out for a total of $2050 per month ($1100 and $950 respectively).

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Limited initial capital makes the BRRRR strategy the most accessible for me.Since I'm just starting out in the professional world (being only 24) I need to be able to recycle capital until I make enough to continuously fund deals.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal on Hubzu and bought it from the online auction.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a commercial loan from a local bank (Summit Community Bank).

How did you add value to the deal?

My property manager performed the rehab on the property to refinish floors, install new flooring in the kitchen and laundry room, paint throughout, mold remediation and fix the furnace. I also removed unnecessary trees on the property and cleaned up brush and other shrubbery.

What was the outcome?

Repairs took longer than expected but luckily one of the units was rentable from the start, so I had rental income from the beginning. I am finishing up the refinance right now and it appraised for $150,000.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I had a large tree fall down at the back of the property midway through last year. I didn't realize this was on my property initially as the property stretches so far back so the removal of the tree added unexpected costs. Also, it is good to formally lay out contractor expectations from the beginning (in writing). I didn't lay them out thoroughly enough and was at his mercy at times. A formal agreement on terms is important when dealing with a substantial amount of work.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jim Rodgers from Summit Bank was a great asset in acquiring the property. @Alex Bekeza has been great to work with on refinancing - I definitely recommend him.

Congrats on the deal @Brian Watts!

Hey @Nicole Sena welcome to BP. I personally would recommend getting your personal finances in a solid spot first before making the quick jump into real estate. You can still keep educating yourself on investing and learning more from becoming a realtor (you may end up finding partners as a realtor) but getting your personal finances in a solid spot is a great first step. I would use @Scott Trench's book as a resource or Dave Ramsey's teachings. Get your credit in a solid spot, create an emergency fund, pay off credit cards and build your knowledge. Then you can more easily take on added risk. Goodluck with investing!

@Jacob Fedechko congrats on the completed deal! I hope it works out well for you!

@Brian Brusich you may need to check the IBC (International Building Code) to see if it fits or not. My local area requires an inspection every 2 yrs prior to renting which takes care of most generic issues (like this). I would see if your local govt has any information on these type of issues. Carpet or stair treads and hand railings definitely don't hurt though - for liability reasons.

@Roy Villa welcome to BP! There are a ton of great resources on here to use at your disposal. Goodluck with your REI journey!

@Anthony Triano it just depends on your exact criteria, price range, etc... Washington county has some good areas and there tend to be more deals in this area; however, schools aren't quite as good (on average) as Frederick County and it is growing less. Frederick county is definitely more pricey but is also closer to the larger markets of DC and Baltimore. Washington county has a large blue collar workforce but does have a few desirable areas with good schools as well (Smithsburg, Boonsboro and North Hagerstown High are pretty good schools). I attended Williamsport High but I've heard they redistricted a little bit and it isn't as desirable anymore. Outside of that, the Waynesboro/Greencastle area is solid but the population and job markets is much lower than that of Hagerstown/Washington County.

Thurmont is more backwoods and there are rumors that there is a strong racist group presence in the area (just rumors though). It's definitely a beautiful area though with Cunningham Falls nearby. The school there (Catoctin) isn't bad but isn't diverse - they usually have a good football team though lol

@Joe Taylor that sounds about right. What would the interest rate and other terms be for this?