All Forum Posts by: Carlos Asuaje

There are deals to be made for sure, the biggest problem is actually finding a good deal. I just purchased two condos in Fort Lauderdale that are cash flowing well but it took me over a year to really find a good deal. I would suggest talking to a knowledgeable real estate agent in the area you're looking at and going from there. Best of luck!

- Carlos 

Pretty much exactly what Dave said. I recently purchased a fully occupied duplex, but I put a contingency on the contract that said the seller had to provide rent reports and expenses for the past two years.

-Carlos

anyone?

Have you ever considered partnering with someone at home? Obviously, you have several financing options and have thought through it pretty well, but i think having a bird dog or other sort of partner looking for potential deals and contacting distressed sellers can be a big first step to push you in which way you should finance the deal. Just an idea. Good luck and thank you for your service

-Carlos

Hello BP,

So i recently completed my first multi-family deal and obviously am super excited about having accomplished a big goal of mine. I finished this deal the "traditional" way of investing, by putting 10% down on a conventional loan etc...Turns out i ran into another deal as i was finishing my first one and this one seems like a great deal as well, as the seller is very motivated and is willing to work with me using creative financing.

After hearing her story about why she wanted to sell and what her goals where, the best method I came up with was giving her a little cash and doing a subject to deal....buuuut i've never done one and I'm a little nervous about the dangers that i've read about on BP.

 So i'm asking all the creative financing experts on BP to help out a newbie to this realm and maybe help my confidence a little bit haha

1. What are the chance of the loan being due on sale? (does this happen often? what do i need to look out for to avoid this? could it still happen if im making the mortgage payments on time?)

2. If the bank calls the note due, how can i proceed? (I dont have enough capital for another 10-20% down payment on a another mortgage loan)

3. I read that a red flag for the bank is switching the name on the insurance of the home. Is that true? Should I not mess with that? 

4. I was planning on a buy and hold strategy for this deal because it's an fully occupied duplex. Is that smart with a sub2 deal? does it just prolong the chances of getting the note called due? Has anyone ever used the buy and hold strategy on a sub2 deal?

Any other advice would really be helpful. I appreciate all input to help me feel a little more secure. Thanks

Something to keep in mind is that appreciation is not guaranteed, regardless of the area. Just because a property is in a nicer part of town doesn't necessarily mean the rate of appreciation is going to be higher then a property in a lower income area...

Also, there has been a few studies done, one of which is written about in a book called "Investing in Real Estate" by Gary Eldred, that states that overtime the buyers for higher-end markets eventually decrease, due to inflated prices for so called "desired areas". Everyday buyers and investors with minimal capitol will then be "forced" or at least be more likely to purchase homes in lower end markets, where the better deals are.....just something else to think about..

with that being said you've made a pretty solid ROI so far. As long as the tenants aren't destroying your properties and causing havoc, I would say stick with what you are(clearly) good at. For now at least.

Definitely save up some more money, well at least if you're going in on an investment alone. I would say network a lot and meet some local investors that you could partner with, if that's something you would be willing to do. I personally partnered and it was a really great experience. Best of luck!

-Carlos 

@Weis Sherdel speaking as a newbie who just completed his first deal(with a partner btw), I think any investment in real estate is going to feel a little overwhelming and take a learning curve..it's something you've never done! But trust me when I tell you, it's going to be ok. As long as you take the time to educate yourself, analyze the deal thoroughly, and take appropriate risks, you'll be fine! And honestly, you are lucky to be entering this business with a partner you can trust and that has both cash and knowledge...it really helped me learn a lot, working with a partner and I can definitely say the next deal will probably much less stressful. Best of luck!

-Carlos 

As an investor who just recently began investing with a partner, I think a big first step is trusting each other. Both of the partners need to know each other's goals, intentions, and communicate fluently...as a measure of security and comfort, me and my partner wrote up a "partnership contract", where we stated what eachother will bring to the table, what each of us is responsible for and all of the financial, returns and work responsibilities we each get. Just to keep peace of mind. 

- Carlos

Hello BP community!

Im very proud to announce that me and my partner have finally gotten our first multi-family property under contract and have found financing for it! I'm very excited of course...but i do have a question about a piece of information that was provided by the lender, it's called the "Truth-in-Lending" disclosure. This is my first time taking out a mortgage so i hope you guys can enlighten me on this subject....

So over the phone, the lender gave me all the numbers, how much i needed for the down payment, the APR, the monthly principal and interest payments, pretty much everything. All of it sounded great!

Then she sent me all of the documents via email, and that's when i saw thei "Truth-in-Lending" disclosure... Here, almost all of the numbers were different! Not by much, but still they were different. The APR was off, the monthly payments, almost everything...plus, they added the "estimated taxes + (escrow) insurance"...what does that even mean?

Of course, i havent signed anything yet because i was caught off guard by this, but is this normal? Are these just estimates? Any help would be much appreciated 

-Carlos