All Forum Posts by: Cameron Tope
Cameron Tope has started 14 posts and replied 1752 times.
Post: *Expenses hurt, *Refi unhelpful.. Personal Tax Returns BRRR
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Hey Kent,
Are you doing this in an LLC? I always did all my BRRRR deals in my personal name so I could use my W2 income.
All my lenders I've used, never cared about the initial expense of fixing up the property. They cared about what the monthly cashflow looked like once it was rented - your debt coverage ratio or DTI.
If you have 235k in cash reserves, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't loan you any more money, unless the property has negative future cashflow.
Hope that helps!
Post: Tracking Mileage for Taxes
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Hey Robert,
I couldn't agree more with @Anthony McEvoy - don't overthink it!
We use Mileage IQ and we're only picky if the drive is significantly out of the way.
Post: Inspection Follow Up
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Hey Adam,
While it's prudent to have the same inspector go back on your first few deals, it will make sense at some point to just collect the invoices from the contractor that completed the work, ensure they're licensed for the work that requires licenses, and sufficient pictures.
However, investing is your business and do what helps you sleep well at night!
Post: Home Prices Broke Records in May .....
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Thanks for sharing Rob!
There are a lot of people moving to Texas and Florida! I don't see this slowing down anytime soon!
Post: Private Lender or Pull Money out of my current property? (Heloc)
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Hey Michael,
How does your cash flow look on your first property after a HELOC? You don't want to get yourself into a situation where you have negative cashflow.
If you have plenty of cashflow on the first property, then use the HELOC to buy the next property. Then refi the new property later and payoff your HELOC.
Thoughts?
Post: Lock changing responsibility
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:
Originally posted by @Cameron Tope:
Hey Ramon,
Per Texas property code, we have to change the locks between tenants but if the same tenant is asking for a lock change then we would bill them back for that.
If he's a good tenant, then it may buy you good graces to pay for it.
Best of luck!
In this case it is a change in tenancy because of the divorce. I would either change the lock as a term of the new lease or charge him a fee to change it. Either way, you want to change locks after divorce if the tenant requests it. The point is just because you should change them, doesn't mean you pay the expense. I would recommend Kwikset Smartkey for your locks. A landlord can rekey themselves and it takes 5 seconds a lock.
Joe,
Thanks for the comment. We strongly advise against the Kwikset Smartkey, while they are easy to rekey, we found they pose a safety risk due to the ease of being able to pick the locks. Just Google Kwikset Smartkey safety issues and you'll see them.
Rekeying can be expensive but it's a cost of doing business between tenants. If there's not a new lease signed, then we would bill the tenant if they request a rekey.
Post: Lending guidance for refinance
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Originally posted by @Luke DeLaVergne:
@Cameron Tope
I'm mostly hearing banks and credit unions tell me they don't refinance investment properties or that they only offer ARM loans on investment properties.
I’ve only found one that gave a fixed rate loan, but closing costs on a $60k refi was $4,500, which seems wildly high.
Ya that's crazy high! I would keep looking. It may be hard to refi in the post-covid era but banks will eventually be eager to lend on investment properties again. It's just the part of the cycle we're in!
Post: LLC funding for first property
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Originally posted by @Adam Frantz:
But doesn't it just become a chicken and egg scenario? I can't get two years of tax returns from an LLC unless I start one, and I may have trouble getting loans for the LLC that I started which keeps me from buying houses. Do you normally advise your clients to start on their own then transfer their properties into an LLC later?
Yes, that's exactly right. I would use up all my personal loans then transfer to LLCs. Once you have a portfolio, then you can start buying more under the LLCs you transferred the properties into.
Post: Buying first investment SFH, but do I do it under and LLC?
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Originally posted by @Dolly Marketakis:
@Cameron Tope
Thank you! Simple easy advice which I was leaning towards but just could not determine if that was the right move. I just thought 10 was the cap where traditional lending because more difficult.
It is but worry about that around property number 8.
Post: Real Estate Investing in Houston, Texas.
- Property Manager
- Katy, TX
- Posts 1,807
- Votes 1,392
Hey Juliet,
As @Jonathan Greene mentioned, Houston is huge market with wide ranging neighborhoods and investment options.
You'll want to narrow your focus by deciding what you want out of your investments in Houston, then work backwards to determining the areas in Houston that fit your investment objectives.
I will say the property taxes and insurance are higher here than what I'm used to in Ohio but probably not much different than Florida.
Hope that helps!