All Forum Posts by: Carlos Vega

Originally posted by @Bryan Richardson:

@Carlos Vega Just out of curiosity, did you over look a repair or did something cost more then expected.ehy is it so over your estimate?

I kinda sorta was in the same boat with my last property. The utilities were off, and someone stole are the electrical wire(didnt notice). Ended up costing almost 15k extra due to all the dry wall work and rewire.

 I overlooked my inspector and municipality being a complete nightmare and making cosmetic issues a priority over the actual safety and livability of the property. I couldn't even get an occupancy permit without my hardwood floors being refinished or without having my bath tub reglazed.

Originally posted by @Theresa Harris:

What do you have left to do for renos?  Can you finish what you started and rent it out leaving any other renos for later once you've built up your cash reserves?  If you'll get $650 for rent and your mortgage is $750 (hopefully including property taxes) PLUS you are living in the home, the extra cash will help.

I know hindsight is wonderful.  It helps to keep track of the budget as you go, so when things start to go over, you can go to plan B and start cutting projects.

 What I have left to do is exterior repairs that are mainly cosmetic and which my municipality has given me a deadline to complete on top of putting up $500 until repairs are completed.Theses were overlooked as I planned to make these (or not) in small stages over the next few years. My inspector got me on anything he possibly could.

And yes $750 includes propert tax and insurance.

I bought my first property (duplex) back in June of '18 via the "House Hacking" Method Purchase price was 90k with an ARV of ~130k. My initial Rehab/ repair budget was 15k.

Goal was to get the work done and cash out refi or heloc, pay off rehab debt and to purchase another property by this summer '19 also by house hacking.

I'm currently  in it at 18k with about another 8k of work left. All 18k has been on %0 interest credit cards that start to come due March of 2020.

Total rehab is reaching 26k and Not much room left on the credit cards. Also my ARV isnt where I though it would be, now around 115k.

90k purchase + 26k rehab =116k

I'll essentially be getting back what I put in (fingers crossed), however Im lost on what move to make next and when to make it. 

If I try to refi or heloc now I know my appraisal is going to be low considering the work I still need to do, but I'm having a tough time coming up with the extra 8k to move forward on repairs which is unfortunately pushing me further away from the initial goal using a refi or heloc to pay off the rehab which I've financed on 0% interest cards. 

I know hard money is an option but it's a scary one. I'm also known for taking risks 😆

Any advice from the community is greatly appreciated. 

Just incase you were curious about the numbers:

My mortgage is $750.

Tenant pays $630 + gas, Electric, water and sewer

I pay trash and lawncare 

Have Homedepot or lowes come out and give you an estimate. If their is a Window World in your area also have them come out. Benifits of bigger companies are the warranty that not only comes with the windows but also the installation warranty. I paid $3600 for 7 dual pane double hung from Window World. That includes all new frames too. 

I have a family member who recently lost her husband to cancer. He didn't leave a will but had her put on the deed to their home before he passed. She is now a single mother of 4 with no work history, terrible credit and an $1800 mortgage. Fortunately social security for her children kicked in quick and she is able to afford the mortgage and living expenses however the family of her deceased husband took it upon themselves to file for the death certificate without her on it and send it off to the mortgage company. The mortgage company will no longer accept her payments. 

Instead of dealing with the hassle she wants to sell the house since she's on the deed and move on. She has roughly 20% of equity in the home and it would be a lot more if the home didn't need repairs. If she sells in its current condition I'm estimating that she'll lose roughly 30k buy not being able to get the full value vs. keeping the house doing, some repairs and waiting to sell.

I know there has to be a way to make this work. I offered to cosign so that she could pull out money for repairs but she's leaning more towards selling now. I'd love to buy the place if she did sell but I just bought my first property and don't have much reserve for both projects. 

 What would you do? How would a seller finance be structured in a situation like this? Most importantly how can my cousin keep her home? Secondly how would we both win if she sold and I purchased?

 I know there is a ton of options for her and myself if I get involved. So many options and ways of getting creative that its overwhelming. 

Originally posted by @Kenton Coffman:

@Carlos Vega nice work on moving forward and making progress!  My first rental didn't and doesn't have great numbers, but it got me in the game and kept me excited to make the next move which is extremely valuable.

Curious also as to what area?  

I'm currently in a duplex in south city Princeton Heights Area

 Exactly, I had to light the fire. I'm in Overland

I'm in Overland where's your property?

Originally posted by @Kenton Coffman:

@Carlos Vega congrats on taking your first step, it's the hardest one to take!  What area is your duplex?

 Thanks! I'm in Overland.

Originally posted by @John Warren:

@Carlos Vega congrats on taking action! This is the hardest part of the whole thing in my opinion. Your goals may change as you get going, but taking the first step is the hardest. I personally started by wanting to buy 10 four units. I bought my first one in Lyons, IL, and then made the jump to apartments and never looked back. Trust me, you won't regret the duplex!

Totally agree, my problem is that I'm a complete control freak and think I need to have everything figured out in order to move forward but that's just not realistic. I'm coming to learn that I'll learn as I go and in about two weeks I might not even have any interest in the duplexes on my street haha.

Its been close to two years since my first and last post. Since then I've relocated from Southern California to St. Louis Missouri area. I couldn't afford to make my real estate investment dreams become a reality or I wasn't thinking creatively. Anyways I finally pulled the trigger last month and purchased a 1600 sqft duplex (1bed, 1 bath units) for 90k with the intentions to owner occupy. Got the state to help with my down (they gave me 3600). My out of pocket was about 4100 including closing, inspection and earnest money. Currently in the process of moving one tenant out from the unit that I'll be occupying and keeping the other tenant there who will be paying more than half of my mortgage, my portion being $250!! I'm looking to put about 15-20k of work in and for an ARV of about 130k. I know it wasnt the best deal but I had to make a move, plus I'm only 2 miles from work now vs. 40. I hope to refi in 6 months, pay back the 3600 to the state and buy another duplex on the same street. My property is one of 15 identical duplexs on the same street. The goal is to own all 15!