All Forum Posts by: Chris S.

Hey there, I am an agent in Anchorage but I just do property management not buy/sell. Our market is not very good right now, we are in a bit of a recession and the governor is cutting lots of programs/state money. 

Now, that does not mean that you cant make any money. There are roughly 2k (last time I checked dont quote me) agents in Alaska, and our house proces are generally 3-500k so you can make a nice commission if you know what you are doing. I know a few agents who bring in 30-40k/month working with very small teams. 

Sales definately decline in the winter, and you would need to keep that in mind when you are selling in the summer. Maybe sell RE in the summer and do something else in the winter? We could def use some good agents up here. Most of them arent worth a damn. Obviously those on BP more than likely are much better than most I have run in to.

Hey Michelle, 

I am current licensee in Anchorage and own my own rentals/lease them out. I am not a lawyer so dont take this as the word of God. I would recommend you call a local lawyer here. I use Andrew Mitton, he seems to know what he is talking about.  There is a subsection that you are missing that states that you can buy,rent,lease,exchange, auction, or purchase your own properties without a real estate agent, but not other peoples. You can also lease out up to 4 units for someone else if you are not a real estate agent for profit, but no more than 4.

As far as wholesaling goes (assuming thats what you are wanting to do) from my understanding you would need to be a licensed agent to do that unless if the property was first transferred to your name, and then to the next entity. So you could purchase a house with cash, then resell it for a higher value, but the property would first need to transfer to your name. As far as being the middleman for a transaction and the property never officially being in your name you can get in a lot of trouble for that up here without a license. Or with a license if you don't do it right. 

Basically, if it is your property you can do whatever you want (to an extent) but it first has to be in your name. 

Who are you paying 850 to? I have used Kim Storh before and it was around 550 with all the fees. 

Edited. Just remembered not everyone lives in Anchorage...There is another guy who's name I cant think of but he is 450ish in Anchorage 

@Chase Kimbrell

Lenders look at your debt to income ration (DTI). So having the reserve pay would help, but most want a solid W2 job that shows steady, verifiable income coming in. I have not yet bought another property using my VA, but I did go through the process. I just backed out after the inspection showed some issues I didn't want to deal with. I would find a local mortgage broker and speak with them about it as they can go a lot more in depth than I can. First Rate Financial in Anchorage does a lot of VA/FHA loans and if you do end up back in AK I would suggest giving them a call.

Hey Chase,

I too got started with house hacking using my VA so I think it is a pretty solid idea. Good thing about the VA loan is that you can use it multiple times until you meet your cap. I am not positive on the numbers, but say you bought a 4plex for 450k (I did) that left me with another 270k in VA funds that I can still use to buy either a SFR or a small duplex (with prices up here). This could help you out with your portfolio building since you could get at least 2 properties with 0% down (live in them at least a year of course) and then maybe use FHA with 3.5% down to get another one.

The only issue I see with your plan is picking up more properties in college without a job. Every lender I have come across requires you to have proof of income, generally from either a salaried job or investments. Your previous house hack purchases can help with this, assuming you bought well and they cash flow by lender standards. As far as owning/operating a photography business you will need to be established in that profession for at least 2 years with tax statements showing income generation in order for it to be considered as income for lender purposes. 

Side note, find a good lender and speak with them before you file your taxes. Most CPA's, and the military legal help, with try to deduct everything they can to get you the biggest tax deduction. You may not always want to do that with rental properties because it will show them as not cash flowing for tax purposes (due to depreciation, repairs, etc) even if you technically did make money off of them. 

I prob wouldnt mess with your TSP (401k) plan either due to all of the fees you will get hit with and just save up everything you can instead.

If you end up back in Alaska hit me up! I'm in Anchorage and wouldn't mind meeting up and helping you out best I can. 

If you are anywhere near Anchorage or the Valley we have a lot of RE meetups. I just came from one and there is another tomorrow with a different crew.

Real Estate Exchange was tonight, Landlords Almanac is tomorrow. Both offer free get togethers that are great for networking. I met a new hard money lender and a portfolio manager just today.

No problem! I like your ideas, and if you ever have any questions feel free to PM me. Best of luck!

Another quick note is to check with an I surance agent on if the property is even insurable since they converted the garage. Sometimes they can be funny about those things. Though it usually just applies to nonconforming buildings where a unit has been added.

I am typing all of this un bed on my phone while on vacation in Juneau so bear with me on any typographical errors.

Do you have lenders in the area that will do a 10% down loan on a sfr that isnt owner occupied? All I have run in to here will do is 20%. Well, I found one exception but it was super sketchy. 

How much would the rehab cost on the 130k one? Do you have a contractor who is willing/able to go through it eith you and give you even a rough quote on fixing it up? I assume eith it being so cheap it is in extreme disarray.

Depending on the multifamily you have in the area 3.5% down on an owner occupied 4plex wouldnt be a bad way to get your foot in the door. Especially if it is financblable but needs upgrades that could raise its value or you could add some rooms etc for forced equity.

Also there are new loans now for 5+ units where you can get the cost of the complex+rehab costs all lumped in together. So say the 6plex is 400k but needs 200k work you only need 20% down on 600k now instead of 20% down on 400k and then 200 cash for the remodel.  It's a pretty cool program I that opens a lot of doors. 

I could be mistaken but I dont believe you would pay taxes on a BRRRR property unless you sold it. Even then you could always 1031 though I have heard those can be a pain.

For only 1200/month I wouldnt bother with a sfr unless you are just looking to build equity and not worried about the cashflow unless you can get that 3 bed 1 bath for 115 and get a renter at 1200 without any money invested if you are getting 150k instant equity at purchase and it is priced that low and didnt sell the second it hit the .market I would be very suspicious of it.

Hey there, investor from Anchorage here. Honestly that all sounds really good. Is the 100k just for the rehab cost and you have other cash for financing the houses to begin with? I am not sure on prices I'm Ketchikan but around here even junk houses are more than 100k. While I like the idea of having winter rentals and then possibly Airbnb for the summer months it would be hard to find a tenant for just the winter, and u dont wanna be known as the guy who kicks his tenants out every summer just to make a buck, Ketchikan is a small town after all.

You know Ketchikan a lot better than me, but I think your strategy is sound. Just not sure if you are doing conventional finance then refi, buy cash then refi, etc...for the SFRs