All Forum Posts by: Christi Hawkins

@Stephen Herbert  Yikes, that's a tough one. I've never done an out of state flip, mainly because of the issues you just mentioned but I do know some who have. The best advice they give is you have to have someone you trust on the ground. In some cases its a friend, it could be a Realtor you know but there has to be eyes and ears at the site on a regular basis watching out for your investment. I always think about this way, what do most employees do when the boss is on vacation for a week? Your crew isn't looking out for you, they are doing a job, with, it sounds like, very little supervision or accountability. In 9 out of 10 cases people will take advantage of that situation. If you don't know anyone and you have to hire, my guess is that expense would be cheaper than the cost overruns and delays. Great choice to invest in Cincinnati, I lived there for 6 years and wish I'd never left. I love that town and I would think the opportunities in the Greater Cincinnati area, including Northern KY ( which has better views) would be endless. Don't give up on that town 

@Michael Zack you can absolutely ask her about additional income. You have to be very careful in how you phrase the question. You can't ask "do you receive child support or alimony payments" specifically but asking about additional income is perfectly OK. Does she receive bonuses or commissions of any kind? You can also ask for bank statements, that will show if she has any savings but you're also looking for overdraft fees. Does she rely on her overdraft to meet her monthly bills or can she pay everything will no problem. She does sound like a perfect tenant so before you eliminate her because she doesn't meet one of your requirements, I'd want to sit down with her, get to know her and make your decision based on that conversation. 

@John Hickey Congratulations! I think what you are doing is amazing, I'm not sure I'd have the guts to take this on. Keep us updated on what's happening This will end being a true success story for you and a entire neighborhood.

WOW! No way you rent to these folks! Anyone who throws out "I will sue if I don't get my way" will be nothing but trouble for you. As many have said Dogs are not a protected class and I'm assuming they haven't provided you with the appropriate documentation  to prove it's a service animal. Your insurance policy overrides whatever policy they may tell you they have. Yours will be in place a month from now how do you know their policy will be, they could cancel it at anytime or just never pay the premium. If you ever tried to evict these people you will never get them out. If your PM doesn't feel comfortable denying these folks then do it yourself but document everything. After you've done that immediately fire your PM, just based on this instance you have cause. They are not looking out for your best interest and this should have been a simple denial based on what your insurance company requires. The situation never should have escalated to this point but you want all involved out of your life as soon as possible

@Ellie Narie that sounds like a much better idea.  I'm sorry if you've already said this but are you planning to live in one of the units? I would still search out some comps so you know what you're dealing with and discuss it with your lender. You don't want the lack of good comps to kill your deal at the end. Don't give up on this, it's a great idea! If your small town is anything like mine you will be providing a very necessary benefit to your community. Good Luck and I'd love it if you keep us posted on how it works out

@Jerome Morelos @Thomas S.  100% agree. You are a smart young man, that will be the best decision you'll ever make

@Ellie Narie USDA will not loan on an income earning property, regardless if they know about it upfront or after the fact. Yes, they would absolutely frown on you adding multiple kitchens and/or multiple entrances. As quickly as they issued that loan they can invoke the Acceleration Clause and you would be required to pay it off (refinance it) During the loan process you will sign several forms stating you understand the program and it's parameters. Please don't attempt to commit any kind of fraud with an FHA or USDA loan, it isn't worth it. There is also a fee for paying off the loan within a certain amount of time. It decreases after each year but the point of a USDA loan is to live in it as your primary residence. The other thing you need to consider is, will there be any comps after you're finished with the house. If you have to refinance you need to consider that because you will struggle to find a lender that will lend money on basically a non-conforming property with nothing similar surrounding it. I get your idea, I live in a small town too with very few multi-family properties and it's a great vision but you might have to start out with a partner who would give you the cash to do what you want to do.

@Steven Mason Some HML will require minimum credit score for the interest rate they charge but most really don't care about your credit score. They care about what the deal looks like, is it profitable in the event they have to take it back.

@Jeff Filali I love this discussion, thank you for bringing it up. It kills me to see what landlords get away with. I fully understand that they are people who don't know or don't care how to take care of their home. There are also tenants who completely take advantage of landlords, I understand that too. My biggest complaint is how the landlords treat the outside of their properties because it kills the value of the neighborhood as a whole. I've seen rentals that look like they should be condemned but are being rented for $650 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment. The house is basically falling down around them and they do nothing, it's just a cash cow. I know it's a business and the goal is to make money but I think they have an obligation to maintain their properties. If you want the tenant to mow the yard then you better provide a lawn mower and teach them how to use it if they don't know how. Instead of letting the grass around all your rentals grow to 4 feet high maybe higher someone. There are about ten people in my community that own hundreds of rentals and about 5 of those are Realtors as well, which makes it even worse. Their answer has always been, these people are bottom feeders and why would I waste my time and money taking care of it when they will just destroy it. They don't comply with city ordinances and when you ask a member of city council when they might get around to enforcing that, they always say after the next election. The more units they purchase, more neighborhoods start to crumble and it ultimately affects everyone in the community. They like their properties to be dumps because it keeps their tax values low. I believe there should be minimum standards for landlords, maybe there are but because the tenants are"bottom feeder" no one cares. They are that part of our society that people like to throw away and label them as having no value . Then we all sit back and wonder how we have 5 generations of families living on welfare, food stamps with no thoughts of ever getting beyond it. I'm not trying to offend any landlords on here I'm just using my own area as an example of how bad it is. I want to own a couple rentals in the next 5 years and I hope I don't turn into what I see around me. 

@Linda S. I'm going to buy that book right now!!

Hi Bryan, would you allow someone with no investing experience attend your meeting. I have a lot of experience as a Realtor and lender but I'm turning my focus to investing. I love Lancaster and would love to learn more about that market