All Forum Posts by: Cole Starin

@Jaycee Greene this is in Kansas City. My cost wont necessarily be the same or comparable as I GC my own projects and have trade skills. I probably saved 200k on this particular project. However, This was a gut rehab on a 8k total sqft building. Everything touched, ran me around 500k. Looks like you're also in Missouri. Happy to help with anything you might be working on.  

 Great insight @Dominic Mazzarella. As you've experienced, this is a tough dilemma. I've always had more of the Warren Buffet mentality, "hold for life", when it comes to my portfolio. Along the way I've learned a lot of trade skills as well which goes a long way helping to maintain assets. I think the idea of starting fresh financially, as soon as possible, would eliminate a lot of stress. In addition to this duplex, I have one other paid off with established LOC, and another nearly paid off. Across the remaining portfolio, I have a really good amount of equity which I can tap into based on opportunities but need to finish cleaning up my personal debt prior to going that route to get best rates etc. I am starting the turn on one side of the asset I'm considering liquidating and have a little time to continue to think it over. One thing I continue to think about is how valuable 2-4 unit properties are becoming, and will continue to be, since Fannie/Freddie took the income restrictions from the 5% down conventional loan option for house hackers.

@Nathan Gesner I couldn't agree more. I've been consistent in the business going on a decade and have seen the cycles of people disappearing. I've specifically seen this locally, supposed big shots that are always the loudest in the room, last a year or two, and then disappear. The fact is real estate will always be a long process and persistence is the true key to success. Yes, there are times when you will land some spectacular opportunities in this business, but the norm is you'll hit a lot of singles and need to stick with it, get creative, and always be evolving. I think right now in early 2025, it's been the hardest it's been since I've been active in real estate.

@Robin Simon I completed a refinance with my credit union at terms of 3/30/75 @6.85% I will have the renwal in 2026 and hoping rates come down a little by then. Credit Unions are pretty great, as in my experience, commercial loan renewals tend to be automatic. Factoring market conditions at the time of refinance, I negotiated a lower rate and conceded a lower term anticipating rates to normalize in the 4%-5% range by 2026. At that time I'll attempt to structure a 10 year term unless I consider a shorter hold period in which I'll negotiate the lowest rate possible to fit a shorter term more closely matching my remaing hold timeline. Ive found 30 amortization has become more accessible since the pandemic in commercial loans.

@Alex Bekeza apology for very slow response...for exit I brought the completed project to my credit union. Building appraised out at $1.5M and I ended up leaving a small amout in the project (~$90k). The property is now all LTRs, but with interest rates etc., not a huge monthly cashflowing asset currently. I do however think as things clean up systematically, cashflow will improve and the benefits of low capX exposure in near term and appreciation will work out. I'm two years past refinance and stable. Hope is the industry gets some relief soon and I can revisit some options to further improve asset revenue through amenities and/or roll into a better rate a lower principle.

Hello BP Community, it's been awhile since I've last posted or have had downtime lately. Over the last several years I've been in a heavy cycle of acquiring and building rental portfolio, flipping, contracting, and being a realtor. Although the journey has been worth it, I've sacrificed quite a bit from a personal lifestyle perspective, relationships, etc. I've learned that it's extremely important to find balance in this industry as your passion for your business can impact your personal life greatly! As I've come to terms with this I have taken the last five months to regroup and really think about the future which brings me to my post and what I'd like to get the communities opinion on.

I successfully negotiated and acquired one of my duplexes in 2017 that I nearly have paid off (note balance is $54k, property value $230k). Historically this property has cashflowed, but not yielding an annual amount that's really making a high impact towards overall business growth ~12k per year. Although I've considered a future line of credit against the property as my best long term option, I would need to pay down the remaining balance first. My dilemma has been that I've gotten a little behind on some revolving debt that selling this property now could eliminate in addition to giving me cash on hand to trade into some better value or start a new construction duplex project I've been wanting to start. My question is, would selling this asset now to clean up all my personal debt (~$50k) with the leftover used to reinvest be my best move currently in your opinion? Getting this cleaned up now would push my credit score over 800+ and eliminate nearly $3k per month in revolving debt payments and bring me quite a bit of peace. Or should I continue to stick it out and pay things off each month until caught up? Your opinions/experience on this situation are greatly appreciated.

@Ashley C. I am a seasoned investor in Kansas City and looking at MS for future opportunities. I've sent you a connection request and would love to connect to get a better understanding of the market.

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment in Tuppers Plains.

Purchase price: $550,000
Cash invested: $450,000

6 unit multi-family BRRRR. Housing two STRs and four LTRs

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Building located in neighborhood I had been interested in from the beginning of investing career.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found the deal through my network. Was able to get a meeting with the seller and negotiated using evolving knowledge of construction and deal analysis in addition to discovering seller motivation through direct contact.

How did you finance this deal?

Private money and personal funds.

How did you add value to the deal?

Full gut renovation, including but not limited to full replumb, full rewire, complete mechanical upgrades, and new apartment finishes from studs.

What was the outcome?

Valuable and soon to be life changing profitability

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Renovation of commercial buildings and the challenges they encompass to become profitable assets to hold within portfolio.

Im an agent/investor in the area. Highly familiar with the area.

@Michele Earley I'm an investor in the area and happen to be an experiened agent. PM me if I can be of assistance. Look forward to chatting. Thanks