All Forum Posts by: Connor Kerr

@William Lemmon I have a property in Akron as well. I kept the existing tenant and they had been using the cares act to pay their rent prior to me buying the place. What happened was, since the landlord changed, they had to reapply for the rent assistance. The process took about 3 months and there was really nothing I could do but wait until the filing was complete. I was left paying the full amount for my property for the first 3 months. Once the file was complete, Akron United Way sent me a check of what I was owed plus late fees. Now my tenant pays me through a money order and United Way reimburses them.

Idk if that helps but that has been my experience with the cares act.

I just bought my first deal in October. It’s a house hack duplex. Things are going well but I’m just at a loss for what to do next.

I would specifically like some advice for what others have done/did after they secured their first deal.

I think my one of my main concerns is how to finance the next one. I barely secured the loan for this one and with my current job, there’s no way I’ll qualify for another mortgage. But again I would love any piece of advice!

Thank you and I appreciate your time

I live in Akron, OH, about an hour south of Cleveland. I don't know a ton about the CLE market but I do know that @Marc Rice is spot on, the neighborhood is crucial. There's tons of bad areas in and around Cleveland. You just have to connect with someone who really knows the area. I'm not sure why someone would tell you, you can't do it, considering 100s and 100s and 100s of investors do it all the time. Don't take advice from naysayers, they're the ones who have never done it.

First of all welcome to BP and congrats on actively trying to become financially free! When I was looking at my first (and only) property I wanted to do a househack. I kept hearing about how you can get an FHA loan for multi families up to a quadruplex as long as you live there for a year minimum. I thought that would be awesome! What I later found out was that (One: the bank does not count the projected rental income as part of your income. They only do when you get a conventional or investing loan. (Two: Just because you have the down payment for let's say, a quadruplex, that doesn't mean you'll be able to afford the monthly payment. For example, when I was looking to get preapproved, I could afford an 80k loan with FHA. In 2021, there's no way I could find a halfway decent multifamily for 80k. So I asked what I could get with a conventional loan, which would've required a 15% down payment with the lender I was using. I was able to get a property worth up to 150k. I decided to go the conventional route because with my savings at the time and my extremely average income level, that's what made sense to get me into a duplex.

Hope this helps in some way!

I would say it all comes down to what your goals are. Are you looking to sell properties relatively quickly to scale or are you looking to increase your monthly income? I personally fall under the monthly income increase that come from rentals so that's my main concern. But at the same time I want something that will still appreciate over time. Just maybe not as quickly as others would want if that was their main concern.

@Alicia Marks

For me I knew I wanted to be a landlord, I had the knowledge and all that was left to do was figure it out on the way. I think a lot of people don’t start because they’re afraid they’ll fail. I was fortunate to buy my first deal at a young age so I’m able to take risks and still bounce back. Every situation is different so I would say once you have that initial knowledge about how the business works, just pull the trigger. You might fail at little things along the way but most likely you won’t fail by losing your property.

Good old fashioned budgeting. 

Take an hour or two to look at all your statements from the last couple months, calculate your average fixed expenses, investment allocation, utilities, food, etc... then create a budget from those numbers, and stick with it. The best way to do that is to allow yourself a little bit of fun money every month for doing things you enjoy doing. For instance, I set money aside for golf and camping every month. You can make a budget any day of the week but if you're miserable while you use it, you won't stick with it. I started my first budget when I was 18 y/o, two years later I purchased a duplex completely on my own. I'm living proof that budgets WORK! 

@Tony Capra I got mine off the MLS after looking at probably six properties. If you go the MLS route just be sure to set up a showing with your agent as soon as you see a property you're interested in. I only paid $1500 over asking which I thought was pretty good in this market. If you're looking for multi family you're at an advantage because for the most part only investors are looking at those so you have slightly less competition. I think there was around three other offers for mine.

As far as financing, I worked my tail off, six days a week for a year and a half to be able to get a conventional loan. I couldn't do an FHA because they wouldn't count the rent as income so I would've qualified for about 60k less than a conventional.

Good luck in your journey!

@Jeff Koval Congrats on your first deal! I just bought a duplex (my first deal) a couple months ago as well. I would like to get at least two more next year!

@Tony Capra I’m not looking in Cleveland but I do live in Akron where I just bought my first deal in October. Welcome to greatest wealth building tool on the planet!!