All Forum Posts by: Matt Crusinberry

@Christian E Hardin, I would suggest you look for a deal, no matter what the market is doing, and continue to learn the in's and out's of real estate. People buy in up markets, down markets, or plateaued markets. My recommendation would also be to make sure you have enough cash reserve, acquire long term debt, and buy for cash flow. Joe Fairless actually talks about this in his book too, and we have been doing it as well. If you plan for the worst case scenario, your numbers are still good, and you're able to take down the property, I would do it. Otherwise you may be waiting a long time to figure out what the market is doing. I hope this helps, and good luck!

@Jagrut Patel, We do both and for different reasons. There is a ton of information about this here on biggerpockets: blogs, forums, videos, etc. It would be easier for you to search and figure out which one is best for your current situation. Good luck!

@Heather U., I believe this depends on which one you owe less on, utilizing the debt snowball that is (as per Dave Ramsey). This really depends on you and your goals. We try to buy properties that we can BRRRR, put the money back, and then use the properties income to pay for the new mortgage on that particular property. This allows us to do it again and again, thus using it like a credit card with low interest payments. I personally would use the rent money to pay off the HELOC so you can use it again and again. I hope this helps, and feel free to PM me if you would like more specifics. Good luck!

@Brandon Holley, Check out Meli Gerogianis from JKA Properties. She's studied under 

Robert Kiyosaki (is her pitch), and is familiar with investors. 

Good luck!

@Ryan Jackson, Your property needs to under go what people refer to as seasoning. I'm assuming you purchased this property off of the MLS vs. buying it at auction/tax sale/seller financing, etc. I would suggest you give it a 6 months to a year before you try refinancing. You do have the option of disagreeing with the appraisal and fighting it. What we did when we were faced with this situation is... we went back to the bank with reasons why we felt that the appraisal was not accurate. We also put together a folder with evidence that supported our reasoning. The bank agreed with us and order another appraisal.

You could also contact the appraising company and ask what is the time line they typically need for supporting evidence to increase the property's value (comp's in the area). I hope this helps, and if you would like to know how we did this exactly, feel free to PM me. Good luck!

@Mike Huerta, If you're talking about a single family resident to a quadplex, I wouldn't even worry about cap rate. I also would never recommend to anyone to buy for appreciation, unless they are very familiar with their market. I personally buy for cash flow, make sure I have plenty of cash reserves, and seek long term debt, much like Joe Fairless suggests as well. Along with that, I look for deals that are not on the market. 

If you buy right and are conservative with your numbers, it shouldn't matter what the market is doing. A deal is a deal if done correctly. I hope this helps and good luck!

@Brady Boyer, 4 units or less will be considered residential, and that goes for every bank as far as I know (I have never heard of a bank considering it anything else). Residential properties are based off of comparables (comp's/CMA's) via the appraiser. 5 units or more will utilize NOI and other determining factors for loan appraisals. I hope this helps, and good luck!

@Antuan La, You may want to try starting a yellow letter campaign. There are numerous individuals on here that have examples of one's. An alternative option would be to find a company that will do this for you, however your costs will go up. 

Also look into social media, most people use FB these days and you can message them. Search out their numbers and call them directly. Also, hit the search bar here on BP, you will find other strategies that others have used. Good luck!

@Daniel Walton, Congrats on your deal! Your appraisal is going to based off of the properties that surround it, in regards to the amount of beds/baths/sq ft. You'll also need to consider the seasoning factor for your property, which can be anywhere from 6-12 months. As far as any upgrades, again I would suggest you look throughout your neighborhood to see what others may have. There are other suggestions that I can give you, just PM me for more specifics if you would like further assistance. I hope this helps, and good luck!

@Suzanne Lee, You can pull your data from free websites online (i.e. zillow), realtor (i.e. CMA's), or depending on the type of data you're looking for you may use your country courthouse. Also, in regards to compensation, if you don't sign anything with them you don't have to use them; however, this is very bad business and not recommend. If you're able to negotiate with a seller on your own, but you found them using a realtor, feel free to give them a tip (e.g. a percentage of the purchase price). This will go a long way in the continuous relationship. Good luck!