All Forum Posts by: Damon Wong

I've come to the point where my current EA, while great and knowledgeable about multi-state tax law, just does not meet my needs as a real estate investor.  I'm in the military, so reside in at a duty station in one state, claim my home of record for taxes in another state, and own properties in multiple additional states.  

Does anyone have any suggestions or can point me to a good forum discussion to find a new CPA/EA with strong real estate investor background/practice? I don't necessarily need someone in my current state (VA), but just want someone who can help guide a tax strategy, timely tax filing, secure document handling, and responsive service. Also, any additional considerations for choosing a CPA would be great too, as I've learned so much already from these forums.

Thank you. 

Is this property still available?

Michael Le thanks for the insight. I will definitely seek partners to help meet those. Great pointers. Brent Shryock are there different (or more) requirements for FHA to consider or is there any reason I shouldn't shoot for an FHA multi vs 'conventional'?

Brian Adams Seth Williams Brent Shryock Michael Le Eric James Thanks all for the comments. I have 5 single family homes now since 2009 and wanted to break into the multi family market with this first 9-unit property I found (after searching for a while). I guess I just didn't realize that with non recourse loans the lenders still require substantial personal finances to back the loan. It threw me off when the initially inquiry from the lender was all about me and didn't even ask about the actual property or my experience. I'll continue to shop and around with the advice mentioned and see what I can do.

So I started my search for financing a multi family property and was hit with this response: "You are asking for a 1.9 million dollar loan. You will need at least $380,000 (20%) to put down on the property + loan expenses and 9 to 10 months monthly payments. Your net worth will need to be at least 1.52 million dollars. Do you meet these requirements?" I get the 20% down (80% LTV), but not entirely the other two, is this standard? 9-10 months monthly payments I can understand (although not sure if 9-10 is high or not) because the bank wants to ensure you're covered for emergencies or to get off the ground---similar to some SFR financing requirements. But, why does my net worth need to be $1.52M. Does this change if/when I form my business entity for the purchase? I don't understand how they calculate the $1.52M. Also, there is no consideration for the property. I thought commercial loans focused on the property's income vs my personal status? If this property verified it generates $1M in annual income (it doesn't, but just an example) wouldn't that be enough? Just looking for some education on the underwriting requirements for multi family. Thanks.

James A. Much appreciate the thorough advice. I'm definitely interested in a JV and splitting up the backend profits to just get the experience; just haven't found a good partner or mentor yet. Was thinking to find a GC to provide that half of the equation if possible. Even going to auctions is for the experience. I've been driving up to Baltimore every weekend I can to take pictures and feel out the different neighborhoods. I appreciate the info and I'll certainly follow your progress too. Thanks!

Thanks Carl Martin ! I too have seen others successful in that market and have been looking for a while, specifically because of due diligence on the numbers (maybe even a little too slow a times).

I'm looking to purchase a highly distressed property in Baltimore, Maryland and looking for any recommendations for a good GC to help me through it. Probably purchasing within a month or 2 if I find a suitable property. Many I have looked at via auctions need major work. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

@Joseph England Excellent work!  What was your strategy for finding the property?  I have been looking at various areas in Baltimore as well.  Wondering if I should outsource the property searches or keep hitting the ground myself.  Thanks.  

@Joseph England that is an amazing flip job! I'll definitely be following as I'm new to Northern Virginia but saw a lot of potential in the Baltimore area. Can you also send me any GC recommendations as my current search has been pretty generic at the moment and I'm not sure how to evaluate them. Thanks and keep up the great work!