All Forum Posts by: Dan Baker

Not surely,  we're still at historic lows today.  Run a quick google search, Freddie shows history since 1971.

Networking with local experts and reading up on local laws is absolutely the first step that you're going to want to take.  I've even called the county office when I couldn't find any concrete ruling to ask what their opinions were on short term rentals and it's been very helpful.

I agree with Peter about checking Airdna for initial analysis. Joshua Tree is expected to continue to be one of the best markets for Airbnb and has fantastic occupancy with a pretty good nightly rate. Last I checked they are still welcoming of new Airbnb properties though have recently banned people from buying vacant land and just renting out an Airstream (which is pretty popular out that way).

My wife and I are interested in buying commercial property in her home town. The specific property that we are looking at has a couple of retail store fronts along with 2 apartment units.

What are the best things for us to request from the seller in order to vet the leases and whether tenants are paying rent on time?

just get a duplex in West Allis 

Seriously though, what are your goals? Buy and hold, cash flow, flip, place to live in, etc

Hey Dan,

Another Dan here in Denver looking to do the same thing. Did you ever make the move?  How is it working out for you?

 What about the cost of repairs and improvements, would you add that to the cash invested into the property?

I had the exact same call from a tenant. They swore the furnace was broken because it wasn’t getting to 74. I had to point out that being below feeezing outside it would be much colder than 70 in the house if the furnace was out.  

Either bake the cost into rent/estimate and charge tenants (like current owner) or put in two separate heating systems.  There are no other work arounds.

Personally, I have one furnace and just bake the costs into my rent. I'm searching for my next investment with separate heating systems & electric because I would prefer to have my tenants pay the bills.

If it's your first property just forego the LLC and get a good insurance policy. Being your first one you have nothing to "protect" apart from the home in a case of a law suit. The LLC comes into play later, also still a risk on having the loan recalled or adjusted once interest rates rise in a few years.

If you're thinking about the LLC for passthrough income... you still might as well buy first. An LLC takes about 5 minutes to create (along with getting your federal tax ID) but you may as well save the hassle of taxes and paying the state filing fee until you actually own the property.

The monthly payment on your HELOC will be higher than the monthly payment of your loan if you did the refi. If you increase your monthly payment on the refi (to payoff additional equity each payment) you will be paying down the "loan" just as quickly as paying off your HELOC, but at a cheaper rate.