All Forum Posts by: Megan Hirlehey

Hi Guys, I am a property investor from Melbourne (sort of), Victoria, Australia. I have properties in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and I have recently started looking at the U.S market. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts and after exhausting all of the available Australian titles I recently purchased "the book on rental property investing" by Brandon Turner.

The market in Australia seems very different from the U.S with most investors buying negatively geared (not sure if you have the tax break in the U.S) properties in the $500k+ range and then hoping for capital growth. The way we calculate yield is different but cashflow is poor in Australia and you generally have to wait 4 or 5 years before a property becomes positive cashflow.

Due to massive capital growth in Sydney and Melbourne (Australia's two biggest markets) in the last five years our banks have been forced to becomes much stricter on lending which has slowed the ability to invest. One of the ways to improve your ability to borrow is to improve cash flow, hence my interest in the U.S market.

At this stage I am trying to find a region in the U.S that I can start purchasing cheap buy and hold style rentals, preferably single family houses that cashflow.

If anyone is interested in the Australian market let me know, I don't have anything to sell but I love to have a chat about property!

Welcome! I'm a relatively new investor in Pittsburgh, but I grew up here so I have a pretty good sense of the quality of the neighborhoods around here and where the "lines" are. You can definitely get into this market in the $40-50k range, but you'll need people on the ground here to find those deals, you won't find them on Zillow/MLS/etc. Like a bunch of people previously mentioned, the go/no-go lines aren't very obvious on Google maps around here. I was prospecting a new neighborhood I'm interested in earlier this week and it was literally the difference of 1-2 blocks that separated strong, working class neighborhoods from D-class areas that I wouldn't touch. Being on a completely different continent, your team will be of utmost importance regardless of what area you are in. Fell free to PM me if you want more specific recommendations or just to chat about the prospects around here. Good luck!

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Really sorry to hear that. Can you pass along the contractor's name and company information? I'll be looking for a contractor in Pitt in the near future and want to know who to avoid. Also, update us on how it all works out. Best of luck to you!

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I have the same question so I’m going to follow this discussion. I remodeled a house from the ground up about 5 years ago, and with everything being brand new at the time, I didn’t think it was necessary. I never liked the idea of a warranty for my personal residence because I’ve heard (never had experience with one) that you’re pretty limited in replacement options and I just feel like I’d rather save the money I’d expand on a warranty and then if/when the time comes I have hopefully saved enough to replace whatever broke with exactly what I want. For rentals, I’ll probably invest in one though because I’m not as concerned with options for replacement as I am with minimal expenses. That’s my take right now, having no personal experience with one. I’m interested to see what other people think.

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Hi BP. I keep seeing the term “depreciation recapture” pop up in my research, and it sounds like a b!tch. How exactly does it apply to real estate investing and on what types of real estate deals would you encounter it (flips, buy and hold, wholesale, etc)? I’m just trying to learn more about if it is something I’ll likely encounter in my strategy of mostly “buy and hold” and how to plan for it. Thanks!

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I’m pretty new as well. I’ve been sitting on the sideline just learning for the last year or so, and I remember in the beginning it was very overwhelming to know which direction to go. I started just by listening to podcasts during my commutes to and from work, and the BP podcasts especially are pretty diverse in that you get a taste of several different strategies just by listening to the interviews. That can help you narrow it down to an area you’re interested in. Also, another thing to consider is what strategies are available to you given your current circumstances? Do you have a lot of time but not a lot of money? Wholesaling or “bird-dogging” would be a good place to start your research. Do you have a lot of cash laying around but not much time to analyze deals? Then buy-and-hold and/or private lending is probably a better way to go. I’d start with taking a look at what you have right now in the way of capital, time, or other skills and see what strategy those seem to fit into best, then research the hell out of your chosen strategy. Good luck!

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This is slightly off topic, as far as I don’t know who has what rights, BUT you mentioned you were considering withholding rent for the amount of days you don’t have gas. DO NOT DO THIS. EVER. Although you are not responsible for paying rent for an uninhabitable unit, the decision is not up to you. In almost all jurisdictions there is an actual, legal process to follow to withhold rent. You’d have to research the specifics for your jurisdiction, but simply saying, “I don’t have heat so I don’t think I should have to pay rent” sets you up for an expensive legal nightmare if the landlord decides to come after you for missing a rent payment, or worse pursue eviction (depending on how long the problem lasts and how much rent you didn’t pay..)

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Many states and counties also require transfer taxes when you move a property into an LLC, which is also something to consider. Im using a loan against my primary residence for my first rental, but my primary residence isn’t under the LLC. You could try that if you have enough equity in a private residence. You could also try to borrow against the property you bought in cash, the lender may allow a commercial loan since you already own the property you are borrowing against. Private money lenders typically will lend against any income-producing property without regard to the entity that wins it also.

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Thank you all. Another question- What is reasonable to expect to pay for ongoing services? Like if I want more help than just filing taxes such as advising and strategy. Are these services usually fee based, or a percentage of earnings or something?

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Brian - they took about 2 days to respond to my initial inquiry to set up an appointment which annoyed me, but when they did it was the owner who called me to set up a meeting so I’ll give them a pass. Beyond that, haven’t had any other experience yet. Yonah - thanks for the link, I’ll check out that post right now!

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I used a company called Pittsburgh Exteriors for my remodel around 2012ish. I’ve been told that they have since moved to Greensburg, so I’m not sure if they still do work in the Pittsburgh area but it’s worth a phone call. They had the best price by about 30% for 3/4 of my house (I had the front stuccoed), and they were quick and did really good work. 5ish years later, their work is still good, I haven’t had any issues with peeling siding or missing soffet/fascia etc. granted, it has been some time since they did work for me, and the fact that they moved makes me wonder if they’re under new management, but they would still be my first phone call if I needed siding again for another project.

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

All Forum Posts by: Megan Hirlehey

Megan Hirlehey has started 30 posts and replied 133 times.

Post: Australian investor in foreign territory!

Post: Attorney Recommendations to sue Contractor Abandoning Project

Post: To Have A Home Warranty Or Not? The Debate

Post: What is depreciation recapture?

Post: Where do I start! im lost on what to study specifically

Post: Tenant Rights California: No Hot Water

Post: Buying privately and putting it into an LLC

Post: What should I look for in a CPA?

Post: What should I look for in a CPA?

Post: Anyone know any good siding professionals in Pittsburgh, PA?