All Forum Posts by: Dennis Tierney

Robert:

Lately I've had good luck with American Family. I would look for an independent broker who could shop around for you. One thing I've run into lately is that they try to get you to buy complete replacement insurance rather than covering the market price. Complete replacement usually is much more expensive and may kill any cash flow. Good luck

As of next Friday (31st) we'll be up to 306 units. I started in 2005. 72 of those are in two syndicates that I set up so the number I actually receive income from would be about 244. 108 are owned by my SDIRA and my next goal is to transition them to a Roth SDIRA so the income would be tax free when eventually withdrawn

I agree with Roy and would find a less invasive bank. I have used estoppels before on my own but have not had them required by a bank. If their estoppel is so complicated and demanding I'd hate to see their loan agreement.

@Andrew M. My son and daughter in law moved from Santa Barbara last year to Omaha. They both have jobs with stable cos. now and have bought a 5 bdrm. home and now also have 2 rental houses. There is no way they could have done that by staying in CA. They lived there for 5 years and were stuck in a 2 bdrm. apartment  and their monthly mortgage now is less than their apt. rent . The lifestyle they live here was unachievable for them there. 

I have used a HELOC to help purchase an apartment. It was to help make the downpayment, not as the primary loan. We paid off the HELOC in a year and have reused it to make another investment. Works well if you have the outside income to pay it down but don't use it as the primary finance for a proerty.

@Greg We own a school on the historic register that was rehabbed into apartments and the units that were made into lofts are the most sought after. The buildings are circa 1899 and 1929 and will be here long after I'm gone. I am biased but would favor lofts.

We put WiFi into a 48 unit apartment this summer and it was welcomed by the tenants and is a good selling point to the university a block away that has rented 10 of the units. So far it's worked well.

@Drew Denham Old is not necessarily bad when it is the exterior with rehab interior. By the price you quoted though i suspect it hasn't been updated and it depends if you want to take on the rehab and what you'll have when done. I closed a 4 unit portfolio last month that consisted of a 12 plex built in 1890, 8 plex (converted house) in 1920, 19 unit rehabbed school from 1925 and 21 unit school from 1910. All were rehabbed in the '90s. I bought another rehabbed school in 2013 that was built part in 1899 and the other part in 1929. All are all brick and will outlive me. A good rehab makes these desirable buildings but caveat emptor.

2013: Closed on a 38 unit mixed use property (Apartments/preschool/offices) at the end of the year.

2014: Closed on 2nd syndicated apartment (48 unit that required some rehab), 60 unit outside of the IRA and 10/31/14 going to close on a 28 unit to be owned by the SDIRA.

2015: Not sure yet but hope to get a 3rd syndicated apartment 

@Nathan J. As a multifamily investor that uses property management companies I favor large sized properties because the economies of scale allow them to more easily support professional 3rd party management. Most of what I've read say that to more reasonably support using a management co. you should have a minimal size of 20 units. that being said you can do it if you buy correctly, especially a property with significant upside to the rents. I have no knowledge of your local market or the management cos. available to you, but, that makes a significant impact on your success with this strategy. Good luck.