All Forum Posts by: Dolf Al Emara

hi Kyle,

the key is to find the right bank which accept that scenario. some banks would fund rehab cost (80% of rehab costs is normal, 100% if you are lucky!) and add it to your mortgage, if the numbers make sense to the underwriter. what does that mean? it means that if you purchase a house for $50K, your expected rehab is $100K, make sure your comps or ARV in that area is higher than $150K, by 10% or 20% to be on the safe side. give the bank a reason to take extra risk to help you with rehab.

if the above did not work for you, there is another way to do it. you can get loan for $50K, then talk to another bank to fund only rehab costs. some banks specializes in funding only rehabs. you can also get funding from private money lender. after your rehab, rent the property and refinance to pay back the rehab costs. I know it's longer and more expensive method to do, but it's good plan B. 

cheers and best of luck.

Dolf

Hi @Alex Barnett,

I’m assuming you had to find an alternate contractor during the rehabs. 

1. How did you find them? I found them online, in yellow pages, yelp, etc. 

2. What was your biggest lesson learned from working with original contractor? the biggest lesson is do not give contractor too much money in advance. always check for history and ask for referrals first. always work with licensed contractor, not handy man when doing big jobs. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in El Cerrito.

Purchase price: $327,000
Cash invested: $45,000
Sale price: $875,000

this deal opened my eyes to massive shift towards real estate investing

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to enjoy solid investment, great appreciation. I did not want to pay rent and watch money go into abyss.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

through a real estate agent. I did negotiate the pricing little bit and was successful.

How did you finance this deal?

Normal bank financing, then refinanced it to get much better deal.

How did you add value to the deal?

remodeled the kitchen, remodeled one bedroom, new electrical, new paint, redesigned the backyard, front yard, and replaced traditional water heater with tankless to create more room.

What was the outcome?

great, as expected, if not even more.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

working with contractors, filing a lawsuit against one of them, finishing work on time and on budget with no overruns

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

no.

Hi Annie,

I have not yet seen any property that numbers make sense. If I see, I would definitely buy it. 

cheers and thanks for the comments.

Dolf 

Hi Trina,

I am in the same boat as you. I feel like, the more buildings in the space, the less prices should be. here is the catch: I talked to Agents and property mgmt from the treasure valley area, and they all said that the inrush of people moving to Nampa made it still appealing to investors to buy pricy multifamily buildings. 

to me personally, unless I see the numbers make sense with my projections, I would not buy just because everybody is buying. this is not my mentality as an investor.  

cheers!

Dolf

1. not sure why I need to call department. do you think the city will not allow me to buy in their city? I doubt it. 

2. I have sales comp for last year to date for Mountain Home city. the price I got for the 4-plex building is good and below market by 5% or so.

3. I already did that. I want more info on that regard. do I need to look for employment numbers? is city population is key? how can I look at a city as a full picture, not only few cosmetic things like comps. 

the main question is, and I repeat. should I buy in Nampa? or in Mountain Home? and why? 

thanks for the reply.

Dolf 

Hi investors,

I am an investor from California and would like to invest out of state for the first time in my life. I am familiar with SF bay area and LA area markets. however, I know little bit about Nampa, Eagle, Boise, and Mountain Home areas in Idaho. they look good on papers, but what should I be looking for as a market research before committing to buying? I am starting with buying a FourPlex in Either Nampa or Mountain Home. 

for the seasoned, out of state investors, what things I need to look for before buying to avoid surprises in the future? my main concern is, I want to gain little bit on all four aspects of RE profits, i.e. appreciation, cash flow, loan pay down and tax. 

the other concern, I see there are plenty of subdivision under construction in the Nampa area and rapid price increase in properties. should I still buy in Nampa before it's too late and capture some appreciation? or just buy in Mountain Home (not much building going on, not sure about appreciation there)? 

Nampa population 2020: 96,000. 

Mountain Home population: 16,000. 

I am all ears. 

cheers!

Dolf