All Forum Posts by: Eunice Villarroel

Hi there. I have done the same thing and a lot of the advice here is very good. I’d like to caution against charging utilities though. Specially if you want A more passive investment. Otherwise it’s only a matter of time before all your tenants start complaining about who used up more utilities than the other  which can cause tension in the house and little arguments and drama that you do not want to deal with specially as a new landlord if that is where you’re at right now.  Instead what I do with the properties that I manage is that I include the cost of utilities so I charge each one of them about $200 additional to what the original rents are going for. When utilities are included tenants are OK with paying additional costs and it’s a win-win for me because I do not get the drama on my utilities are covered

Hard money loans require 20%-25% down payment depending on lender. Totally out of your budget unfortunately.

I recommend you find a good realtor. Here are some things I’ve done to help me get my buyers accepted in the tough south Florida market that may help you too. You can sweeten the deal by offering a little more money (above ask offer) to seller, write a personal letter (about yourself, family, why you want the house etc.) to seller and attach to offer. As a real estate agent I’ve done that and it works sometimes. I’ve also gone straight to meet with sellers and just introduce myself and ask them about their goals to see if I can include terms into contract that would benefit them. Example- had a buyer that really wanted to buy a certain  house. I drove by to see owners made friends and found out they wanted a certain amount of time to move after closing. My buyer and I wrote in an offer that gave them 20 days after closing to move out and I pitched in part of my commission to cover their moving costs. Offer accepted. Hope this helps :)

I have tenants that do their own lawn care. Changing that soon since one of them destroyed the sprinkler, and does not really care for the lawn at all. I recommend you state that sprinkler repairs are their responsibility and have PROOF THAT SPRINKLERS WERE IN GOOD WORKING CONDITION TO AVOID THE “SPRINKLER WAS ALREADY BROKEN” LINE. 

ALSO AD INTO CONTRACT SPECIFICS ON HOW OFTEN THE LAWN CARE SHOULD BE DONE AND WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE IN EXACT DOLLAR AMOUNT IF FAILURE TO DO SO. 

DONT EXPECT YOUR TENATS TO HAVE COMMON SENSE WRITE CONTRACT AS DETAILED AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN 

Dark gray/navy blue with white walls, and marble counters.

ive actually been looking into cabinets with glass in them too. They are a bit on the pricier side but they look amazing and it’s less work having to repaint them constantly 

I like to play it safe with any investment with adjustable rate loans they can fluctuate and with interest rates rising I would definitely be concerned. In purchasing a property like this in this market you are betting on appreciation going up as well as hopefully some cash flow. As real estate agents/Investors we do not posses a crystal ball to tell for sure but there are things we can do to mitigate the risks. If I was in your position I would sit down with  lender and see if you could later refinance into a fixed rate without incurring penalties or what my exit strategies could be. I would also keep a good amount of money in reserves. The less money you have in reserves the riskier the purchase. Home prices are also leveling out which means we are not seeing prices dramatically increase anymore so it could be a while before your property builds up the 25% equity organically -depending on your market of course. If you have the funds, you’ve researched your market, done the numbers, done the research, found ways to mitigate the risk, asked the right questions and you see that this is a good deal then jump in it. If not then DONT DO IT PLEASE.

P.S ALSO USE HYPOTHETICALS WITH YOUR LENDER TO GET A BETTER PERSPECTIVE “ IF MY INTEREST RATE WENT UP TO 10% HOW MUCH WOULD I BE LOOKING AT AS MONTHLY PAYMENTS” THEN DO THE MATH AND SEE IF THE BUILDING COULD COVER THAT AMOUNT.

BEST WISHES :)

 Try going directly to the city in person to ask for it. Sometimes that's the only way to know for sure.  Good luck 😊

I purchased a house at the beginning of pandemic in 2020 at a 3.25%  interest rate 30 year. I generate $1500 rental profit. 

I am able to pull out 95k if I refinance at a 5.1% interest rate  30 year amortization which would bring my rental profit to $700/month. I would use the 95k to reinvest into another property just dont have one in mind yet.

is it worth forfeiting a 3.25% interest rate for only 95k that I could get in 4 years of rental profits?

Amazing! And you are only 19! Congratulations 

Books are amazing, podcasts, YouTube everything you can get your hands on but nothing beats real world experience. If I were in your shoes I’d start by connecting with top agents and offering to shadow them in my time off. The right agent will help you connect with investors in your area as well as teach you negotiation skills, how to calculate prices, repair costs and draw up comparables. When you meet an investor you believe you can benefit from offer him/her value in exchange for allowing you to SHADOW them. PLEASE DO NOT JUST APPROACH ONE OF THEM AND SAY “HEY I LOVE REAL ESTATE CAN YOU TEACH ME?” They are very busy people, they don’t have time to sit down and teach you. You learn as you go.

hope this helps :) best wishes