All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.
Andrew S. has started 51 posts and replied 1006 times.
Post: Insurance for an empty (sort of) property
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Sharon Powell:
Give Allen Jones Insurance in La Vernia a call. He takes care of my investments and is worth the phone call. You’ll see why. :)
Thanks Sharon - sounds a bit mysterious :-) - but sure, I'll give him a call. Thanks for the suggestion
Post: Insurance for an empty (sort of) property
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @John Mocker:
Andrew,
The coverage for Vacant properties has improved over the past few years and the coverages available may not be a big drop off from standard coverage. The big draw back Is the cost. Generally 2-3 times the cost. There are also generally more exclusions than a standard policy. The occupied building on the property complicates the situation. My guess is that you can find an Excess (aka Surplus) lines carrier for the Vacant building and the Liability. You should be able to get a standard dwelling policy for the occupied building but not for the liability. I would check around, because the property is partially occupied there may be a standard market that will take it. Be very careful to review any application you sign to make sure it discloses the vacant building. Good Luck
Thanks John! Complicated! I'm mostly worried about liability - there is no mortgage so the estate could "self-insure" the dwellings, if necessary, but the liability part scares me. Do you know if anyone writes "liability only" policies for such situations?
Post: Insurance for an empty (sort of) property
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
I'm dealing with an insurance question in San Antonio. The property consists of a SFR plus a "in-law cottage". The property is part of an estate and it will likely take a year or more to distribute the estate (I'm the executor). The SFR is currently empty and the cottage is rented. Previous insurance company doesn't want to insure the property anymore because the main dwelling is empty. What are my options? I know I could find a tenant for the dwelling and then get landlord insurance, but that is not preferred at the moment. Any thoughts?
Post: Replace Gas with Electric?
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Pat L.:
We were glad we opted to remain with gas at our FL home because the last (2017) electrical outage was 2 weeks. It's rare but when it happens you also usually find your propane BBQ tank on close to empty!!!!
Moreover, with access to natural gas, you can run a generator for those two weeks without running out of fuel.
Post: HML plus conventional financing?
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Colten Thiel:
@Jon Holdman @Dave Rav I see I see. Well I do appreciate the feedback! I don't mind having skin in the game, but a property I'm evaluating is a 4plex that is just out of reach for my current income to get a conventional loan. Looks like I'll be moving toward finding partners. Thanks!
Note however, that if you plan on living in one of the 4 units, then you can qualify (assuming your W2 income is high enough) for much higher LTV loans (5% down or even less in some cases). But if you do NOT owner-occupy then it is actually very likely 25-30% down for a multifamily (as @Jon Holdman points out, it is 20% for single family rentals)
Post: Minimums for Syndication?
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
Originally posted by @Todd Dexheimer:
I think the biggest issue with small dollar requirements is the communication with investors. If you learn how to properly communicate, then everything else can be automated. Walmart is a fairly large company and they will sell you a share for much less than $5,000. I know it's not quite the same, but still applicable. Crowdfunding is typically $5000 and sometimes even less.
There are advantages and disadvantages to different minimums. Those that have $100k+ minimums are excluding a lot of potential investors, they may not care, because they have a lot of money coming in. If you allow $5000 you will have a lot more potential investors available and be offering your fantastic investment vehicle to a lot more people that really could benefit from the opportunity. The downside (other that having more investors) is that you will likely get investors that would have put in $50,000 if that was your minimum, but now they put in much less.
this is where i just cringed when i saw crowdfunders coming into the space accepting 1k to 5k in deals the client management would just get unweildy.. and its come to pass. you get someone on BP ragging about POL and they might have 5k in a deal or you have a 200k loan POL did and it have 30 investors in it.. OUCH
Right! But even the crowdfunders are slowly raising their minimum asks. Realty Mogul used to be just a few thousand minimum and now most of the offerings run 20-50k. Same with PoL - not quite as high yet, but going up too....
Post: Do you need Title Insurance for Vacant Land?
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Julie Marquez:
@Jon Holdman It appears on the surface that the risk is lower on a vacant piece of land, but insurance exists for the things you can't see. Maybe the premium for this insurance would be less than normal.
The premium depends on the value of the property, so if it is very cheap dirt then the premium will be low. If it is $300k/ac expensive dirt, then the premium will be high.
Post: Background checks - Cozy takes so long!
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Donald S.:
i just started, but when my tenant used cozy i had it back same day. probably computer glitch. contact cozy.
Agreed - I just did one through cozy that came back the same day too
Post: Finding my Rock Star Team..
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Liz Cole:
@Andrew Johnson I used that Rock Star term light-heartedly.
At this point, how does anyone do a flip if all the subs are lazy and unreliable?
This is the very key point of the previous comments - it is why you have to be there constantly, check up on the subs, make sure they show, sometimes you have to ride them, sometimes even ramrod them.
I know you understand that, Liz, and intend to be on site - and it sounds like you have the wits to pull it off.
Post: Finding my Rock Star Team..
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
@Johann Batista: I don't see where Jay was implying women can't do the job. He merely pointed out that when working in the construction field, sometimes it is necessary to personally push (or, yes, in some cases ramrod) the project along. Jay has decades of experience with this and knows how the "real world" works. Yes, you can probably hire enough project managers and topnotch contractors so that you don't have to be quite as "hands on", but it will cost you dearly, and it is not the way to optimize profits. Based on your posts, you have a pretty idealistic maybe even idyllic view of the whole construction field. Those who have been in the field for some time know that active management/oversight/cajoling/improvising and yes, sometimes ramrodding, is a must if you want to get things done on budget and on time.