All Forum Posts by: Ghassan Jabali

Hello Mark,

Welcome to Bigger Pockets. I hope you're able to make lots of connections and learn a great deal about real estate.

When I started my real estate investing journey, I bought a fixer upper that needed some work. Both options are good, but ultimately it may depend on location, opportunity, and how much money you're able to save up and/or are willing to earmark for repairs. I think purchasing a fixer upper does help lower the initial price, but feels like one way or the other you're going to pay up for a good investment property.

One thing I will say is that I did transfer the property into a Trust/LLC structure and had a corporation to help with some of the deductions and write offs, which were able to offset income generated. I would recommend if you're not familiar with them to do a little research on Trusts and LLCs to see if they are a right fit for you as well.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello George,

I hope you're doing great and welcome to Bigger Pockets. Hopefully you're able to make many connections with investors and learn a good deal about different strategies.

When it comes to financing a first deal for an investment property, I may recommend purchasing the property first in your own personal name and trying to get as low of a rate as possible. Afterwards, you can transfer the property into a Trust and connect that Trust to an LLC for anonymity and asset protection, without compromising your loan. This can help you avoid higher commercial interest rates if you were planning on trying to purchase directly inside of an LLC.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello Drew,

I hope you're doing great. Yes, Multi-Family properties do seem to be very popular and sought after by investors. They are often seen as a great investment opportunity for investors to either maximize the amount of money they're investing in a given property for 2, 3, or 4 cash-flow returns or as a step up from Single Family Residence and Apartment Complex Investing.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello John,

I hope you're doing great. New York can be a good state for investing, however, it does pose its challenges with state laws requiring disclosures and being a little more tenant friendly. If you haven't done so already, I may recommend learning more about holding ownership interest in a trust or LLC structure for more asset protection, whether you own it directly or for your ownership interest in a percentage of an apartment complex.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello Axel,

I hope you're doing great. Generally, Real Estate does appreciate over time in the long term. While the property may not double in value over the next 7 years, it could still appreciate and grow with more value over the long run. However, if you are able to extract a large amount of money and reinvest in two properties then the value of money and appreciation would be for two properties instead of one property. One concern though is that you may be paying a higher rate of mortgage payments from how you were in 2017 and there can always be more unexpected issues with the new properties, such as crime rates, tenants within a certain price range, or other housing issues. These are all considerations to weigh between each other if you are thinking about keeping the current property and break even with it but still grow its equity, or to sell and try to purchase multiple properties and appreciate in value from there.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello Gitau,

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! I do hope you're able to make lots of connections with investors and real estate professionals, as well as learn a great deal about different markets and structures to protect your business assets.

If you're unfamiliar with trusts and LLCs, I may recommend learning a little more about them to be used with your investing and ownership of different real estate properties for asset protection and anonymity.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello Alex,

I hope you're doing well. Generally, California is a very tenant friendly state and there are a lot of protective laws at both the state and city level in favor of tenants. Signing a full 12 month lease is possible, however, they may likely break the lease and your ability to pursue them for the damages may vary depending on state statutes and local city ordinances. Allowing them to stay beyond the lease terms in a month to month tenancy can allow you to continue to lease the premises, with a potential rent increase because its month to month, but not have any broken lease situation. However, it does come with the draw back of them likely leaving at the end of October and you being stuck without tenants during a potential slow season. As you mentioned, you could simply not renew the lease with them and set the expectation/send the notice that they must vacate at the end of the lease term so you can then lease to tenants willing to stay for the full 12 month term. This could allow you to re-rent your property during peak renting periods.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello Allende,

I hope you're doing well. Your idea could work as it uses the goodwill that the tenants have built up and make them loyal and stay good tenants as you were willing to work with them when they were down on their luck. We strongly recommend that any arrangement needs to be in writing and signed so that it is fully binding and that there are no misunderstandings with regards to expectations and payment plans as you offer this discount.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello Bandu,

I hope you're doing great. Generally, providers should be able to provide coverage and insure the property with the LLC as the primary insured. However, if it is easier you could get the policy under your name but have the LLC as an additional insured to try to make sure it is protected.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hello Tom,

I hope you're doing well. Generally, bankruptcy proceedings will be able to go after any assets that they own and can allow creditors to even seek judgments on accounts to garnish them. This could affect their ability to pay you as a tenant, especially as they have demonstrated from previous interactions paying their rent late. Depending on what state the property is located on can also impact what options you have going forward for eviction if they do not pay. If you have regularly accepted late rent up to the 15th day of each month then they could also use that as a defense that they can keep paying you up to the 15th each month even with late fees (which may or may not be enforceable in a given city or state) and that you must accept it because you have accepted it before.

If they are nevertheless reliable tenants and you do wish to keep them then you could continue to lease it to them and even renew the lease in another year, but begin to curb acceptance of any late rent beyond the 15th of each month. If you are not wanting to risk anything with them further then the next time they are late you can seek local counsel and see if you can serve them to evict them since there could be serious concerns about their ability to pay based on any bankruptcy judgments and plans established.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.