All Forum Posts by: Grant Smith
Grant Smith has started 3 posts and replied 13 times.
Post: Wholesale flipping a fixer upper
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
Quote from @Rickina Velte:
Quote from @Grant Smith:
In addition, you can reach out to a local hard money lender (not a national lender) and they will point you in the direction of fix and flippers who would make an offer.
Hi Grant, would a Google search turn up viable local hard money lenders usually?
That may work. Local hard money lenders are often not fantastic marketers so you may have more success by going to your local real estate investors association or local investor meetups.
Post: Newb: young buck that just moved to Columbus. Any advice on zip codes/strategies?
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
The best thing you can do is read a few real estate books, run the numbers of prospective investments every day, go to your local meetups, find an agent, and submit offers.
Take action and you'll be rewarded. The goal isn't to crush it on your first deal but to hopefully get paid to learn.
Everything is 10x easier after your first deal.
Post: Buy & Hold and Fix & Flip?
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
As a hard money lender based out of Ohio, most clients start out in the fix-and-flip space to acquire cash and once they have a surplus, they will deploy it into a buy-and-hold opportunity. Rinsing and repeating until they are just full-time buy and hold. That's my personal experience from 32 loans over the last 4 years.
Post: Gas Station to Auto Service Center with Long-Term Triple Net Lease
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
Quote from @John McKee:
Great deal! what kind of tenant is it?
It's a diesel truck repair company. The guy is meticulous and has been in the family business his whole life (started his own business). He's just in his 30's. Hoping he renews again. NNN is great nonetheless.
Post: Wholesale flipping a fixer upper
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
In addition, you can reach out to a local hard money lender (not a national lender) and they will point you in the direction of fix and flippers who would make an offer.
Post: House flipping loan
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
Quote from @Eliott Elias:
Use hard money, borrow the 15% down from your partner and let the lenders fund the rest.
Do exactly as Eliott says here. Speaking as a hard money lender and real estate investor out of Cincinnati, OH. Way less cash of pocket, much higher cash on cash return and it gives you way more reserves for contingencies. If you need a referral to a lender in Florida, just send me a message.
Post: Finding a Mentor and Guidance
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
Quote from @Alex Wise:
Hey BP Community 👋🏼
I’m a follower and consumer of Bigger Pockets knowledge. With SO many real estate investors and different methods out there, I’m getting analysis paralysis on my next moves.
So far, I’ve purchased a 3 bedroom single family in a historic quiet neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Its central and homes here hold their value but they are older - Clintonville if ya know it. It’s close to Ohio State University.
I've started some updates and plan to rent out the whole home(A), split it into 2 units(B), or rent it out per bedroom(C) to see if the STR/MTR route will work for me.
I can use AirDNA and look on AirBnB and Furnished Finder to look at numbers and make guesstimated but I’m really missing having a sounding-board/someone with experience about next steps - 1. How much to invest in updates 2. Should I self-manage and live there or rent out the whole house and manage remotely 3. Should I refinance and cash out for my next purchase 4. Should I just consider this a mini flip and sell while houses are still going pretty quickly in this area and start somewhere else with a different strategy.
I’m starting to bang my head against the wall with options and a lack of strategy. I’m curious in how people have uncovered the following in their real estate lives:
1. How can I find a mentor?
2. How can I make it valuable for them to want to mentor me?
I kinda turn off when people sell a course or mentee opportunity but maybe that’s working for people and I should open my mind a bit.
I’m open to ideas and appreciate convo/input on the topic of mentors. I’m also happy to answer any questions on my experience so far if helpful too.
Thanks all!
Hey Alex - A little background here, I've originated $6 million in hard money loans (my own Ohio based company) and bought 80,000 square feet of storage. I've never had a mentor but I have joined some cheap online masterminds, asked Facebook groups, etc. Whenever I had a question, I reached out and people just seemed to help me along the way. If I had to pay for advice, I just paid for it to move on to the next chapter of my investment journey. 99% of early-stage investing is about honing the skills to do more of the same or to do it on larger properties. It sounds like you need to find a good STR or student housing property manager and ask them a bunch of questions to finish your investment strategy. So find one and invite them out for coffee to talk real estate or meet them for lunch. You're a prospective client and they should be happy to help you out!
Post: Are all hard money lenders this bad?
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
I'm definitely biased as a local hard money lender, but I highly recommend networking with your local private/hard money lenders and only going the national lender route when the loan size is too large for the local guys.
That issue with national lenders changing the appraisal and thus, your loan quote shouldn't be adjusted more than once unless your loan close process takes months. We quote borrowers based upon what they tell us with the purchase price, rehab, and ARV and then perform our BPO.
Once our BPO is done then we present final terms. That's it. If borrowers accept, then we close in 5 - 7 business days. The local guys will know your market, underwrite quicker and usually will be more aggressive with LTVs because they know your market.
You can find some local lenders at your real estate investors association.
Post: Hard Money Loan
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
If you own other property free and clear, you can cross-collateralized the free and clear property in lieu of a down payment. Most hard money lenders will do it if they know how.
You can also raise private capital for the down payment or JV the project. 50% of something is always better than 100% of nothing.
I have also seen some investors taking out personal loans from places like SOFI. This can be extremely risky, but it is an option when the deal makes sense.
Post: LLC for Hard Money
- Lender
- Cincinnati, OH
- Posts 18
- Votes 11
It's not uncommon for a hard money lender to require a loan to be to an LLC. This helps the lender avoid litigation from the borrower stating that the loan was for a personal residence instead of a non-owner-occupied investment property.
Regarding the filing status of your LLC, talk to your CPA and they will present you with options and recommendations based on your situation.