All Forum Posts by: Greg Gaudet

@Clark Jarstfer My first deal was a foreclosure at sheriffs auction at the court house - these are high risk, I spent a lot of time learning before bidding, even saw inside the unit first. I basically did everything possible to eliminate the risk from this deal to as little risk as possible... and it was almost a home run. Cash flows $651 a month, didn’t need any rehab and doubled in value the first year. A lot of that was luck, a lot of it was being super conservative, analysis hundreds of deals and doing my homework. I procrastinated REI for 15 years bc I “didn’t have money to invest”. I finally got a better paying job and just saved every dollar I could (ate PBJs every day for years to help save) and put about 23k down on my first deal. I wish I could go back to my 20 year old self and have just bought something! I should’ve just figured it out! I recommend using fha 3.5% down to buy a 2-4 unit below market value that needs work, YouTube how to do the rehab and then cash out refi once it’s fixed up. You can save up $5k right? It might require sending a lot of direct mail or driving for dollars but it’ll be worth it. Just get started! Like Brandon Turner says, your first deal isn’t going to make you rich, but you need to do it to get to your second deal.

@James Wise Good thing You got your pictures and proof! Did you send him receipts showing what your charging from his deposit?

Originally posted by @Ian Walsh:

No. I am certainly not that cool.  I get that question a lot.

Originally posted by @Greg Gaudet:

Originally posted by @Ian Walsh:

As long as the numbers work , either is a fine option.  It's all about the the cost per unit in most cases.

You're not the professional big wave surfer Ian Walsh from Maui, are you? He's a legend for his big wave surfing at Jaws

Do you really?? I see you live in PA and wasn't sure if pro surfers are celebrities there, the way they are here on Maui... 

Originally posted by @Ian Walsh:

As long as the numbers work , either is a fine option.  It's all about the the cost per unit in most cases.

You're not the professional big wave surfer Ian Walsh from Maui, are you? He's a legend for his big wave surfing at Jaws

@Curtis Sharpe I would find a 2-4 unit home below market value. Find one that needs work or just find a motivated seller and offer to pay cash and close quick (get hard money loan if you need to close then refi). Then once you’ve fixed the place up, while living in it rent free because the tenants cover the mortgage, you refinance and pull all of your cash back out of it. Basically a combo of BRRRR and house hacking.

@Colleen Prescott I haven’t read it but I keep hearing over and over that “long distance RE investing” is a must read for OOS investing. Personally I was set on investing OOS bc I can not afford to invest on Maui, but after speaking to a mentor I decided to buy condos here on Maui that are D class and section 8 but are the only thing I could afford to buy here. They cash flow well and have worked out well for me. I’m about to close on my third one and if I can get 2-3 more of them next year at similar discounts to what I’ve accomplished this year then I will be able to refi all of my equity out of them and use it to buy a 2-4 unit property here for about $800-1M that would hopefully produce strong Cashflow.

Aloha everyone Haven’t seen anything about REWW in a while and I’m wondering if anyone has experience using their software / service to find deals? I’m mostly interested in using it to find vacant properties/motivated sellers. I’m currently acquiring buy and hold long term rental condos in about 4-5 specific buildings, but those buildings are heavily diluted with investors so the only way to find good deals is to find off market units. So that’s why I’m considering using the REWW software to find out which units are vacant and direct mail/call those owners with offers. Anyway I’d love to hear anyone’s experience with this service! Mahalos!

Originally posted by @Todd Powell:

@Leo Poon I have learned recently that for “therapy animals” they do not need any paperwork at all now in Oregon, just their verbal to you. Its amazing how laws are slanted in the direction of tenants, and not the property owner. 

Wow that's crazy! 

In Hawaii they need a letter from a "qualified" source (which, as explained to me during the last national association of real property managers seminar, could be their doctor, phycologist, or even their divorce lawyer lol almost anyone can write the letter!) for ESA ( actual service animals are another story, and require much stricter guidelines).

I just found out one of my tenants has a dog because when I knocked to serve him his 5 day notice to pay or vacate I heard the dog bark. I reminded him the lease states that having a pet is a breach of the lease, he said it's a support animal, but never provided the proof he promised to send. I'm not evicting him for it yet, since he paid his rent... but I certainly am keeping it as ammunition in case he gives me any trouble! 

On the other hand I currently rent my primary residence (until I move into the house we've been building, which will be done in 2 weeks) and I have two small dogs that are "emotional support animals" so I see both sides. BUT: I told the Realtor about our small well behaved dogs the very first time I called about the rental (before we moved in, before we even scheduled a showing) and let her meet them before hand so she could see how well behaved they are. So I was completely transparent, and we were still chosen as tenants because we have excellent credit, good income, plenty savings, and perfect references. 

As a dog lover, I want to encourage people to rescue animals from the shelter. But we do need a better system, and there's no excuse for tenant to deceive landlords. But on Maui, it's gotten to where there is no where to live that will allow a dog... so we do need a balance. But lying about your dog is not the answer. 

Originally posted by @Robert Herrera:

@Loren Clive Ok, even the 30k price tag is worth doing. I would try and get it cheaper. Only so many people can get in, so I'm sure the profits are Sky High.

To add to what Loren was saying, if you have a SFH you can go for the short term rental permit but from what I've heard it's certainly not easy and the community certainly will not support you in doing so! lol But also have to consider that if you own condos you may not be allow to do short term at all. The majority of condos here may be "condo-tells" and approved for short term rentals; but there are still many condos that are not, and do not allow short term even if the county were to give you the ok.

Now, whether all of the owners abide by those rules is another topic... 

Couple things to report from the Maui market (for whatever it's worth!): 

3rd quarter of 2018 vs. 3rd quarter of 2017:
Home sales are up 6%, Median sales price is NC, Dollar Volume is up 6%

Condo Sales are up 22%, Median sales price is up 11%, Dollar volume is up 32%

Land sales are down 5%, median price is up 33%, dollar volume is up 59%

-Source: Fidelity National Title and The Realtors Association of Maui 

"The median price of a single-family home on Maui jumped 16 percent in September, compared to a year ago, and the median price of a condominium jumped 18 percent, compared to September 2017, according to statistics from the Realtors Association of Maui.

The median price of a single-family home on Maui last month was $754,248, compared to $650,000 in September 2017. That was based on sales of 80 homes, compared to 81 homes sold in September 2017.

The number of condos sold in September also declined slightly to 121 units sold, a 4 percent decline from 126 sold during the same month last year. The median price of those condos, however, rose 18.2 percent to $501,000 in September, from $423,750 during the same month last year."

-Source: Pacific Business News and The Realtors Association of Maui

Basically this data tells me that, in my market, sales have shown a slight slow down, but prices are still increasing (pretty dramatically in some areas.. in fact a little too dramatically for my taste lol). 

But it's also important to note that the Maui market has been known to follow a few months behind what's happening in the real world lol it's almost like we're on a rock in the middle of the ocean...