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All Forum Posts by: Jeff Arndt

Jeff Arndt has started 18 posts and replied 114 times.

Post: Project 3 Done! House hacking with no (net) money down!

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

I started reading biggerpockets about 5 years ago while still in college.  It was posts just like this that got me motivated to take the risk and get started.  It's my own little way of giving back and I'm very excited that others have enjoyed it!

BP is the solution to your goal of financial freedom.

Post: Project 3 Done! House hacking with no (net) money down!

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

@Michael Hartman 

The property is on the South Side Slopes of Pittsburgh.

@Jarred S. 

My lender had a "seasoning period" of 6 months.  That may change for non-owner occ properties but I don't know.

@Brian Zoubek 

Hey Brian this is my second rehab project, my first project was a simple buy and hold.  My father is a carpenter and generally handy so he would answer any questions that I needed.  To be honest my greatest asset is having a REALLY good contractor.  We have a really good working relationship and I'm very thankful for his help.

Post: Project 3 Done! House hacking with no (net) money down!

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

Thank you all for the kind words.  This project was really stressful but I'm really glad I completed it!

A little story about the project I think you may find entertaining...

In about early June I was still staying at my girlfriends place occasionally to get away from the filth.  Her lease terminated at the end of the month and she was set move in with me July 1st.  We went on vacation that June and I told her that when we got back we would have a functional bathroom and a semi functional kitchen.  Then I got these images from my contractor... 

The entire back end of the house was built on a slab and the floor joists were all termite damaged.  We had to start from the ground up and build a new sub-floor from scratch.

Whoops.  She wasn't very happy about that news :-(

Its ok, we ended up crashing on my friends couch and moved her in a week later - and yes we're still together!  Shocking I know, I wouldn't date me either.

Further progress.

The above two pictures are what the place looked like when she finally moved in.  We didn't have a bathroom door for another 2 months after that.

Moral of the story...

Did it suck?  You bet.

Was it worth it?  Yes it was.

I survived this debacle and still made money but with significant sacrifice. 

You can too!

Post: Sparkrent is closing?

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

Hey Gino,

We are asking for automatic late fee reminders to tenants and automatic invoicing of said late fee to tenant. It was a nifty feature of spark rent. 

Post: Project 3 Done! House hacking with no (net) money down!

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

Round 2 

Post: Project 3 Done! House hacking with no (net) money down!

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

Here are some before and afters!

Post: Project 3 Done! House hacking with no (net) money down!

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

What a relief!  Have you ever had your expectations exceeded?  Well that just happened on my last project and I have an overwhelming sense of joy from it.  I just completed a live in rehab which I intend to rent our later - and I did it with no (net) money down.  Here are the numbers and how it all went down.

Project Totals

Purchase Price - $78,090

Acquisition Costs - $11,470 (Hand Money, Closing Check, Home Inspection, Appraisal)

Rehab Costs - $39,300 (Materials, Labor, Interest)

Holding Costs - $0 (More on this below)

After Repair Value - $148,000

Original Mortgage - $70,280

Equity - $77,280

Refinance Numbers

Cash Out Refi - $45,000

Home Equity Loan - $14,000

Bottom Line

Total Cash In - $50,770

Total Cash Out - $59,000

Net Out of Pocket - $-8,230

Going Forward

New Mortgage - $118,400 @4.25%, 30 year

Home Equity Loan - $14,000 @5%, 15 year (estimated, not complete yet)

Equity - $15,600

LTV - 90%

Rental Analysis (est.)

Gross Rental Income - $18,000 ($1,500/mo.)

Taxes - $1,500 (Annual)

Maintenance & Repairs - $1,800 (10% of gross rents, annual)  Should be very low as this was a complete rehab.

Prop Mgmt - $1,800 (10% of gross rents, annual)

Vacancy - $900 (5% of gross rents, annual)

Insurance - $500 (Annual)

Utilities - $0 (SFH)

Lawn - $0 (No yard)

NOI - $11,500

Debt Service

     Mortgage P&I - $6,989 ($582/mo.)

     Home Equity Loan - $1,329 ($110/mo.)

Cash Flow - $3,182 (265/mo.)

CCR - Infinite

Self Managing

Cash Flow -$4,945 ($412/mo.)

CCR - Infinite

I purchased this property to owner occupy in May of '14 with cash that I saved up from my J.O.B. I really capitalized on my ability to owner occupy with a low down payment of 10% and the low interest rate that came with it. I bought the property off the MLS for what I felt was only a little bit less than FMV. This was by no means a screaming deal when I purchased it.

I spent a few weekends doing demo work myself (which I enjoy) and getting the design plans all together.  I also did painting, hung cabinets, plumbing in the kitchen,and general b!t#h work.  Other than that I hired out all of the other work, electrical, carpentry, plumbing, tiling, etc.  I estimate that I did about 300 hrs of labor at $15 an hour because I am not particularly skilled in trades.  I also work really slow.  I can't help it - I'm an engineer - we do things slowly.  I didn't total this into the calculations above because as a young investor, we need to work with the resources we have today, so that things we do in the future can become easier.  That's what investing is all about.

I also didn't calculate holding costs into the deal because I was living in the property.  I consider this "rent".  No matter what, we need a place to live so I didn't factor these expenses into the calculations.

I financed the rest of the rehab with whatever resources I could get.  I racked up $25k in 0% interest credit cards, I borrowed $5k from my Dad, I borrowed against my 401(k), I sacrificed eating out and cable TV, I did whatever I needed to get the project done.  I made it happen and you can too!

The most stressful thing about this whole process was the dirt.  Dirt on my clothes, dirt in my dishes, dirt in the shower, dirt on my makeshift furniture.  Dirt EVERYWHERE.  This is by far the most painful thing to deal with on a daily basis.  Things got better as the project progressed, but please don't underestimate this if you plan on doing a live in rehab like I did.

That being said, here are the numbers again if I paid someone for my labor and if I didn't occupy the property during the rehab.

Project Totals

Purchase Price - $78,090

Acquisition Costs - $11,470 (Hand Money, Closing Check, Home Inspection, Appraisal)

Rehab Costs - $43,800 (Materials, Labor, Interest)

Holding Costs - $6,450 (Taxes, Insurance, Utilities, Mortgage Interest, 9 months)

After Repair Value - $148,000

Original Mortgage - $70,280

Equity - $77,280

Bottom Line

Total Cash In - $61,720

Total Cash Out - $59,000

Net Out of Pocket - $2,720

Future plans are to complete a similar project where I don't live in it.  The biggest challenge will be larger upfront down payments, and smaller LTVs on the back end.  It will be paramount to find a screaming good deal for this strategy to work in the future and I'm up for it.  If I can rinse and repeat 8 more times I should have enough cash flow to quit my J.O.B. and focus on real estate full time.  I hope this inspires you to possibly work a similar strategy!

Post: What kind of car do you drive?

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

2013 golf TDI, going to run it into the ground.  It was a large upfront expense but I love it and can't see myself ever getting rid of it.

Post: Buyers List

Jeff ArndtPosted
  • Investor
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Posts 117
  • Votes 78

Yes, I would call my self a wholesaler, its very common in the industry and people in the business will know exactly what you do.

I would focus heavily on marketing and analyzing deals. If you can find a great deal, it shouldn't take you long to find a buyer through your local REIA or here on BP. Just make sure you purchasing agreement is contingent on you being able to find money to purchase the deal.

Good luck and welcome!