All Forum Posts by: Jim Hiler

@jennyduclair The answer is to find deals that you can acquire for a discount and then force appreciation - if you are willing and able. That may mean properties that need some work, that need new tenants, increased rents, or even finding new creative ways of increasing cash flow i.e. adding laundry machines, charging for storage space, vending machines etc.

If you are looking for a turn key rental property it's going to be difficult to find things at a discount unless you can find a motivated landlord.

Finding good deals is going to be difficult on the MLS you need to try other strategies...i.e. driving for dollars, direct mail, networking, searching the eviction records, auctions, etc.

Dear BP - I was recently discussing my real estate goals with family over the holiday and another form of raising private money came up. Creating a private REIT. From what I understand this can be much simpler and not involve the SEC filing docs that are required when using a syndication / PPM. Does anyone have experience with creating a private REIT. Im assuming there are limitations or downsides that I'm not aware of.

@conner williams South Florida / Palm Beach County is still a hot market but it depends on the particular neighborhood. There are a lot of people down here with money to spend and looking for houses...but I would discuss with a realtor and have him/her run the comps to find out what the average DOM is for that hood. @Jeremy Tillotson has good point also - buyers in that price range are expecting a certain level of finishes, appliances, cabinets etc. If you're confident that the major selling areas ie kitchen, bathrooms and flooring are of that quality and it really only needs paint, carpet etc. it sounds like it could be a good deal. 

BTW I'm a GC/ Investor from Delray also and looking for similar properties, maybe we should connect.

And Frank McKinney is on another level. He does major ocean front spec homes that sell in the $5 - $50 million dollar range. He usually speaks once a year at the Boca REIA. BRIC http://bocarealestateclub.com/

@david ocon - David, Thanks for reaching out. I would definitely be interested, obviously depending on the specifics of each project. I focus in a few select areas in Palm Beach County. 

Let me know if you would like to discuss further.

Jim

 I am builder and novice real estate investor in the South Florida area -Palm Beach County. I am a licensed GC and specialize in custom/spec home building full time. I have also done some "high end" flipping. My goal is start creating some passive income by acquiring rental properties for long term wealth. I am currently looking for 2 types of deals -  high end flips in the $350,000 - $500,000 purchase price range and small multifamily rental property in the 4 - 10 unit range. 

Jim Hiler

I was mistaken. My loan was never owned by Fannie or Freddie it's just an FHA Loan. I just received a quote from loan depot to do a streamline FHA refinance at 5% and zero closing costs. The only issue is that FHA adds there own type of mortgage insurance which they're calling FHA UFMIP $5,426.75.

All in all it works out to about $180 savings per month. Not bad for not having any closing costs.

@Upen Patel - My mortgage is no longer owned by Freddie or Fannie. It's now owned by Chase. 

I have not considered a 2nd mortgage. Not sure how that will help. Can you explain further?

Dear BP - I have a rental property that was originally my primary. I purchased it with 5% down in Sept 2009, at a 5.375% interest rate. Due to my taxes going up, still paying PMI and not putting enough down I'm negative cash flow. I want to Refi to take advantage of lower rates but what I'm finding is that its' difficult to find a bank who will do an investment property Refi at an LTV lower than 75%. My guess is the place is worth $380,000 and I still have $310,000 left on the mortgage (orig purchase was $360k and orig loan amount was $347k). I obviously could lay out the difference to bring the LTV down but I'd rather not. I also looked into Freddie/Fannie HARP program but I don't believe I qualify because I purchased too late. I think the cutoff was May 2009.

I would definitely sell the place if it appreciated enough but assuming I could get $380k for it, I would barely break even after realtor fees and expenses. I do want to sell in the near future and would consider a 5/1 ARM to keep my payment as low as possible and get some positive cash flow.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Jim