All Forum Posts by: JM Payne

Welcome, and good luck!  What did ya' major in?

- jm

No, I would not renew, but you need to notify them NOW of your intention to not renew the lease, assuming it is not already too late.  I'm unclear on NY laws, but procrastination is not your friend here.  You're only making it more difficult on them the longer you wait, so send them notice concurrent with your lease and the local laws, then move on to planning the rehab and finding a good tenant.  Best of luck!

- jm

The ability to break the contract with the management company will be spelled out in the management agreement.  Do you have a copy of it?  If so, read through it carefully and the follow the outlined steps. Hope that helps!

- jm

There are mortgage limits, so generally 10, but that means 10 in your name, 10 in his, 10 in your wife's, etc etc.  Some lenders have reduced limits, so check with your bank.

Hard checks are not as damaging as one might think...FICO says about 5 points and the drop is temporary, but you probably won't be running a ton of checks for each property...call around to banks, find the one with the terms that match your needs, and then apply.  You can shop banks well ahead of an application, especially if you have an idea of your own FICO (which you can get free through discover) and the terms of the deal you are shopping.

As for LLCs, you can find banks that will do it, but often they have to be single purpose entities and generally still have personal guarantees and qualification, so while LLCs are great and protecting legal liability, the bank will still run your credit and you will still be liable for mortgage repayment and will do nothing to shelter your FICO from a credit check.  As for waiting, don't!  Jump in there and get busy.  The hit to your credit from a credit check to buy an investment property is a silly thing to get hung up on.  Go get 'em!

Regarding calculations, it is far easier for you to play with the calculators above under the "Tools" tab, and the webinars that you should be getting via email include a couple great ones that cover CoC and ROI hardcore with visual learning, better than a back and forth will. Best of luck to you both!

- jm

Well, if you're laid off with no W-2, you're looking at low doc investor loans or commercial products unless your wife's income is big enough to cover the nut.  I'd start by calling around to your local banks and seeing what products may be available to you, and that would give you a better idea of what direction to go.  MF commercial loans are going to kick in at 5 units at which point income from the asset becomes a bigger part of the equation and the scrutiny over your personal finances will be offset.  

Based on cashflow, I would buy the biggest multi-unit I could afford, whether that be a trailer park, mini-storage or apartment building.

Also I know there is a golden halo that appears every time someone mentions NNN commercial leases, but I'd be weary of anything that's not service based right now.  Best of luck!

- jm

Originally posted by @Carlo Dacanay:

@JM Payne thanks for the insight! Really good to know especially with the impact of COVID on the student market. I'll definitely consider having parents as co-worker signers of lease if the tenant isn't a grad student or academic instructor

 No problem.  Also protip; call the college and see if they have an internal housing office/posting board.  Many colleges have an office that helps coordinate housing for new professors and staff.

I'm in a college market, cons are as to be expected; late rent, property damage, and noise complaints.  You're dealing with kids who are highly likely to have never been taught how to manage finances, and almost certainly are on their own for the first time.  Local to me, it is common to have parents also sign the lease so that they are liable...helps a lot. Also with covid and the push to remote learning, what was once a guaranteed market is no longer as such.  We aim to rent ours to the professors/professional staff or the grad students, but YMMV.

Best of luck!

- jm

A quick google will give you a link...basically they settled with the FTC and now the ambulance chasers are hoping to cash in on the consumer side.

-jm

Originally posted by @Evan Ridenour:

@JM Payne

Did you have a specific book or resource that you used that was an “aha” moment for you? especially starting from a young persons perspective.

Speaking 100% honestly, I got started early, but it didn't catch on early. I started in construction and then moved to commercial RE. My family is big in REI, and I thought that I would do follow in their footsteps, learning both angles and then building my own business. I had no specific goals or plan though, and instead stayed in a toxic work environment for the bulk of the great recession, and ultimately left disillusioned and burnt out.
I bounced around for almost a decade, making the poor financial decisions that people make, before ultimately returning to REI through the lens of FI. 

I think Your Money or Your Life was especially impactful and is something I wish I could share with my 18 year old self, which has not a ton to do specifically with REI methodologies, but will hopefully give you the power to stay on task and design your life from the beginning.

Regarding your plans, I would ask whether or not your college is paid for, and where your passion is. If you're on scholarship and/or your parents have college taken care of through 529 or other vehicle, AND if your passion is engineering, then I would say go to school, read FI and REI books as a hobby, and then channel that knowledge post-graduation to build the engineering life you want, whether that's your own company, or simply the ability to choose where you work.

If, on the other hand, your heart isn't in to it and engineering is just a path to potential future wealth, then you'll fare far better with the real estate license. I wouldn't mingle REI and Contracting right out of the gate. Pick one, and excel at it first and, again, the RE license is more valuable.

IF your passion is engineering but it's NOT covered, then I would A)spend all my free time applying for every scholarship you can find and B)Spend your first two years at a community college that has a transfer agreement with your intended Alma Mater. 

Hope that helps, and best of luck to you!

- jm

Ah that makes more sense and it sounds then like you already have your answer.  Best of luck!

- jm