All Forum Posts by: Joe Stout

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Catonsville.

Purchase price: $270,000
Cash invested: $10,020

Duplex in downtown Catonsville built in 1899. 1 unit with full kitchen and full bathroom and 3 bedrooms upstairs. 1 unit with 2 bedrooms, laundry room, living room, full kitchen and full bathroom downstairs. 10,000 sq. feet of land, fenced in backyard. Unfinished basement with concrete floors and washer and dryer unit. Used Consultant to help moderate negotiations and expedite the paperwork and structure the deal. Renting the bedrooms out in the first unit and the unit upstairs as a whole.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was local and I knew it was in a great market with more and more population growth. I was watching my town improve little by little and this gave me the confidence to go ahead and make my first move. Also, it was a perfect place to be right in downtown, I even thought somewhere down the line I could turn it into an Airbnb!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found this deal from my Mom sharing one of her Facebook friends posts with me. I sent her friend a message with an offer and had no idea what I was doing, but I let them know I was serious. I contacted her week after week checking in to see if they wanted to sell their house to me. We negotiated in person twice. They had multiple offers, I tried to hold my ground in a strong sellers market and was semi-unsuccessful, but they had offers for $20,000 more! I ended up getting the property for 261500

How did you finance this deal?

Off Market Deal with friends parents. Kept most money possible in my pocket by pushing the purchase price up to $270,000 from $261,500 and getting a seller concession of $8,500. Utilized FHA financing to put little money down (3.5%) and qualified for FHLB intake grant ($7500). Closed on the house for $887 instead of original $22,000.

How did you add value to the deal?

Added French doors and a bedroom door to what was an office to create a bedroom for myself. Added a vent in the bathroom. Repointed the chimney and some structural supporting beams in the basement. Treated for pests in the unfinished basement. Added new post on the balcony in the back and repainted the door that leads to the balcony. New ovens in both units. Updated the door knobs and door hinges in upstairs unit. Added AC units to both units. Updated fire alarms -

What was the outcome?

Was able to house hack for a year successfully, gained a lot of experience in being a landlord, managing tenants, writing clear leases, living with a roommate, learned how to strike deals with the doctor across the street when desperate to find parking for my tenants and I.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons learned- take tenant screening seriously, it's not always a rush to find someone. When renting to friends/people you have a great rapport with they expect lots of breaks and deals, but that's life. Challenging confronting tenants to ask for payment, however it's necessary and the nerves will go away. Challenging letting in handymen and pest control, etc. Whoever needs to be at the house for repairs, make sure tenants are responsible for being there when service people arrive.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Martin Willigan is a extremely knowledgeable agent in the Catonsville Maryland area. His negotiation savvy saved the deal and was able to calm both parties when negotiations were heated. Extremely smooth in processing, walked the house with me, let me know what the house should go for and many tips regarding the unfinished basement that I otherwise wouldn't have known. Gave me access to his rolodex and I was able to fix my property up using his contacts. Take advantage of his talent!

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $180,000
Cash invested: $51,864 ($37,000 down payment) + Closing costs & pre-paid/escrows

Very well maintained 3 BR 1.5 baths middle unit townhome. Conveniently located near shops, and a number of water front restaurants. Brand new carpet, some updated light and plumbing fixtures. Great size basement with high ceilings. Perfect for entertaining or other endless ideas and possibilities. Completely turnkey, offmarket deal.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Investing for cash flow while being affordable and being in a place where I would live. Knew the rent would work because it hit the one percent rule, (Rent was exactly 1% of the purchase price) once I saw that I contacted the seller!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found this deal through a listing on an off-market site. Was able to get in and see the house, letting the seller know I was pre-approved and 100% serious and had an agent and lender ready to go.

How did you finance this deal?

Financed this traditionally with a 20% conventional loan. This was the best choice to me since the 15% DSCR loan's interest rate was too high and I wouldn't qualify since I didn't have year long leases. The 25% down conventional loan offered better cashflow, but a lower cash on cash return. I always look at cash on cash return as my go to metric.

How did you add value to the deal?

This was turnkey. All I had to do was switch the doorknob, pay for photos, and start screening tenants and I was in business. Due to the nice photos that were only $130, was able to charge higher rent.

What was the outcome?

Saw the property in February, Closed in March, Moved-in Tenants April problem free. Seriously the easiest investment I have ever done.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons learned is to definitely follow the tenant screening processes I have in my google drive. I began the process by winging it as if I hadn't done it before.

Challenges- Was challenging to convince the seller to do seller financing, they wanted a big check and I need to work on my pitch for that.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Worked with Martin Willigan, a fantastic agent in Catonsville, MD. He was not only knowledgeable and professional, but moved the paperwork along quickly and smoothly. He was able to provide a fantastic investor savvy lender as well, Bryan Lovern with Cross Country Mortgage. With these two guys, your team will be hard to stop in taking down deals.

@Ozzy Sirimsi right! I was grateful to be coming out positive. 

@Darius Ogloza yep that 54k was the down payment. Then there’s other costs too such as the 3 loan points to get the interest rate down to 9 percent so that added $5,000. Also holding costs like electric, water, Gas. Additionally the payout to the agents is $16500. True all in is 266500

@Bob Stevens Was all worth it for the experience, I’m so much more prepared now and ready to take down my next deal! What you said is part of what I learned, but per Robert Kiyosaki, really the first one is all about experience. Successful people are the people that take the leap without all the information

Investment Info:

Townhouse fix & flip investment in Halethorpe.

Purchase price: $183,000
Cash invested: $54,000

Fix and Flip done and listed on the market now for $275,000. Listed and just waiting to cash out!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Wanted more capital in order to acquire a BRRRR in the Midwest. I am usually not for flipping, but so unbelievably grateful for the experience and the team I got to assemble. Also, it brought me closer to my family.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found this deal through one of my family friends. They were looking to sell their house, didn't move things out or do the rehab but acquired another property. After having two mortgages, I asked if I could take their problem on for a discounted price and the deal worked for both people.

How did you finance this deal?

Financed this deal through hard money with HouseMax USA found here on Bigger Pockets. Learned lots of valuable lessons such as the draw money process and how that works. Psssst you do not receive the money for the rehab up front, they reimburse you after each draw based on what you have done!

How did you add value to the deal?

Added value to this deal by updating the countertops in the kitchen, new fridge and range hood, new paint on the cabinets, fixed and cleaned single pane windows. Painted entire house and did completely new flooring for entire house. Installed barn doors and finished basement completely with framing and drywall, installed recess lighting and baseboard around the floor. Left opening for louver doors so the HVAC and Hot water heater were accessible as well as sump pump. all three bathrooms tiled

What was the outcome?

Still waiting on the outcome.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So many lessons. Biggest one- do a background check on your contractors. Know where they are from, if they are licensed, etc. Work with people local if possible that you can talk things over with in person, it'll help you learn their systems and help you upgrade yours. Hire out what you cannot do for a flip since its a time constraint. Be strong in negotiations with contractors.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, Martin Willigan in Catonsville Maryland is a strong professional that will get the job done no matter what.

Hey guys,

Super excited to start my own t shirts, collectibles, NFTs, online comics, and books.

I would absolutely positively love if anyone can put me in touch with Publishers, collectible manufacturers, T shirt Manufacturers, NFT creators, and online comic writers. I also need a manufacturer for Bamboo, Wood, Brick, and Stainless Steel chests like almost a treasure chest to package my merchandise in.

Trying to seriously scale but I realize that it starts with marketing first!

Please send contact info for anyone you know or feel freee to reach out yourself!

@stoutproperty on IG - check me out!

@Nick C. What different types of contracts are there to use? How do I access them? Which one is the correct one to use? 

And yes but I need to know specifically how to weasel out of them... LOL

Thanks!

@Account Closed So you would need a pre-approval letterhead from a bank? I wouldn't need financing, thought it may be required. 

Hi guys! Beginner in wholesaling looking for help.

Wondering if you need to obtain a pre approval of some sort or any type of financing at all to put a property under contract with a seller when you intend to wholesale it!

This also includes things like would you put down a earnest money deposit to wholesale?

Bonus question: Is there a set amount of days you have to sell the property to a buyer when you have the property under contract? If so, what happens if you exceed that number of days? Are you stuck with the property? What ways can you use to exit out of the contract?

Thanks,

Joe S.