All Forum Posts by: John Barrett

Hi Amir,

Your plan is solid and you can get owner occupied financing that would allow you to get more attractive financing.  Interest rates are going up, so your financing costs will likely be more expensive in the future. While property prices may come down, I don't think it is likely that values will fall enough to offset the higher interest payment.

Another strategy could be to look for properties that have the ability to add an ADU but do not have one currently. This way you could use your skill set to increase the value of the property by adding the ADU.

Best of luck,

John

@Ana Vhan you can also reach out to RHAWA as they have staff attorneys that can call and ask questions of.  They are more expensive than WLA but both organizations are quite good. Based on the information provided, it seems like your lease will go will roll over to a month to month unless you have notified your tenants correctly that they lease is ending.  That said, you can still end your lease but will need to follow the new state & local regulations.

Best of luck as you navigate this situation, it is never fun but there is a process for removing tenants if that's what has to happen.

John

@Clayton Bray I have used @Adrian Chu for my lending on a number of properties and been very happy with the results and process. I would give him a call.

If you need lending that is based on the property / project then I would contact @Nghi Le with Certain Lending. I haven’t had the opportunity to use them yet personally but have heard good things from folks that have.

Regards,

John

@Bryce Henson First off welcome.  Secondly, I would suggest you spend some time thinking about what area of real estate investing is most interesting to you.  You can always broaden your interests but for me personally, it was easier to get started by targeting a specific type of property.  This will help you identify which meetup or Facebook groups will be most beneficial for you.

John

@Ken Lim My take is that it really depends on if you are able to negotiate with the seller on the price.  Clearly the condition of the property would justify price concessions.  This along with higher costs to finance the property will make your return in the short term smaller.  This is less of an issue if you plan to hold the property for a number of years.

I do like the idea of having a number of properties in close proximity as it does make management easier and allows for some economies of scale.  That said, if the property does not meet your required return either due to the purchase price, scope of work or associated risk, then you have your answer even if it is not the one you would like.

John

@John McNeill This is an unfortunate situation both you and your tenant.  From your post, it does seem like you have been trying to work with him to resolve the situation.  However, if your tenant has been unable to find employment during the tightest job market in years I think there is a larger problem here.

As others have stated, you need to turn this over to an eviction attorney.  The non-profit organization paying his back rent will help him to get current, it will not address his ability to pay future rent without a job.  Some organizations like VoA will generally only provide rental assistance to tenants once.  From what I have seen the ERPP mediation step seems to be the current bottleneck in most eviction cases at the moment.  The sooner you start the process, the sooner you will reach the other side of this issue.

John

@Jenna Lee I am sorry that you are dealing with this situation. Loosing rent is never a good outcome, but so long as you are able to make changes (either PM or tenant screening) something positive could come from this.

As others have suggested, I would ask your PM to explain why back rent is not collectable.  Depending on where the units are located, it could be the result of COVID restrictions that are still in place.  If that is the case, there may not be any options available to you to collect.

John

@Andrew Lingle You should look up @Nghi Le with Certain Lending.  They have a bunch of different products and one of them could be right for you.  I have met the team a few times at conferences and have always come away impressed.

Best of luck.

John 

@Alex Omo depending on the location, you should have some options, but will likely need to look at the greater MSA.  Another alternative might be to consider getting a condo to start with the plan to sell it in a few years and trade up to a house.  While this plan takes longer and roommates in a condo would be tighter, it does allow you to get started now. 

Best of luck,

John