All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Stevens

@Eddie Torres great insight. Thank you!

@Andrew Postell thank you! I'll have to look through my closing docs. Definitely helps.

@Wayne Brooks this was a 10% vacation home loan

I recently purchased a cabin in the Smoky Mountains and have done some renovations to bring up the value of it. Purchased 10/5/21 and owe about $380k with a 10% down payment. My question, is there a way to get around the mortgage insurance on this property? I am seeing similar properties being sold for over $500k in my area which would put me at about 72% equity in the property and would save me over $100 a month. My current lender said I need to wait 2 years but I feel like of course they would say that to avoid me eliminating this payment. Please advise. 

I used Parker Borofsky of Movement Mortgage. Parker and her team helped make the process smooth for me investing 1000 miles away. 

This was a great read! You two are totally killing it! I look forward to seeing your progress. 

Question for you. I am looking into getting into multi family properties. What book would you recommend for underwriting? I am trying to understand the process better so that I can identify property values better. 

Thanks for the help! I will be looking at those suggested sites. Currently looking for 10+ units. 

I recently purchased a STR in Sevierville TN. My plan is to use the cash flow from this property to start purchasing commercial long-term rentals. Looking to hook up with a commercial broker to start planning for investments.

Sure thing! Her name is Stephanie Lockett. I am actually prohibited from sharing the email in the post thread but you can message me separately. 

Just let her know I sent you. If you have anymore questions, feel free to reach out!

Hey Lauren, I would be happy to answer your questions. I am still learning on this journey as it is my first investment property. I would definitely recommend using the community FB groups for cabin owners. It has been a life saver because I can get all info at my fingertips. 

1) My interior decorator I found on said FB group and she has been my ROCK STAR! She will look for the best prices possible that will be the most durable. Once we have all items needed, she will set everything up and make sure the place looks perfect before you have professional pictures done(which i highly recommend). She and her husband went to a local furniture supply and facetimed me so that I could see everything with them and then she organized delivery of the furniture so that she could be there. 

2) This was the hardest thing to find. I received a quote from a contractor when I first had my offer accepted on the house and to my surprise he never actually went to the property to asses the work for me. He had only used the inspection report(which was flawed). I could and should have received a higher concession from the seller but due to my inexperience I learned an expensive lesson. Now on future properties I will know better. I ended up never receiving an updated estimate from this contractor because he either didn't want to or couldn't take on the extra work. I was very fortunate to find my current contractor who will double as my cleaning company. From the beginning he saw my vision on what I wanted to do to enhance the property and he is not killing my pockets. We are working as a team to do things right the first time and we both know that we will profit from it moving forward since he will be cleaning it as well. 

3) Glamping to me sounds like a great venture in this area due to the high demand for rentals. I also do not have much experience with it but am seeking to partner up with someone who is so that I may add this niche to my investment portfolio. Like you I grew up camping in the White Mountains of NH with my family every summer and I love it. Do what you love right?