All Forum Posts by: Josh Cocker

Thanks Dustin And thank you for your comments and insights here - I haven't seen the prior inspection report yet but I will need to see it to check it all off before I feel comfortable proceeding and closing. With everything pretty much being new I feel reasonably good and have somewhat of a "it's meant to be feeling" with the original buyer struggling to get the funding together to complete, allowing me the opp to finally secure. I still think the deal and numbers are good. Property is versatile posied pretty well for STR's and long term hold I feel given the location.

The investor group seems to be streamlining into new construction and flipping / selling from what I gather (lots of properties on market now and new construction projects in development, I think the selling agent mentioned they had 400+ SFH in portfolio currently they are trying to sell off and transition more so into new construction and large scale apartment complexes) and have own separate businesses in the HVAC / Roofing / flooring world etc.

I think my take away here is that I need to get my hands on the previous inspection to see what came up and check it off. My real estate agent is of the general thought wave that it would be difficult for anything to be fundamentally wrong given how it’s all been recently installed.

I am just looking for that reassurance heading into my first US deal here 

Hi All and thanks in advance for any feedback / guidance, I am new to the US market and thought home inspections were common place when buying so any feedback is appreciated.  Please see  background on deal below, as this will be my firdt purchase. Apologies for how long it is 😂

Background - I have put a back up offer which looks like it will be accepted when the current buyer doesn’t meet the negotiated timeline  to close on a deal which was 2 small single family’s 2bd / 1bth recently fully renovated being sold together on a parcel. I was excited when i first saw the properties and have been waiting in the wings ever since hoping it wouldn’t go through as I can’t find anything else quite like it and the aim is I will be living in 1 and house hacking. Pretty much all major components were newly installed / fitted and done to a tasteful standard (new metal roof, plumbing, electrical, kitchen, flooring, bathroom, doors, new hvac, decks, vinyl siding etc) and I have visited and walked through 3 times and even been under crawl space to inspect a repair that was previously noted on an inspection to the foundation after termite treatment which looked to be a good job. My real estate agent, who has a long prior career history in construction, seems to be happy with both the properties and has inspected them in detail and also been under the crawl space noting new plumbing, electrical and foundation sister-in-law beams too.

As mentioned it is looking very likely the current buyer will not meet the closing deadline at which point I am next in line and have got price agreed with the back up after a few phone calls today. The only thing causing a little apprehension as it’s new to me (I am from UK so this is my first US purchase) is that the sellers, a local investor group, has said they don’t want me to do an inspection and have already got a pre inspection from a few months ago, and have rectified any work. As the property has been off market 3 months waiting for the current buyer to complete the sellers want to sell quickly and accept my offer and get it closed. 

I feel like i am happy at that price but am questioning am I being naive not to get an inspection? Especially as it’s my first purchase and I don’t want to make any school boy mistakes.

let me know if the above sounds common and reasonable 

Thanks Wale. I think i need to be more creative with my search. I did manage to find a public tax delinquent list for the area and i started to identify the Mutli Family locations.

Thanks Josh - some very insightful tips there. I havent explored the seller finance options yet. I have actually managed to save up enough for multiple down payments around 20% as i have been here for 5+ years and not been able to qualify for credit (due to history length) so i have been pursuing the 20% conventional method initially. 

Seller Financing sounds ideal though, I will probably need to read up and look at the contracts so i am armed if i do find a seller.

Thanks Evan!

Noted on the units too, ideally a nice 4plex would be the best case scenario but as you mentioned anything is better from a financial perspective than paying the amount in rent I am currently.

This market could cash flow pretty well at 20% down if i find the right property as the prices are below national average and rents are actually fairly good in comparison to property prices (plenty of 1% opportunites on SFH with a minimal cosmetic TLC).

I have identified i want to go down the Multi Family route, just time to find one that works and get it bought!

Hey Johnny,

I have moved to the Danville Area and sounds like I am in the same position you was in at the time of writing the post - i am searching for my first deal (looking for multi family) ideally in Danville.

How did your first deal go?

Thanks Nick, Ive been talking with agents and those who have listings of multi family to ask if their sellers have any more in the portfolio, and joined some FB groups too for whole salers in VA. I have been driving around after looking throguh the listed tax delinquent properties in the city (98 pages worth to scout out the multi family).

I just hope i can find something before the new year ideally so i can stop paying rent and own something.

Noted on the cash flow aspects too (i have been using the duplex calcualtor for this) and understand i will have a small net payment each month while living there, which is completely understood and fine by me (better than paying large rent)

Hi All, New here! I am originally from UK and after 6 years I now qualify for funding and I am wanting to house hack a multi family (seems like a cheat code as it isn't an option on a residential mortgage in the UK) but the issue i am finding is the low inventory in my area (6 listings within 20 mile radius of Danville VA) and nothing that i think i can make cashflow well / or seems like it would rent to a decent caliber of tenant.

Any advice for finding / approaching owners for off market deals? 

I thought about writing letters and posting through the letter box of the nicer small multi family i see, but i understand the owner likely doesn't live there.

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $122,000
Cash invested: $31,000

*UK HOUSE* Purchased a 3 Bd 2 Bth Town House / Semi Detached from sellers who inherited the property, worked a very good purchase price. Rehab with the help of my family - Re landscape garden, painted inside, re grouted bathroom tiling etc. Rented it from September 1st 2018 + and has been a great rental ever since. I moved to the US in Oct 2018, 1 month after renting it out., but my plan was to keep adding 1/2 single family's a year. Now i have funding approv in US, time to begin my US journey

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

3 Bed 2 Bath appeals to a large segment of the public, and ideally a family - ussually they stay for longer in the property.

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

MLS in the UK - negotaiated over a few weeks and tried not to get emotional on the purchase.

How did you finance this deal?

25% down payment and Buy-To-Let financing

How did you add value to the deal?

Purchased under market value, then rehabed myself with sweat (i am not the most talented DIY guy haha)

What was the outcome?

Achieved a rental rate stronger than i initially anticipated, and it was rented 3 days after being listed.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Find the right house / property, and stay firm on the pricing you offer. If the price is above your number then it is not meant to be

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

Yes, Real Estate broker in the UK, and lender who specialized in buy-to-let (investor style) loans

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $122,000
Cash invested: $31,000

*UK HOUSE* Purchased a 3 Bed 2 Bathroom Town House Style House in the UK from sellers who inherited the property, worked a very good purchase price in terms of value. Rehab wasn't too strenuous and i did myself with the help of my family - Re landscape garden, painted inside, re grouted bathroom tiling etc to freshen up. Rented it from September 1st 2018 + and has been a great rental ever since. I moved to the US in 2018, but my plan was to keep adding 1/2 single family's a year. When i arrived in the US i wasnt able to get funding due to lack of credit history as an overseas citizen.

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

3 Bed 2 Bath appeals to a large segment of the public, and ideally a family - ussually they stay for longer in the property.

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

MLS in the UK - negotaiated over a few weeks and tried not to get emotional on the purchase.

How did you finance this deal?

25% down payment and Buy-To-Let financing

How did you add value to the deal?

Purchased under market value, then rehabed myself with sweat (i am not the most talented DIY guy haha)

What was the outcome?

Achieved a rental rate stronger than i initially anticipated, and it was rented 3 days after being listed.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Find the right house / property, and stay firm on the pricing you offer. If the price is above your number then it is not meant to be

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

Yes, Real Estate broker in the UK, and lender who specialized in buy-to-let (investor style) loans