All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Towell

Congrats! The VA loan is cheap financing like FHA loans. In fact, it may be impossible to find financing cheaper. I'm not a veteran so I can't get a VA loan. But I plan on hanging on to both of my FHA loans for the next 25-30 years.

Anytime you have a plan or success there will be those who are critical. Part of stepping up is knowing when to take that criticism seriously and when to blow it off. Sounds like this a person/comment to ignore.

Makes sense. I learn something new every day. I wonder how difficult it would be to get the property replatted into one property?

I bet you could get a FHA or conventional secondary market loan on that. I'd go find a local mortgage company.

For a property less than 5 units, I'd only appraise it based on comps. If there are no comps, then the question should be asked, "what is the most I could sell this property for, in less than 30 days, a be sure I'd get my ask price?" I'd take that price and subtract the repairs needed. Then I'd subtract out another $10-20k for my profit. The final number would be my maximum offer price. My strike price would be even lower. This strategy gives you a strong exit strategy on day 1.

Two other options... 1. Use the equity to secure a line of credit. 2. A good banker ought to be able to use the equity as collateral. If your plan is to use the money from a refinance to purchase more real estate, you can just skip the cash part and let a banker cross collateralize the assets.

@Austin Hughes

Sounds like a great plan. Give me a call when you get a minute. I think I know someone who could help with the horses. Also, I've got some ideas for getting an appraisal done quick and cheap.

At the surface level it looks good. I'm assuming you cash flow estimates include maintenance, debt service, and vacancy. You might think about your exit. If something happens, can you unload the property in a hurry without losing anything? If a deal will cash flow AND has a strong exit strategy, then you've got a good deal.

I agree with Adam Bartomeo that seller financing is much better than bank lending, most terms being equal. That said I'd like to see all the numbers on this deal before recommending it. Seller financing is great, but only if the deal is good in the first place.

Impossible to guess. I bet a local painter or contractor would give you a free bid.