All Forum Posts by: Julie Dike

Thanks!

Conventional lenders always have a disclaimer regarding which states they operate it.  As someone investing out of state, should I be looking for a lender where I live, or in the market where I'm investing?  

We opened a HELOC recently, and they didn't do a real appraisal. I suppose it could be different if you've done major improvements, but in our case they just sent a guy with a camera to make sure the place was still standing.

We used PenFed, because we couldn't beat their rate anywhere else. However, we weren't looking for the largest possible line of credit. In general, a higher LTV comes with a higher interest rate. Figure out your LTV before you start comparison shopping, or you'll be looking at apples and oranges.

Good advice above.  I would also take a moment to clarify to the tenant your policy on subletting and roommates. 

We had a tenant we could have evicted (they were behind on rent), but they were month-to-month and we terminated their lease with 30 days notice.  They moved out peacefully, left the place sparkling clean, and thanked us for not taking them to court.  In that situation, I was glad I didn't jump straight to an eviction.   

We have also evicted a tenant.  No regrets.  

 Are you suggesting this as an investment strategy, or for personal use?  I've never heard of a timeshare that cashflowed (or appreciated, for that matter), but I'll admit I haven't spent much time on the question.

Jay, how can I get my hands on your e-book?  

Thanks for starting this thread, Dean.  I'm learning a lot!  

You might have better luck looking for a house with a garage/basement/attic apartment that you can rent out.  I wouldn't expect it to cover the majority of your housing payment, but all the other positives still apply.  

Keep an eye on whoever buys the house.  It would be silly to get into a bidding war with someone else who just wants to leave the trees in place like you do.

One thing that confused me when I was new to Virginia was the fact that cities are NOT within counties.  However, towns are.  So if you're looking at a property in a town, you will have two layers of local tax.  Everybody else has either city tax or county tax, not both.  There's no separate school tax here; it's built in.  Watch out for HOAs, though.