All Forum Posts by: Kelly Bettendorf

I probably should start a new post but after thinking about it, i figured i have all ready gotten a lot of great feed back from everyone here so I thought id pick your brain again.

I'm looking at the idea of jumping from my two unit duplex to a larger multi unit property since there are a lot more options for them in the Maryland area and i feel could work better then trying to buy multiple smaller single family homes, condos or rowhomes (town houses). Being newer to the game and still learning I've been looking at targeting multi family properties that are in size of 7 to 14 units and maybe a little bigger if its the right deal. I really wanted to focus on investing in duplex and triplex, but as you are all aware and have told me, good luck finding one and getting a good deal.

Id likely be looking to find properties that would be willing to offer private financing and/or a mix of private financing and a commercial loan to make it happen. It will take some leg work to reach out to owners but if i find the right deal it will be worth it. Still working on everything that i would need to get qualified for a commercial loan at this point. I have very good credit but minimal funds to use as a down payment. so i am trying to keep it creative to make it work.

I have just over two year experience from managing my duplex which i have probably made more mistakes then you could imagine, one of the worst being that i screwed up paperwork for a eviction process which made it so i had to start it all over again. Over all my early experience with the kind of tenants you hear about in the horror stories that cost me a lot of money and time gave me invaluable lessons and it reassured me i am investing in what i like to do in addition to my day job. Getting to my point, i plan to have a lined up management company to present with the paperwork in the process of acquiring a commercial loan because i feel my short time of management could be an issue for lending. 

Have any of you made the jump from smaller single family units to a larger multi unit? did you have to be creative to make it happen? if so would you be willing so share how did it.

If you acquired commercial lending to do so, do you have any tips or feed back from your experience.

Are you glad you made the jump? or do you wish that you would of kept grown will single unit options?


Thanks again,
Kelly

To everyone who I did not reply back to, thank you every one for all the good information to help me get started again but now in the Maryland area.

 Craig, I'd be interested in getting some more information related to your meetups 

Thanks

 Karen,

My wife and I just moved out here from Oregon.

Do you know how I can find out more information about the meetups I'd like to go.

Hello BP,

I am newer investor with a duplex and have moved to the Maryland area in the last few months for a new job opportunity. I am looking at investing in, buy and hold properties in Columbia MD area as well as the possibility of duplex, triplex options as a live in investment.

I would love to get some feed back from other investors on what areas you might suggest that I target to focus my research for buy and hold. I am new to the area and would love some pointers. I am interested in single family homes, row homes and smaller multi unit properties looking for minimum 2bd 1bath 700+SQ.

Also if there is anyone with experience buying long term hold and rent in the Baltimore area what kind of things do you watch out for when looking at buying?

If there is anyone who comes across this or knows of a investor friendly agent that could provide recommendations/MLS reports for the area that would be a big help.

As of right now I am not quire ready to buy but my goal is to buy 5 cash flow properties in the next 12 month to 18 months.

Thanks again,
Kelly

Can anyone make some suggestions on Turnkey companies in the Maryland area?

My wife and I just moved to Columbia MD and we interested in working with a turnkey for our next property.

Were also looking at the idea of a multi family property were we live in 1 unit and rent out the rest until we find something else that we would like to buy for us.

Thanks,

Kelly

Kent,

The biggest reason i was looking at going with an LLC was because my understanding that if something were to happen i would be better protected. say a tenet try to sue me etc.

On a side note I recently setup a umbrella policy to minimize my risk in the case of an accident or other potential issues. 

Thanks for your response. 

wow nick congratulations! that very exciting and does inspire, I am new to biggerpockets just created by account and seeing a success story like yours first thing is very motivating. 

Good luck on your up coming deals.

Hi, my name is Kelly and i'm new to biggerpockes and investing in property.

To start out let me say I have been reading the book on investing in real estate with no money down. it has really helped answer a lot of my basic questions on were I am today.

A little background:

In December of 2013 I got my first property in Oregon, A owner occupied duplex which i used a FHA loan as a first time home owner. I paid 160,000 for the property and today it is worth aprox 208,000 zillow estimation not counting some major remodel improvements, full gut job on 1/2 new kitchen, floors etc. The property was purchased under my name and I am now looking at refi for two reasons. first to get out of the FHA loan were im paying the extra fee due to not paying 20 % down. 2nd Im looking at creating a LLC in Oregon and refinancing the property under the business name.

In the last few months ive gotten married and moved cross country to the Maryland area for a new job, and we are currently renting as we are getting to know the area and will be looking at the possibly of another likely owner occupied multi family property. our current window were shopping is to try to identify a really good deal in the next 9 to 12 months. 

At this current point, we have little cash assists and are looking at options of using the equity of our duplex as a source of funds for our next buy.  

Im in my early twenty's and looking to get any advice to better build my knowledge for going forwarded. At this point i am looking to attend some auctions in my new area to get hands on experience on what to expect when were ready to buy. Currently I have a goal of accumulating a total of 5 properties in the next 5 years.  

To my questions:

Would you recommend refinancing the property in Oregon to get off FHA and move to a fix 30 year under a LLC name?

Do you know if I need to create two LLC's for each state or would it be better to look at a foreign LLC registration?

Any other advice or comments would be welcomed.

Thanks

Kelly.