All Forum Posts by: Kenneth Cowan

I listened to Clayton's podcast this weekend, and got really motivated by his strategy.  I liked his strategy of targeting unit's he knew would rent for around $700 once updated, he looked for 3/1's and cost after repairs for him were about $40k.  

I've been looking at similar numbers, EXCEPT, I cannot find deals at that price point.  I guess the markets I am looking at just don't allow it.  I am looking in smaller towns (50-100k) in Illinois, but just not getting close to that number.  Does anyone have suggestions of markets where you can get this kind of availability?  Right now, I think my biggest problem is I am searching on-the-market properties, and it sounded like he was finding a lot of his deals off-the-market.  But before I go looking off-market I want to make sure I am looking in the right areas.

Second question I have is about his focus on 3/1's. Does anyone have support for this housing type being the best fit for the BRRR strategy? I've been pulling averages from craigslist and rentometer for the areas I am looking at, and it looks like renovated 3/1's or 3/1.5's provide the best opportunity for higher rents without much additional acquisition costs.

Anyone else experiencing search issues on the app?  Everything else seems to work, but search is crashing. 

@Mindy Jensen

I live in a traditional Chicago 3-flat. Water is not subbed, it is paid by our HOA. Averaged around $25-$30 last 12 months.

This is 10x better than prior iOS app. Really excited to use BP more on the go now. It just never worked smoothly before. This new one seems A+ so far. Thanks for the update!

I'm interested in hearing the answer to Scott's question, but also in terms of what if there wasn't a friends and family option available.  For instance, what kind of bridge loan options are there between the purchase and cash out refi seasoning requirement? 

With the expansion and construction on The Veterans, there are some communities in the NW that may be good long term bets. I also think New Tampa has had some huge improvements with the huge overhaul on Bruce B Downs. May be a little late in that area but further north up that road seems to be exploding.

Thank you for the response Wendell.  I am a big fan of @brie Schmidt, her podcasts probably got most excited to pull the trigger.  I don't know if I've went back as far as 65 yet, but I know I've listened to pretty much everything after 90.  I'll check it out.

I hate thinking that I am standing on the sidelines and not getting in the game, so I completely agree with you posed question.  You should never sit around and wait for the game to you.  I have some small matters I'm trying to wrap up on my end to free up my time and cash for investing.  I just purchased a home this year and we've been doing renovations and trying to deal with a legal matter relating to the property.  As annoying as it's been, I feel it has been a great warm up for investing.  Anyways, no excuses from me, I'm ready to get rolling and meeting folks.  I didn't know there was a regular meetup, but I'll be sure to be joining into that.

I did what everyone seems to do.  I read the books, got motivated, and learned it was time to learn.  While I build the bankroll to get the investing started, I've decided to spend a year or two getting educated on the process.  Enter BP...

Investing goals: Build a passive, cash flowing portfolio that produces $10M in monthly net cash flows in 10 years.   Net worth of $1MM by the time I turn 40.  Purchase first investment property during 2016, 3 total by end of 2017, 5 by 2018.

Looking to meet new and experienced investors in the Chicago land and central Illinois markets.

Thanks For the input fellas. I appreciate the thoughts.

What does the process look like to get a second mortgage? I bought a condo in a 3-flat in Chicago in Dec '14. I've been fixing it up for 6+ months and plan on finishing all renovations in another 18 months. The plan is to rent the unit out and move to another home, maybe repeat the process. I enjoy the work in my free time. How do I qualify for the second mortgage? Does the 1st mortgage count against my debt-to-income if I plan to rent? I put 5% down to buy the place, and plan on moving onto new property once I can remove the PMI on the current unit. I have 750+ FICO and plan on having 15-20% for the new down payment. Do I have to show x months of rental income before it counts? Do I have to be able to cover both mortgages with 35% of income?