All Forum Posts by: Kenneth Garrett

@Brady Ascheman

Not sure why you can’t see the old photos from the listings. Instead of going directly to Zillow google the address and you can look at the old listings. There are other sites; Redfin, Trulia to mention a few.

@Jeanniffer Teemal

This sounds like the room for whatever reason won’t comply as a bedroom. This could be due to the square footage of the room, ceiling height, outlet spacing, emergency egress windows, etc. If you add a closet and can meet the other conditions then I see no reason why you can’t design it as a bedroom. I am assuming you are on public sewer and not a septic system. If you are on septic that could impact another bedroom.

@Michael Figueroa

Another option is to be a private lender where your cash on cash return will probably be around 12%-15% depending on your market and it’s totally passive. You’ll only need to evaluate the deals to make sure they are good investments and protect yourself as a lien holder in first position.

@Tony S.

That is definitely an inexpensive cost for the amount of work that needs to take place. If you remove the paneling and install drywall you will have to install mud rings for all electrical boxes or other fixes to get the boxes to line up as the drywall is thicker. Hopefully when you open the walls you don’t have any surprises. In my experience, there are always some surprises such as; rot/mold, trim to be reworked, electrical, hvac and or plumbing. If the improvement allows you to rent faster then your competition and reduces your DOM then it might make sense.

Good Luck.

Quote from @Leslie Anne Morris

Check with Movement Mortgage.  Your credit has to be absolutely stellar.

 I agree with Leslie, I used Movement Mortgage earlier this year.

Quote from @Benjamin Foullon:

Hi everyone! 

I'm looking to invest in an STR in Florida. I have 10% down payment set aside. Most of the loans I've looked at require 20-30% down for STRs. Does anyone know if there are lenders out there willing to handle LTV 90% on an STR? Thank you!

You can do a second home/vacation property at 10% down.  I did this a couple of years ago.  Not sure in todays market if that has changed.  As far as furnishing the unit, it depends.  Most properties that are already a STR are already furnished.  In my case, I bought an unfurnished one.  I furnished in 3 weeks to make sure I hit the spring break crowd.  I bought a beach house.

Quote from @Blake Ramsey:

@Kenneth Garrett Thanks for taking the time to give some insight Kenneth. My main goal for this question was to get an answer on how much equity I had in the deal after the refi but @Nate Sanow helped me out with that. I understand that I left out some costs that would be included in an actual deal but for my question they weren’t really necessary to include.

When you say you cashout 80-90% and have all your money back in 12-18 months, do you mean you recoup the rest of the 10-20% left in the deal by the cashflow of the property? After this point your cocr would be unlimited correct?

That is correct. Cash flow makes up the difference from the less than the 100% cash out. It's still great to BRRRR. Where else can you invest and your total cash outlay is returned. Your cash on cash becomes infinite.

Quote from @Jaron Walling:

Quote from @Nicholas Jackson:

Quote from @Kenneth Garrett:

@Nicholas Jackson

Just a word of caution. If the bedroom windows are boarded up that’s a building code violation when it’s occupied. I would try to fix the bedroom windows enough to get them to function so you don’t run into any problems. One other solution would be to buy cheap replacement windows for the bedrooms until your custom ones arrive.

Best of Luck.

Luckily the current bedroom windows work fine. Do you know if its a violation for boarding up kitchen windows? 

 If the kitchen has two points of egress you should be fine. Living room, basement, one functioning window, or combination, etc. 

Rant; 4 month wait time?! Windows are one of the biggest expenses ever and the variation of prices we received in the past is mind blowing. Probably my least favorite remodeling project. Unless you're doing the whole house I'd shop around and see if a local guy can replace the broken ones. Ohh looks like you paid something already. Hopefully the windows come in faster than 4 months. 

The building code requires one exit from each house (multifamily is two).  Many jurisdictions have amended that to two exits.  So it depends on your jurisdiction.  Emergency Egress windows are required for each bedroom.  The egress is separate from emergency windows.  The code also addresses light and ventilation.  You don’t need to be worry about light, because you have artificial light.  Ventilation is a different calculation.  If we use common sense (which is always dangerous) closing off a kitchen window should not be a big deal under the premise your working towards compliance.

@Jay Charles

This probably depends on what’s left to get done. Almost every project has a surprise or two that you didn’t budget for. That’s where the contingency fund comes in to cover unexpected issues. Sometimes your 10%-20% fund is not enough. Definitely sweat equity is always an option.

Provided there is enough equity in the deal you could look for private lending. The only issue where will the private lenders lien position be. I have been able to have private lenders in second position, but it takes a great relationship for them to be comfortable or use another property as security.

@Nicholas Jackson

Just a word of caution. If the bedroom windows are boarded up that’s a building code violation when it’s occupied. I would try to fix the bedroom windows enough to get them to function so you don’t run into any problems. One other solution would be to buy cheap replacement windows for the bedrooms until your custom ones arrive.

Best of Luck.