All Forum Posts by: Kenny Smith

@Erika Martinez

I used Grayce property management for a while on my condo at 8%.  They were great, and I've established a really good relationship with them even though I self manage now.

I am not sure what type of property you have, but I would assume they charge slightly higher for a SFH vs a condo due to less maintenance.

Shoot me a DM for contact information if interested!

@Brady Mullen

Great question!  As I tell all my clients, you have to look at the facts and the data of what is going on in the market and based off of that, make your best educated guess of what could happen if you wait to buy and keep renting.

First off, interest rates. We have seen rates continue to increase, with rates hitting a 23 year high last week at a national average of 7.49% for a 30 year fixed mortgage.  With all that said, now is a great time to buy. Think about it like this, if you are on the sideline waiting for rates to drop, so is everyone else. There is insane pent up demand right now, and when rates drop, everyone is going to get back into the market, and home prices will sky rocket again. Especially with inventory going to continue to be a problem in the coming years.

Regardless of the rate, prices have kept going up or stabilizing because we are dealing with such low inventory. This is not good for both buyers and sellers. Buyers in the fact their monthly mortgage will go up tremendously, but also sellers for those who want to trade up, don't want to because they become a buyer in this market. Also, if they bought or refinanced during COVID, they likely have a very low rate they don't want to give up. For those reasons, sellers are holding onto their homes until rates go below a certain percent. Who knows what that number is, maybe between 5-6%?

If the rates keep going up, it is actually a good thing for investors and buyers. This will scare a lot of buyers out of the market and they will wait to buy. Those that are savvy will get into the market, negotiate a lower price on a home (especially in the offseason), and refinance the mortgage/rate if and when rates drop.

You can also negotiate into an offer what is called a temporary rate buy down paid by the seller. That can help alleviate short term interest rates buying you time until they drop and you refinance permanently.

Lastly, if demand isn't at an all-time high right now, we have a record number of early to mid 30's in the US right now.  Back in 1990, we saw the birth rate here in the US skyrocket in comparison to previous years and following years.  The average age of your first time homebuyer here in the US is 34-36.  All of these buyers have or will enter the market in the coming years pushing demand even higher.

Waiting to buy is only going to cost you more and more the longer you wait.  Hope this gives you some ammo!

@Jaden Duclos

Ryan is correct, add a door connecting the 2 units. If you have it walled off, then yes, that would technically be considered an illegal duplex.

Also, if you have a second full kitchen downstairs, most building departments don't allow a second oven without it being zoned R-2.

I'd call your building department and get further clarification on what you are and are not allowed to do to make you feel more comfortable.  Who knows, it could already be zoned for what you need it for.

Best of luck!

@A. Berk Gokce

Great question!  So I can't speak specifically about your market, but I can give you an idea of what is happening in a general scale nationally right now.

First off, interest rates.  We have seen rates continue to increase, with rates hitting a 23 year high last week at a national average of 7.49% for a 30 year fixed mortgage.  With that, buyer's affordability is taking a hit.  We've seen the luxury home market take a hit, and has been pushing buyers into the entry level home market more and more.  Whatever your entry level  home price is, there is likely going to be even more competition for those homes.

With that being said, prices have kept going up or stabilizing because we are dealing with such low inventory.  This is not good for both buyers and sellers.  Buyers in the fact their monthly mortgage will go up tremendously, but also sellers for those who want to trade up, don't want to because they become a buyer in this market.  Also, if they bought or refinanced during COVID, they likely have a very low rate they don't want to give up.  For those reasons, sellers are holding onto their homes until rates go below a certain percent.  Who knows what that number is, maybe between 5-6%?  

With all that said, now is a great time to buy.  Think about it like this, if you are on the sideline waiting for rates to drop, so is everyone else.  There is insane pent up demand right now, and when rates drop, everyone is going to get back into the market, and home prices will sky rocket again.  Especially with inventory going to continue to be a problem in the coming years.

If the rates keep going up, it is actually a good thing for investors and buyers.  This will scare a lot of buyers out of the market and they will wait to buy.  Those that are savvy can get it, negotiate a lower price on a home (especially in the offseason), and refinance the mortgage/rate if and when rates drop.

You can also negotiate into an offer what is called a temporary rate buy down paid by the seller.  That can help alleviate short term interest rates buying you time until they drop and you refinance permanently. 

I would recommend reaching out to a Realtor in your area to help guide you through this process.  If you don't have a Realtor in mind, I have a very large brokerage and would be happy to refer you to someone out there.  I'll shoot you a DM.

I hope this helps!

@Jennifer Stammberger

What type of businesses do you want to cold call, and what is your angle specifically?

@Varinder Kumar

I am not sure if my CPA would be able to help, but you could always ask!

I use Adam Ripperdan at Dark Horse CPA, darkhorse.cpa.  He did my cost seg last year, and is incredibly knowledgeable.  DM if you need his contact info.

Best of luck!

@Jim K.

great post!  We are still early on in our hopefully very long real estate journey, but I can't tell you how many stories we've had so far..

We recently had a flood in one of our property's basement, redid a bunch of drywall, and literally 2 days after it was completed, our basement flooded again in the exact same spot for another reason.  We had to replace all the drywall, again.  It was like a sick joke someone was playing on us.  Several months prior, that same house had a backup and sewage started to seep out of the toilet flooding the bathroom.

I could go on and on, but I would agree.  People don't know what is needed to make this successful or always saying "this is not what they signed up for".  In reality, what can happen, will happen, eventually. 

Every challenging event though, we've learned more and more and wouldn't be where we're at without those experiences.

@Tony Santos

Welcome to BiggerPockets! You have hit the JACKPOT of resources for real estate investors. You can literally find answers to all of your questions within the confines of this site. Some quick tips on accessing the best info from here..

1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts

2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS

3. Attend a Meetup in your area/virtual meet ups

4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life

5. Peruse the forums, ask questions, and answer questions.

You'll be well on your way to your first deal in no time..

Best of Luck!

@Shawn Pottschmidt

I would recommend chatting with a CPA on that.  I am sure there is great information online, but ultimately, a professional CPA should be consulted in my opinion just to cover your basis.

Best of luck!

Kenny

@Ashley Barlow

That's a great question!  I would recommend calling airbnb and see what they can do to help.  I would be surprised if they couldn't do something to help.  I would figure they can simply add on a new host onto the account and delete the old one.

Best of luck, and let me know how it goes!

Kenny