All Forum Posts by: Kesete Thompkins

Good afternoon BP Community. I'm trying to think of the best exit strategy for two properties that are out of my league as a buy and hold investor. I could use your thoughts....

I bought 2 bad deal years ago and I recently realized that I don't have the resources to do anything with either space (One has a condemned structure on it and the other is a residential plot of land). I had high hopes when I first started out in real estate, but have since realized that I'm a buy and hold investor and that these 'deals' weren't deals at all for my goals. 

I've been trying to donate them to no avail. I've thought about giving it up for $1 to whomever may be interested, but I'm not sure if that's the best exit strategy either. 

I'm really not sure what to do right now. I'm grateful for any suggestions. 

P.S. If you are a newbie investor, stick to ONE strategy and get really good at that. It will make your life a lot easier. 

Dave, THANK YOU! You definitely know your stuff and I can see why you are successful with this strategy. I have some clear action items on my end to explore. Thanks a million for your expertise.

Kesete

Hello BP family. I have two questions as I embark upon my first 1031 exchange and I need your help. Here are my three questions...

1. Can I do a 1031 exchange to close on a property that I currently have under a seller-financing deal?

2. Can I do a 1031 exchange to 2 properties? We have two deals lined up that will qualify as 'like kind' investments.

2. What happens if I have money left over after the 1031 exchange(s)?

3. Can my tax accountant act as our intermediary? Our tax accountant has been very reliable and I'm not sure how to vet possible intermediaries.

Any ideas/thoughts are welcome. Thank you in advance for your help.

@ Kerry Baird, THANK YOU for such a thorough recommendation. I've tried TD, Citizens, US Bank, and PNC to no avail. I'll get back on my game in looking at some of these other resources. My properties are in PA, so I'm hoping that one of them can play ball.

Thanks again. This was very helpful. 

I'm an experiences investor who has built a portfolio based on buying houses with cash. I have one house that has a mortgage, and that home has the most equity in it in my portfolio. I don't want to fully refinance the house because I don't want to restart that mortgage clock, but I know that I can do more deals by tapping into the equity. 

I've contacted various banks/lenders and they are not budging on granting a HELOC because they want to be in first lien position.

I have a couple questions:

1. Is it refi or bust for me?
2. Any banks/lenders you'd recommend?
3. Any advice on next steps? 

Thanks in advance. 

@Michael Wolffs, your thoughts on Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Oakland are correct. There are definitely spaces available, they are just going to go at a premium. You should also look at the Uptown neighborhood. It's going to put you between downtown and Oakland at decent price points. This may be a good area for what you are looking to do. You could attract college students from every college in the area. 

@Michael Wolffs I understand exactly what you are seeing and thinking regarding the development play in Pittsburgh. I'm born and raised and invested in Pittsburgh, and I think that there is potential for that type of development in the more expensive areas. There are condos popping up throughout Pittsburgh (Northside, Southside, Strip District, East Liberty, etc..) so you'll definitely have high-end competition. 

In regards to some of those 'rougher' areas that have a lot of land available, the housing inventory and rents in most of those neighborhoods make that a bad investment in my opinion. 

Northside born and raised (and invested), so my thoughts may be slightly biased. Anyway, here are my thoughts...

1. Northside. The idea that we call this area the Northshore bothers me, but regardless, it's the Northside - Manchester, Brighton Heights, and Marshall-Shadeland. The Esplanade is coming (hopefully) and the Northside still has a lot of inventory if one looks hard enough. The Horace Mann school has been approved for rehab and they will be developing the areas around it. I've seen the plans for the development. 

2. Garfield and Homewood. Both are on the border of the East Liberty boom and they will get residuals from the Lawrenceville boom. I'll also throw Stanton Heights in there, but Stanton Heights has been a destination since I was a baby, so I can't say that it's going to be the 'next' anything. :)

3. Slept On Area - Wilkinsburg. The houses in Wilkinsburg are huge and the prices are good. It puts you close to Monroeville, Oakland, and the Waterfront in Homestead. They also have good inventory out there. If you have time to sit on your investment, I think it's a good one. I have one out there and it's performing well. The biggest issue with Wilkinsburg is the taxes. 

@Jason Evans, I'm in a similar situation right now where I'm trying to figure out how to grab a property via creative financing that still has a mortgage on it. @Kevin Marshall makes great points, and I agree with his thinking. After speaking with several people in the forums, I believe that I'm going to try to do a Master Lease option to ensure that I can get the property without involving a private lender. It's possible, but complicated. For me, I'm going to do a title search on the property as well to ensure that I know exactly what I'm walking into. With something like this, I don't want any surprises.

I'm considering converting one of my SFH (4bd/1bth) rentals into a rent-by-the-room situation. All of my other properties have one family in them, however I wanted to consider the possibility of using this new deal to rent by the room. I have listened to various people speak on the topic but I would like the thoughts from people who currently have properties where they are using this strategy. Here are my questions:

1. Outside of the increase in monthly revenue, what are the pros to renting by the room?

2. In understanding the cons around differing personalities, how did you handle those potential issues?

3. In the homes that you have used this strategy, what was the bedroom/bathroom configuration? 

4. Any other pieces of advice that you are willing to share would be appreciated. 

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.