All Forum Posts by: Kevin Hunter

@Oscar Prado, congrats on the first deal!  Sounds like a winner.  Are there any rules/laws regarding zoning that you have to worry about when you go from one trailer on the property to two?  I haven't seen a lot on these in the forums so I am curious...Either way, great to see you are out there making deals.  Keep us posted..

@Alex D., the information above is incorrect. You can use VA to finance the construction of a new home. Although the process can be a bit tedious, there are lenders out there that will do it. If you PM me, I can give you the name of a national company and contact info for a broker that does them. All the same rules apply to the VA loan regarding occupancy etc...Good luck!

@James Miller, thanks for the thoughts.  That is exactly what I did!!  Easy and done, and I sleep well at night.

@Paulo Trindade, welcome to the posts. This is a great site for the networking you are looking for to get started. What drove you to the Hagerstown market? I am also in Northern VA and am curious what made that market appeal to you, other than just prices and proximity to NOVA. Good luck!

@Joshua Sclafani,

1.  Instead of "wanting top dollar", be reasonable and set a price that will get it rented sooner than later.  Every day that it goes unrented because you priced the rent to high is a day that you are losing money.

2.  Keep detailed records and stay on top of the tenants.  Do not accept excuses or scapegoats, only accept rent checks with or without a late payment.

3.  Make sure the tenants know you will be checking on the property routinely.  See @Thomas S.point above about tenants not caring about their landlords.

4.  Treat it like a business, it is one!

@Jeffery R., I agree with Austin that all adults should be on that lease.  This way if the woman stops paying, you can go after the boyfriend and father.  Not that it will definitely work, but if they understand they are all responsible it will help.  Total income for all paying members should be taken into account.  The type of neighborhood will drive expectations in my opinion.  If it is in an A or B neighborhood, probably three times the rent for monthly income. C or D, you wont find that so you will need to accept two times rent.  I just closed on a fourplex last week and we just placed a tenant that makes 2.6 times the monthly rent.  Not ideal, but it is a B- neighborhood and that is one of the risks that comes with it.  Call their last two landlords.  Ask them about payment timeline(on time or late), did they take care of the property, etc...

@Dustin Beam, if you weren't stressing it a little bit then you wouldn't be taking it seriously enough.  This is a business, peoples homes are concerned, etc...  No matter though, it is a great opportunity and I am happy for you!  Good luck moving forward.  Keep us posted.

@Nasir Francis, check out Brandon Turner's book in the Education tab of this site.  He wrote a book called "Investing in Real Estate With No, or Low, Money Down."  Check it out.

@Account Closed.  I think you are being way to patient.  Spend a little more money on a contractor who will make you a priority, get in and out, so you can get the places re-rented.  I don't know the specifics of your particular place, but as I thought about your situation I made some assumptions. Let's say you are looking at an increase of 100 per month from say 750-850.  That means in three months you have lost 4250 in possible rents per month or 12750 total over the three months.  If you increased your bid price to the contractors by 2500 could you have gotten it done a month earlier??...That 2500 would actually net you a 1750 surplus.   For me, I always concentrate on as little a vacancy as possible.  I would say, again without knowing the specifics of size and scope of work, the rehabs should be complete and on the rental market again within one month.  That would have saved you 8500......

@Alex D., I disagree with David above a bit.  While he suggested what works for him, the key is you need to do what works for you.  If you are uncomfortable investing in Hawaii because of the prices to get started, then look elsewhere.  When doing that, things get a little bit more complicated.  You need to know the area as well as your own backyard, and you have to find people you trust.  One way to start are the forums here.  I would post a forum in the forums titled something along the lines of "Forming My Team in XXXXX(City), need help making contacts.  Make sure you have the name of the city in your post and ask for recommendations for realtors, property managers, mortgage brokers, contractors, etc....While folks are getting back to you, you need to study that area.  Learn all the neighborhoods, know the prices, understand the pros and cons (schools, crime, transiency, growth, taxes, etc...)   You are correct about an agent not wanting to make 100 offers for you.  When starting out, you need to earn their trust and faith that you will follow through.  Pick one or two or three properties that work for you and offer on those.  Once you get a deal done, your agent will know that you are for real and will entertain making more offers.  For example, I closed on a house in Shelton CT last week.  It is a four family unit in an area that I have been scouting for a long time. I don't live there though.  I found the property and contacted the listing agent and offered for him to represent both the buyer and the seller.  Now he doubles his commission and would be willing to work with both parties to get a deal done.  It benefits him.  If I went with another agent, the seller's agent may have been less willing to bring low offers(my offer was far below ask) for fear of him losing a big chunk of commission money.  Now that the deal is done, the agent is more than willing to make multiple offers on properties for me because he knows I am for real.  Keep me in the loop.  Feel free to pm me and I can assist more.  I have properties in three different states from east coast to west coast.  Good luck!