All Forum Posts by: Kevin Manafi

Hi @Bradley Rieger, congrats on the success with your first house hack! 

DSCR loans are a super popular product for investors today. They can be issued in the name of an LLC and are almost entirely backed by the property as long as you hit a minimum credit score requirement and the building's rent roll covers the mortgage payment by 1.1-1.3x (varies by lender. This is the meaning of Debt Service Coverage--how many times over the rent roll "covers" the debt service--your mortgage payment).

Hi @Christopher Munoz, welcome to the BP community! You're definitely in the right place and you seem to have the right idea. 

I'm an investor and investor-agent in Northern NJ. I work with both fix-and-flips as well as traditional buy-and-hold rentals. Happy to connect!

Hi @Sayghim Kuay, welcome to the BiggerPockets community!

I am an investor and investor-agent in North Jersey (Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Passaic counties) and have plenty of experience working with investors of all experience levels. I'd be happy to connect and chat more about you and your investment objectives.

Hi @Yesenia Martinez, you can reach out to most any insurance provider and they should be able to give you a quote based on the address. Sometimes they will need what is called an "elevation certificate" to get you the most accurate quote, but they should be able to get you a ballpark with just the address. Flood insurance is almost always part of FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program, so the quotes will be pretty standard from provider to provider.

Hi @Kera Takacs--generally speaking, unless you're trying to include some very unique clauses, the standard lease used by the Association of Realtors for your state will be more than fine for most landlords. However, if you're planning to buy and hold plenty of units in the future, it's never a bad idea to pay a lawyer once and have them draft up some custom paperwork for you to use moving forward so you never have to think twice about it.

@Parth Patel It varies depending on your state/jurisdiction, but for the most part, STR's are defined as stays of less than 30 days.

Hey @Krystin Nangcas, having your parents offer you a nice off-market deal is a great way to get your real estate investing career kicked off! It's hard to advise you on a course of action without knowing your personal situation, finances, goals, etc. as this is a very personal decision. If you don't have much prior real estate experience or specifically any flipping/renovation experience, a live-in flip would probably be easier for you and your family. You can live there for a few years, take advantage of being closer to the in-laws and the lower mortgage payment, and do the renovation over time so that it's not as overwhelming or capital intensive as doing it all at once. Your options then stay open to either refinance and pull some cash out in a few years while keeping the property as a rental, or just selling it outright and taking the equity. 

@Eric Braxton J Scott's book on Estimating Rehab Costs is fantastic--one of my personal favorites. However, I think it's best for giving you the rundown on all different types of rehab elements, things to consider for each, and general frameworks of going about rehabbing a property. It shouldn't be used as a de-facto guide to the costs since it is, after all, a book that is not updated daily or yearly with up-to-date costs, and definitely not for every geography. The most reliable method would be having a contractor walk the property with you if that's an option.

Hi @Tereneshia Watkins, if you're planning to use an FHA loan to house-hack (the most common route for house-hackers as you can put down as little as 3.5%), then you do need two years of tax returns. However, there are plenty of other mortgage products--specifically called non-QM products (non-qualifying mortgage)--that let you qualify in alternative, non-traditional ways. There are even loan products that qualify people with no tax returns. The catch, of course, is that you will pay a higher interest rate, and for the most part these loans require a more significant down payment (20-25%).

Hi @Joshua Sparrow, 

In my opinion, getting started locally (at least for your first deal) definitely has some benefits and can make life a bit easier on you in the beginning. Like most trades, but especially in real estate, there is a learning curve over your first few deals. Being local enables you to have boots on the ground so you can actually go see/feel/touch and be involved with your property and the people you are working with. Also, as you mentioned, it gives you a leg up as you already have a great network of people you trust locally. Having people you can trust is the name of the game in this business, so you really can't put a price on that.