All Forum Posts by: Lara White

@Jordan Fulmer is thinking exactly how I would on it!  Appraisers sometimes has crazy different opinions, but start with those parameters. I would also add, if you have a range of something (like years or square footage), be sure to go both ways when you limit as well.  For example, if your house is 1970, and you want to limit the year built to nothing more than 10 years older, you'll also want to limit it to 10 years younger (1960-1980).  Square footage example: Yours 2,000 ft - then go down to 1,800 and up to 2,200 ft.  If you don't need to restrict so much, you can leave those limiting parameters off, but if you use one limit, you really should use the other way limited as well to get the best results of what an appraiser might use.  

@Jessica Burrell I'm curious about this as well! Are you going to stay in your local area? Is it something you can STR if you can't find a long term tenant and still make the payment? You might connect with a property manager in the area you are looking to buy in, and ask them what they think.

@Hannah Burch Welcome to the BP forums! My husband is at the end of his AF career as well (I was AD Coast Guard many many years ago!).  It's a big transition for sure! 

What area are you looking at investing in? There close to you? For seller financing, you'll likely have to go do some door knocking, or asking around your personal sphere of influence there, find a local REI group, etc.... Not to say it can't happen, but most deals listed with an agent won't be willing to do seller financing. Most of those want to move (individuals moving to the next house), or investors who are looking to 1031 won't want to do seller financing. So, try some alternative methods of finding properties. Can you move into one of the units for a year? (do a VA or FHA loan?)

@Paul Haley Congrats on the deal!  Where did you buy? Did you have a partner (how did you structure the deal)?

@Tommy Dedrick I would call a FHA local lender to get the details. Do you have one in the area you are looking to build? Here's a link to find one if not: https://www.hud.gov/buying/loa...

@Alex Mora have you checked out the Arizona specific forum yet? https://www.biggerpockets.com/...  Might have some good insight on the local markets there!  What makes you interested in the Tucson market? (just curious!)

@Arthur Yu check out/follow the Las Vegas specific forum: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...  Congrats on your deal!  

@Kelly Arkadie No need to apologize on here Kelly!  We were all new to the forums at one time or another!  Are you new to investing, or already in the game?  A couple of things that you might like on here: 

There is a forum specific to San Antonio: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Also, set up some key word alerts for things that interest you.  You can do that by going up to the "bell" icon by your name in the top right corner. And following the drop down box to Keyword Alerts.  (Examples: Texas, San Antonio, multi-family, single family, etc... whatever you are wanting to learn or connect with.)  Welcome!

@Chris Ivy - @Micheal Briscoe is exactly right. A roof won't go much longer than 10 years here (that I've seen!).  Have you checked around with local insurance brokers getting several home insurance rate estimates? I use as a starting point 1% insurance and 1% taxes in my analysis - then dial it in closer if the deal looks like it's worth investigating further.  

@Champ Leong A good place to start might be the Alabama Real Estate Commission https://arec.alabama.gov/arec/...

Alabama Landlord brochure https://www.alabamapublichealt...  And I think this is the actual code https://law.justia.com/codes/a...  It's not easy to find!  https://www.sos.alabama.gov/go...