All Forum Posts by: Matt Charette

@Hadar Orkibi as I mention in my post I currently have a mortgage on my personal home. It won't make enough money to leave it right now as a rental to pursue another deal. I am in the middle of it being a live in flip while also renting out one of the rooms. So, for now I'm stuck here, but I'm at least capitalizing on my situation.

@James E. it's near the Worcester area. 

I think you hit an issue of mine on the head, I need to work on my networking. I don't have friends/family who would be interested in investing in real estate (their loss unfortunately). I need to start attending REI club meetings, otherwise I won't make contacts for any sort of partnering.

The LOC or HML look like my best bet, thanks for pointing out the LOC.

Hey Folks!

I'm zeroing in on a deal and I need some advice on the funding. The MF I'm looking to purchase is looking for $150k cash purchase, you can probably guess I do not have $150k sitting around. I'd estimate the ARV would be about $190-200k. I'd still offer slightly lower, but here is my financial situation:

-Currently paying $1600/mo on my personal home

-I have $12k in cash, $8k in taxable investment accounts I can liquidate, I also have ~$30k in an Roth IRA. If the deal is worth it I could withdraw from my IRA.

At this point I think I'd have to get a hard money loan and definitely have skin in the game to get the loan. What makes sense here and how should I do it? Let's say I have an accepted offer of $140k, to be able to refinance to a 30yr mortgage, I'd need at least 20% down, $28k. Let's call it $35k for down payment and closing costs. I'd need a loan of about $140k for purchase and repairs. 

So, how do I work this? Do I start with a hard money lender and then the bank? Do I start with the hard money with 20% skin in the game and then ask for the full $140k to cover all purchase and repairs, make the repairs, get an appraisal, THEN get a conventional loan to get out from under the hard money loan? How much extra/emergency money will the bank want me to have available to carry these two mortgages? Or, do I keep waiting and saving up money till I can better handle the load?

I appreciate any feedback. I don't want to be another person who gives up and never gets started...

Thanks @Matt Steele, I did decide to do this myself. Since I’ve already done a room in the past I’m familiar with the method, the decision came down to profit margin on the house. No need to pay ~$5k to have someone do the work I can do. 

I am steaming the wall, Chomp didn’t work too well for me the last go around. I forget what my wall material is, but it’s not standard drywall with paper. It’s old thick plasterboard which I’ve been told it’s worth it’s weight in gold. 

Thanks again for the feedback!

Hey folks, I’m in the process of a DIY live in flip. I’ve already fully renovated one bedroom top to bottom. I still have about 700-1000 square feet of rooms with wallpaper that needs to be removed, repaired, skimmed and painted. I’m going to remove all the wallpaper myself at my own pace, in the process now, but I’ve got a lot of large wall cracks I want to make sure it’s done right and doesn’t resurface before I sell. I also realize that range is wide, which brings me to my questions. 

I have a lot of walls in my home, it’s not very open. When contractors ask how much square feet needs to be done what figure is that coming from, the square footage on the walls them selves or the size of the room itself?

I don’t want to skimp on quality, but what is a fair or expected range in the Stoughton area? (South of Boston) 

Any referrals would be appreciated also!

I could recommend Dale Weaver of Dreamweaver Inspections. I've used him 3 times for single family homes and have been very satisfied. His prices are fair and he usually has an apprentice with him as well. You get two sets of eyes for the price of one. I don't know about his history specific to multifamilies though. 

http://dreamweaverinspections.com/

@Charlie MacPherson I've started to turn my feelings on Fall River thanks to @Gualter Amarelo.

My target is a paltry $120k right now. I have an IRA I could leverage to put myself in a higher range, but a SDIRA is a little outside my comfort zone on my first deal. That target can at least work for the Fall River market, but still limiting. I am aiming for MF right now, trying to mitigate my risk on vacancies.

@Larry Fried to start my rental portfolio I am focused on MF. I'm trying to mitigate my risk against vacancy on a property, down the road I'd be comfortable with SFR.

That's a good read you've put together on your blog, I'll bite. I am investing already in a crowdfunding site earning 8-10%, but the more information the better! Could you PM the details?

@Gualter Amarelo It's good to hear that it's not affecting the rental market. My perception is skewed as well because my father has had property there for 30 years and he's been advising against going there, my family grew up there so there could be other feelings involved into the mindset. 

I do see the cash flow opportunities in the research I've done, so it's hard to completely turn away from the city. 

@Charlie MacPherson That's very helpful for Brockton. My perception has always been based around mostly around the center and it's status. I'll have to take a drive around the west side. Plymouth and Brockton are currently out of my price range right now, I can at least start the homework. Thanks again!