All Forum Posts by: Matthew Pinkston

I currently have an accepted purchase offer on a great 8-plex in Madrid, Iowa. 

The numbers are solid, and my original bank showed great interest, but the underwriters for that particular bank were hesitant to work with an expat.

I am prepared to present all of the documentation on this deal, including my financials, the purchase agreement, and income/expense statement of the property. The closing date is currently set on or before March 26th, so time is of the essence. 

If you represent or know of a financial institution that would be interested in looking into this deal, please message me. 

Thank you for your consideration!

Thanks for the replies! 

I suppose it would make sense to get everything set up and refi at the moment I'm ready to move on my target property. Though I'm not entirely sure if it would make much difference regarding interest payments. I do currently have mortgages on all 4 properties and one of them is even a bit above current rates. I suppose I'd have to calculate whether the amount of interest I'm saving by refinancing that one at a lower rate is saving me more than the fact I'd be paying a larger portion towards interest by resetting the amortization schedules for all properties, seeing as I'm around 10 years in on 30-year loans.

I'd definitely go 1031 if I do decide to sell one, though I have the added complexity of being a tax-resident in Japan meaning I'd technically have to report the sale and could still be liable for capital gains; no 1031s here :( - though it would still count for depreciation rollover at the very least.

Regardless, setting up a lender that's willing to offer me reasonable terms is the first step no matter how I think about it, so that's where I'll start. 

Hello! I'm looking for some advice on purchasing my next property.

I currently have 4 duplexes purchased the better part of a decade ago. They've appreciated quite nicely and along with increasing rents, have decent cash flow as well. Therefore, I'm rather inclined to keep them (or maybe sell just one at the most).

But I am chomping at the bit to get back into the game and double my state-side holdings by buying at least another 8 units in 2018. 

Should I just go ahead and cash-out refinance them all now and sit on that cash until I find something? I've never done such a refi before and wasn't sure what the implications are. I don't have much cash outside of that equity, but I do have a pretty decent credit score.

What's your recommendation on how I should position myself to pounce on the next great deal?
(specifically looking for a multiplex somewhere in Iowa)

Hi, Haseeb, 

We do plan on having the regular meeting tomorrow. It may not be too large due to many of our regulars heading off on holiday travels, but I'll make the reservation and look forward to meeting whoever shows up. I hope to see you there!

Hi @Rob Witt. I think I may know the property you're talking about. If it is, in fact, the same property - conversion with 5 partial and 1 full bedroom. I've also inspected it (rather had a friend inspect it since I live in Tokyo, but I digress.)

As @Adam McCarty said, I just couldn't make the numbers work. It's overpriced with a fair bit of deferred maintenance issues and one of the units was midway though a questionable renovation. Reliable tenants may be difficult to find for a place like that as well. 

It may still be possible for someone with more experience to make a profit on it somehow, but I think it will take a lot more creativity than just treating it as a buy-and-hold. 

If you're just getting started and want to get in to buy-and-holds, I'd recommend avoiding conversions. It's best to start with a proper duplex/triplex/quad as they've got fewer surprises. They're also much easier to run the numbers on because of this. 

Finally, if you're low on cash, I'd recommend building up a bit of a stash first. Even if you could get that deal, when the cap-ex hits, it's gonna hit hard. Otherwise, if you find a real deal in the meantime, keep networking and perhaps try to find someone to go in on it with you.

Thanks, @Joanne Llaury-Marks. My real problem here is rather than spending too much time, I perhaps don't spend enough time for lack of knowledge on how to do it properly. I can tolerate the 1 day a year where I break out income/expenses for each property on a spreadsheet to send to my CPA for tax purposes, but I'd like/need a way to make better projections and understand my position. That's why hiring a bookkeeper might be good even just to get started. 

I appreciate the recommendation, @Steven Hamilton II. Now that I look into it a bit more, maybe I do need to follow up with Xero. To throw a curveball, I own a property in Tokyo as well, so I'll need to track that too. Multi-currency support is a plus. 

I do like the simplicity of that technique, @Max T.. That's how I've been rolling and getting by with it so far;) My main difficulty with it is categorizing the expenses deductible/depreciable, etc. and understanding the performance of each individual property. I don't plan on selling any, but I would like to know which might need a little extra love.

I think you're probably right about getting a part-time bookkeeper, @Ned Carey. If it saves me even half the stress that my CPA did, it's easily worth it; even if just to get me up and started in a way that I know what I'm doing.

Thanks for including your article, @Account Closed. I hadn't heard of that one. Their website certainly makes it look good. I'll have to put that one under consideration!

Thanks, @Chris Eaker, I tried that a number of years ago, but found it confusing. I probably didn't give it enough of a shake though. And it looks like it's come a long ways. I'll research that again.

I hadn't heard of that, @Joe Garbarczyk. That looks really interesting! I'm probably just short of the scale to warrant the monthly price, but I'm bookmarking that for when I do grow a bit. Thanks for letting me know about it!

I've been holding a few properties for a number of years now, and have been able to scrape by with my bookkeeping well enough to file my taxes. But now that I want to start growing my portfolio again, I know I need to keep much better numbers. I want to be able to tell exactly how well each of my properties are performing at any given time.

How are you managing your books? What's your monthly ritual? Is it worth it to hire a part-time bookkeeper, at what scale would I need one and where do I even find one? Any advice would be appreciated. 

Just one more simple option since it hasn't been mentioned yet is Craigslist. I've found quite a few possible leads there. Of course any deals you might actually want to pursue will need thorough vetting, but it's a great place to find some numbers to play with.