All Forum Posts by: Matt Vezina

A coworker house hacking a duplex got me interested in the idea, I started researching and many of my Google searches returned a list of BP threads pretty close to the top.  

I'm thinking NEK is the big hangup more than where you're advertising, seems like hardly anything outside of Chittenden county moves fast in the state but especially slow and cheap in that neck of the woods.. I wouldn't worry too much about Craigslist, granted I've never listed real estate on there but scammers are pretty easy to spot and just as easy to ignore and move on from it.  Like when I post a truck for sale and get an email that says tell me more about your car... 

Could also be aluminum wiring they are concerned about at that age, if that's the case a fairly inexpensive retrofit can be done on the receptacles without ripping anything out of the walls. 

I hope I can attend!  This time of year it depends on whether the maple sap runs, I may be stuck in the sugarhouse if a warm spell comes and we are boiling into the evening.  

I've recently discovered personal loans too and found myself surprised they aren't talked about on here more.  It is definitely expensive money but seems like a great way to start out with limited cash but excellent credit.  

One thing to know about Sofi if you are starting out is their underwriting will auto reject if you have less than four trade lines on your credit history.   That was my case, 750+ credit but only two cards and a credit builder loan on my history so I was locked out.  For comparison, Lending Club approved me for up to $36,000 at 13.5% and Prosper maxed out at $15,000 with similar rate.  Considering that I am only four months into a job after a six month employment gap for travel, and reported my annual income as $34k that seems pretty darn generous for completely unsecured money. 

Lots of inspiration in this thread! My goal for 2018 is purchasing my first property. Looking for a multi family in need of repair to combine house hacking and BRRRR strategies. I've got the cash, I know the area market and I'm connected with an investor friendly agent, now time is the only missing ingredient as I wait to hit six months of employment at my current job for financing to pull through.

@Jay Hinrichs I would love to hear more about this. Timber is an asset I'm very interested in and I have a strong understanding of the technical side as far as product classes, desirable trees etc. I have a much harder time finding information about deal analysis and financing so I'm not really sure where it would fit in the long term plan. I've heard mention of a 60% rule, that is Capital Timber Value => 60% of the asking price has potential to be a sound investment, but there are certainly strong opinions both ways about the other percent rules in REI.

On financing I gather than most lenders don't want to touch small parcels, most I've seen have a $200-300k minimum and some start in the millions usually at 65-70 LTV. Are the payments typically fully amortized the same way as a residential loan? So if I have a harvest and prepay a large sum towards the loan will it reduce the payment amount or just the number of payments? That's what I'm wrestling with the most. I would love to have a couple hundred acres but if there's say a $20,000 annual payment that never changes it seems like it would just suck my cash flow dry every year that isn't a harvest year.

@Megan Phillips Thanks for the suggestions, I've heard that with a unique financial situation I may do better with a broker who has more options.  I've heard of both Spruce and VT Mortgage co.  will consider them when the time comes.  As far as why not NH it really only pertains to owner occupying this first purchase.  I work in Marshfield (If you're driving along rt. 2 and pass the sugarhouse under construction south of the town center, that's me!) and a half hour is about the max commute time I'm willing to entertain.  That has me mainly looking at Barre & Saint J, seems like any significant population center in NH is gonna be a little longer on the commute.  After this first one I'll go anywhere in the area if it makes more sense, I've looked at a lot of stuff in both NH and MA.   

@Samantha Hiscock Appreciate your suggestions too, I've heard you mentioned before as an investor friendly agent.  Working in the maple business my highest earning months of the year will be roughly January-mid April so I'm planning to purchase after the sugaring season.  No use rushing to purchase now right before having a lot more cash at my disposal, and I currently have a room in employee housing for about $300 a month so I'm set for the winter.  With that in mind I wouldn't want to waste time having you show me places right now but I will definitely be in touch when the time comes.   I sent you a colleague request a little while back but maybe it fell through the cracks.  

@Tom S.Thanks for the suggestions, it's been my general impression that I'll have better chances at a local institution. Although interestingly I was talking to a loan officer at Heritage Family Credit Union which holds my savings account and her opinion was that they were more strict than national banks.  Do you know any of these institutions well enough to venture a guess at where I might have the best chances with a spotty income/employment history?  Have 790+ FICO, about $30k reserves and will be at least six months into a steady 36-45K job when I apply but tax returns for the last few years are a basket case from low income while I got 20s wanderlust out of my system on long hiking trips.  Priorities have changed and I'm ready to start the next chapter but I fear the average lender will say "not so fast" when they see my recent income history.  That's what originally got me looking for private lenders, basically a bridge option to get rental income established while my W2 stabilizes enough to qualify for a refi.  

If your state requires a license for the applicable situation, the answer would likely depend on whether that company employs a licensed master electrician who can sign for the work of said unlicensed contractor.