All Forum Posts by: Michael Craven

@Chris Niemeyer congrats! Thanks for sharing

Congrats! That's awesome

I just purchased my first cabin in Blue Ridge last month and am getting ready to put in live soon. I'd be happy to share how it goes once we have pushed it live.

I wouldn't fully write it off for being a townhome style. If it has views and is close to the river, I think people will still like it. There are some people that travel to the mountains to stay in a cabin so they may not stay in a townhome, but if the numbers work then it's not something I would completely write off. I'd just be sure to be conservative in your numbers when you analyze the deal. A hot tub would also really help, too, and maybe a game room/theatre room if possible.

Hi @Maddy Jane welcome to BP! As was pointed out by another BP member, you can't get an owner-occupant (primary residence loan) if you are not actually an owner-occupant. Rather, you'd have to get a loan for an investment property. You can still do 30 year fixed and the closing wouldn't look all that different. Many lenders will require 15-20% down for a single family investment property and the rates for an investment property are a little higher. That said, if you are looking at a half point higher interest difference between the two loans, that really shouldn't make or break the deal. Investment loan interest rates in the 3's is still fantastic. It was only a few years ago I was paying 5%-5.5% interest.  

In short, I'd strongly recommend not trying to get a primary residence loan on an investment property because 1) the only real advantage is the down payment requirement and 2) you can certainly find yourself in hot water by not actually intending on living there

This is awesome! I am (semi) new to Cincy and am trying to learn all the areas (for myself and for investing). Appreciate it!

Hey @Chris Mendoza go to their website, click on blog, and then scroll down and they have 2020 and 2019 data for the Blue Ridge markets (as well as many others).

I'd add to factor in a couple things:

1) The cost of hard money (how much will you pay in interest and fees). Factor that into the deal to make sure it works

2) You may have already done this- but double check the ARV and rehab costs. Wholesalers are often "generous" in their rehab estimates and ARV.

I'd also go ahead and start shopping lenders for the refi- while you are still 6 months of seasoning away from the refinance, make sure you have one lined up that will do the refinance. 

Hey Micah, I've done both (for primary residence and investment properties). I like HELOCs for short-term financing. I like that I can use it, pay interest only for a period, and then repay if I need to. I've used this for BRRRR deals and it works really well because I can pay off the HELOC when I refi the BRRRR deal. The nice thing is that you only pay interest on what you use. If you plan on carrying a balance long-term, then a cash-out refinance could be a good option. The closing costs are typically more for a cash out refi vs HELOC, though, and you pay interest from the get-go since you received the lump sum of money. The cash out refi can also be a 30 year loan. Most of the HELOCs I've seen don't have payback periods that long (some do, though).

One thing to mention is that if many banks aren't doing HELOCs on investment properties right now (some still are, but not as many are doing cash-out refis). For that reason, you may find that a cash-out refi is the best way to pull out as much equity as possible. Totally up to your preference and specific needs though. 

As @Kevin Troidl said, it does vary a lot. I generally shy away from northwest Dayton off of Salem Ave. That said, there are many investors that are very successful in that area. It all depends on what you prefer.