All Forum Posts by: Michael Dumler

@Adrian Marshall connecting with wholesalers should be pretty straightforward. Continue to attend your local REI group and ask other investors if they have ever worked with a wholesaler on a deal. Every wholesale company should also have a website or Facebook business page that you can use to get more contacts. Lastly, BiggerPockets is a great resource for connecting with wholesalers. Which market are you in? Hope this helps.

@Chris G. the high vacancy rate is most likely due to the fact that you are renting by the room. I would suggest changing your investment strategy and instead rent per unit. Implementing a rent per unit strategy may decrease your cash flow, but it''s better then having your properties sit vacant for months. Also to note, the timing for student housing is best in the months of July and August before the new semester kicks off. Most students heading into the Spring semester have already established their living situation. In addition, there are also numerous other variables/factors to account for when it comes to college rentals. For instance, how close are your properties to campus? Overall, I'm a big advocate for rent by the room investments, but the timing plays a big role. Hope this helps! 

@John Bourque HELOCs are available for primary residences and rental properties. You're correct, in addition to higher rates and fees when obtaining a HELOC for an investment property, there are also stricter approval requirements (high credit score, LTV ratio, gross rental income, cash reserves, etc). A local credit union is probably your best bet for finding a HELOC. You can also look into a cash-out refi which have similiar standards and requirements to be meet. Hope this helps!

@Sean Ryther door-knocking and direct mailers are great methods to get off market deals, but recognize the fact that it is a high volume strategy. Sure you hear about success stories of investors getting a homerun deal from their first direct mail campaign or on the fourth door they knocked, but these examples are a dime in a dozen. First I would ask, how long have you been trying to get a deal? If it has only been a couple of months then you don't necessarily need to reevaluate your strategy just yet. Getting solid deals takes time. I'd recommned that you continue to consistenly put in offers while saving cash on the side. Pulling a HELOC is also an excellent strategy to obtain cash, in fact many investors use this, however, if you do decide to go down this route you need to run your numbers religiously. Hope this helps!

@Josh Phillips you're correct, most conventional loans require 15% down to purchase an owner occupied duplex. Is the lisitng agent saying the duplex is not eligible for FHA? If so, this is a very lose rule. More likely then not, the seller is looking for a stronger offer becuase the guidelines to qualify for FHA are strict when accounting for the conditon of the duplex. Since you are already under contract on the property, I would consider sending an amendment that you as the buyer will be changing your financing terms from conventional to FHA. The seller will most likely push back, but they may also be in a position where they would rather close on the deal then bring it back on the market. Hope this helps!

@Brahmjot K. picking a market to invest in is entirely dependent on your investment strategy and what you consider a good deal. Nevertheless, out of state investing is all about having a resourceful team to work with that will bring you solid opportunities. David Greene discusses this concept in depth in his book, "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing." I highly recommend you take a look at that before considering jumping into a completely new maket. Briefly, the book reiterates the importance of developing your core four (real estate agent, lender, contractor, property management) when beginning to invest out of state. I will say, if you're seeking "affordable housing" then generally you're midwest and south east states are a good starting point. Every agent/investor on BP is going to advocate their market, but at the end of the day if you have not devised your strategy or set systems into place, regardless of how great the market is you will see little results. Hope this helps! 

@Devwin D. Rankins Sr. you bought the property for 10k, needs 60k in rehab, and will rent for $1,100 a month?! This sounds like the holy grail of all deals! Most investors forget that part of completing a successful BRRRR deal is indeed buying the property with cash first. As far as financing the rehab, you have a couple of avenues. First, any hard money lender that verifies your analysis and confirms your numbers will have no issue lending to complete the deal. I would reach out to several hard money lenders and shop around for the best rate and terms. After completing the rehab with a HML, refinance and pull your money out to pay back the lender. Second, and maybe a little more work on your end, network with other investors to raise private money. Both of these options will cut into your ownership/equity, but at the end of the day you need them to complete the deal. Hope this helps!

@Joseph Ellengar personally I have never used Zillow's rent estimates as a resourceful metric. If the rent estimates are anything like their proposed sale listings, then more likely then not the numbers are inaccurate. Zillow claims to have made improvements in their algorithm, but take that with a grain of salt. To successfully pull lease comparables, I advise sticking to the mls or another site like Rentometer which tends to be more accurate. I would also reach out to several property management groups, as most companies will give you free market analysis. Hope this helps. 

@Davon Johnson Investing out of state (remotely) is all about implementing a successful strategy and developing your core four (RE agent, lender, contractor, property management, etc). I would first advise that you narrow down on your criteria and stick to a specific investment strategy as well as one or two niched markets. Newer investors make the mistake all the time of trying to broaden their net into multiple markets, I understand the logic, but the strategy is quite counterintuitive. Sounds like you're on the right track as far as networking with real estate agents. I also recommend you work with an agent that either has rentals or is consistently working with out of state investors. If it's cash flow you're more focused on, generally your midwest and south east states are more favorable, but to reiterate, if you don't have a resourceful team assembled, I can almost guarantee you won't have much success. Hope this helps! 

@Yadira Gutierrez to be upfront, all the questions you are asking should ideally be addressed before taking a trip to view the properties. For instance, "what to look for in a community?" The question is entirely dependent on your criteria and if you are seeking A, B, or C class subdivisons. When you say your scouting trip, does this mean you are traveling out of state? If so, I would be mindful of your time and energy. Have you analyzed the properties and determind that they meet your criteria and cash flow accordingly? My overall check list when viewing a property consists of looking for major red flags, such as, damage to the roof, foundation/structural issues, holes in the wall, water damage, etc. Moving forward, I highly advise that you get crystal clear on your criteria before making the trip to view properties. Do you mind sharing your strategy to follow? Hope this makes sense and helps!