All Forum Posts by: Michael K Gallagher

@Nathan G. This is a solid policy. Similar to the one we use

This is a great outlook.  completely by mistake and happenstance my wife and I did just this with our duplex.  We were first time buyers and just happened to end up finding something in a class C area that was just nice enough that with a high quality property it brought it high rents, but with the class C area, came with a somewhat reasonable price tag.  So this method absolutely works well when done with intention.  

@Keegan Lawyer congrats on jumping in and welcome!  You seem to be fine with the small stuff, there is no issue at all in going to a large apartment building with your uncle.  Especially if he is familiar with the commercial space, he sounds like he will be a fantastic resource to scale in that asset class sooner rather than later.  

I totally understand and agree with you.  I will tell you though that in general the interpretation of the inspection report, for the most part is up to you.  You are worried, and rightfully so, that the inspector will "down grade" or "overlook" something in a grey area.  From my experience inspection reports mainly just list factual statements, or possible issues.  Its really up to you to determine how much of an issue it is.  the reports tend to read something like "cracking or splitting is floor joists is possible cause for concern, we recommend the opinion of a licensed structural engineer" or something to that effect.  The inspector more points things out, they aren't really grading anything for the most part.  Again from my experience...do with it what you will.  

@Logan Loughmiller our SOP on my team is to provide 3 inspector options that we, the realtors, recommend. These are usually people we have vetted, and worked with before.

We than always make it clear in writing and in conversations that the client always may go outside that and choose their own inspector.

From there it is up to the client. The only thing that matters to us is if the inspection is done by the day in the contract.

Certainly there is conflict of interest say if the realtor has an ownership stake in that company, but outside of that, at least for me it makes no difference who the inspector is!

If you are concerned about the quality of the inspection you’ll get in working through your realtor I’d suggest asking to talk to a past client that has used that inspector and speaking with them about the experience.

Good luck!

@Gregory Schwartz yes! We’ve seen this here in central Ohio for several years. You can still have them write and send letters, but the letter should be vetted/read over to make sure there is nothing in them that violate fair housing.

When I sold my personal residence back in 2018 my realtor couldn’t show me any of the letters because one letter came with a picture depicting the family, so therefore that letter violated fair housing, and my realtor then could not show us any of the letters because if they showed us the rest and not the one with the picture, that also would violate fair housing.

So you can certainly still use them, but the buyer should be educated on what is and is not permitted and needs to be done carefully and with intent.

Cheers!

@Brett Tvenge yessss! Love it! So great!

@Don Konipol this is so amazingly accurate! Thank you for this I’m crying laughing.

Hey @Jacob Sherman congrats on taking the step to jump in! and welcome to BP. Personally if you say you have "limited capitol" I'd suggest steering away from purchasing inside of an LLC. If you have done your homework and you are dead set on it...go for it, don't let me deter you. But I'd suggest going a different route, an owner occupied, or just normal conventional route to get going and get your first few deals under your belt, simply because those are traditionally easier financing experiences. Not always, but traditionally.

If you have not considered it, in my opinion the #1 best way to get started is an FHA 3.5% down house hack on a side by side duplex. So if you have not considered that I'd strongly suggest it. It has a ton of power to build your net worth and cut your expenses. But just my opinion from personal experience. If you have any specific questions about that process let me know, I'd be happy to walk you through it.

I don't personally invest in that area, I'm on the near east side, and Campus area really is an animal all to itself as far as management and regulations so you should reach out to someone familiar with it and who has invested there.  The guys from reafco, especially @Remington Lyman, would not steer you wrong.