All Forum Posts by: Mike Ipsen

 Not sure what bank has done you wrong, but yes. It is a credit union and yes they agree to such terms and size of loan.

This particular one was not brought to me by the wholesaler. I have not made any offer on this place yet, so I can change anything I desire. Such as a much lower offer price. After doing some more research last night it looks like this place should fall more in the 40-50k range. Based on comp sales in the area.

Yes, this mock up was with the intent of the tenant paying for all of that. Is that nor normal for your rentals? It was for mine previously.

Alright, I will get a move on with the PM side. I have connected with a BP member that is a wholesaler in Harrisburg. She mentioned there is a good PM in the area, I just need to get the name. :-) I guess a PM would be able to give me feedback about specific areas too. 

Thanks!

I was very clear with my lender, whom I have worked with for decades, that this was an investment property that I would not live in. So I would not expect those numbers to change. I never said I was paying full market value. The price in the calc is actually 4k below market value, but I would not start my offer that high as that leave no room for negotiation. The higher PM and maint number may make me rework things a bit, but still not a bad deal, right? 

I do plan on visiting the area, but nobody can get a feel for entire neighborhood from just one visit. So to combat that weakness I plan on asking people in the are, like yourselves, for opinions on the area. I do have some contact I am building in Harrisburg, but the team is not in place yet. After looking at the tax records I figure I can probably ask $60k for it. The comments are leading toward owner financing, which is fine. I am working my numbers off my local bank numbers though. I called them today and they can do lending for homes in PA.

If I was local I might do work myself, but my goal is to be detached from the property. I do not want to be a landlord, I want to be an owner with teams in place to manage everything. Good tip on raising the CapEx, I will rerun it with the higher percentage.

For now I use google earth to "fly" through a neighborhood. Some things are clear indicators of a bad neighborhood. This one does not look bad, well maintained yard and homes for the most part. Some other cheap ones it was clear were a no-go due to car husks in the street and many boarded up homes.

I appreciate the feedback, keep it coming. :-)

View report

Looking for my first properties. Value has drawn me to Harrisburg, PA. What am I missing on this one? No kid gloves required, please pick it apart. 

Dumpster time, the bomb shelter is interesting. You should give us a tour of that too. :-)

#2 would be my choice for a couple of reasons.

1. They are already paying nearly the same amount in rent. Going from $500 to $1200 would be painful for #1 and could make them not be able to pay.

2. The collections were rather small and everything else was paid on time for 2 years. The amount of open credit lines can mean they do not manage money well. I was the same way at that age, but rent was always the first thing to get paid. Everything else can wait, you have to have a place to live. :-)

I know this is an older post, but I thought I would reply. The homes that Habitat builds are nice. So the values/rents in the area should go up. Also the Habitat homes create a bit of stability for the area since they are not going to be moving out any time soon. Full disclosure, I am on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County, in Washington State.