All Forum Posts by: Mike Shemp

Hi @Account Closed,

When you are shopping for a lender, you should also take a look at their Facebook and Google reviews (and not just their BBB ratings).  I recently ran into problems with a lender that I would never do business with again.  The mistake I made was that I didn't look at the Facebook/Google reviews first, as they showed all the comments from people who had a bad experience with them and also their overall rating (which was in the 3's out of 5 stars).

My advice would be check their ratings, and if they have less than 4 stars...there is probably a reason for that and I would look elsewhere.

Mike

@Liam Galbraith

My only advice would be to make sure you look at the Google and Facebook reviews for any lender before you do business with them (don’t just look at the BBB ratings alone).

I was recently taken advantage of by a lender, and had I looked at the reviews for their bank (they were less than 4 stars), I would not have not made that mistake. Just want to share this with you so you don’t make the same mistake I did.

@Darryn Oliver

Hi Darren - Just a tip from someone who got taken advantage of recently, make sure that you look at the reviews of the lender you are interested in on Google and Facebook before doing business with them. If they have less than 4 stars, there is probably a reason for that. I would personally look elsewhere.

Hi All,

I had recently had a negative experience with a lender , and wanted to provide to share a tip with everyone that may help them avoid the mistake that I made.

The mistake I made is that I did not check the reviews of the lender on Facebook and Google before entering into a transaction with them.

My tip/lesson learned for anyone who is going to use a lender, is to check the reviews of their company on Facebook page or Google FIRST.  Don't just rely on the Better Business Bureau, but look at the other review sites so that you can put together a comprehensive picture of what doing business with the lender is like.

If the company has a rating below a 4, you may want to ask yourself why that is.  I know for me personally when I purchase a product online at one of the online stores, if it doesn't have at least a rating of a 4 I generally will not buy it.  

This is a super simple tip, and hope that this post can help someone avoid the mistake that I made.

Mike

HI Dale - I was in a similar situation/question that you had at one point. 

I was going to do a cash-out refi, but had some challenges going that route so am probably just going to stick with the HELOC for now. Please feel free to DM me if you have any specific questions.

Some routers have a Parental Controls feature or web site blocking feature that allows you to restrict access to various web sites using keywords.  If you have concerns of them doing anything illegal, you could always enable those features to help minimize the possibility.

Mike

@Aaron Cieply - Sure...please let me know any questions you have.  Happy to answer them or provide more details.

We have two short-term rentals in vacation markets that we manage remotely and have found success in it.  Once you determine the market you want, and the kind of property/rental you want to offer (giant house? families? couples?), you should consider purchasing the revenue data.  You can then punch in the revenue data numbers into your spreadsheet to help ensure that part of your calculation is more than just a guess.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.  Happy to help!

Mike

I would get the septic inspection.  We were looking at one house and the septic inspection found a completely failed septic system.  Depending on where you live, this can be extremely expensive.  For example in New Jersey a new septic by the time you get all the permits and fees paid can cost you north of $30k.

Mike

We managing 2 STRs remotely.  Some of the critical things for us are:

1. Great team (cleaner, handyman, plumber, electrician, appliance person)

2. Pick a property with an unfair advantage (river, lakeview, oceanview, mountain view, acreage, privacy)

3. If you manage yourself and don't use a PM, do some "what if" scenario wargaming on a spreadsheet which will help identify what contacts you need to make, or things you need to do:

     Guest called that washer is not working.  

     Guest called that they locked themselves out.

     Guest called that the outside shower door blew off in the wind.

     Guest called because they saw ants in the kitchen.

     Guest called that property was not clean enough upon arrival.

Please feel free to reach out for any specific questions.

Mike