All Forum Posts by: Nadia White

I wholeheartedly agree with @Brian Garrett, but what is done is done. However, yes, we would need some numbers to help you out. There are parts in a house where you can potentially cut corners, others where I never would. Keep in mind that the structure, the roof, the systems (water heater, HVAC, electrical...) have to be in very good condition to sell full value. An inspector would not cut you any slack on that (nor should the buyer). I would follow @John Webster's advice, if you are in a first home buyers market and the market is tight. Go to the MLS and look what's on the market in the same price range right now. You have to get at par with it.

The best thing however is to NEVER buy too high! You buy too high for only two reasons: 1. you badly need a deal or 2. you bought into the seller's sad story. Reason 1: better no deal than stinky deal. I personally don't want to break even or, worse, loose money. Reason 2: as much as you can be compassionate, it is not our role to take on other people's problems and end up broke. Bad idea that I see too often and that is going to bite people in their rear end, eventually.  

Good luck! Let us know how well you did!

So, my guess was right. But do you know that usually 75% of the rent income is included in the debt to income ratio, if you can show consistent payment of your tenants for at least 12 months? This may not be you deciding factor, but might help you nevertheless. But here are my 2 cents: if becoming a landlord is the vehicle you want to use to create your residual income, the sooner you start, the better. Getting into a mortgage for your own property could be more risky than renting. If hard times struck, it's easier to downsize by quitting your own landlord than negotiating with banks. Also, you might want to talk to an attorney on how to structure your rental ownerships in order to minimize your own exposure legally, financially and from a tax perspective. Tax rules have changed, not only in terms of deductible amounts, but also the required length of time you have to live in your property (or part thereof) before you can get tax deductions. Ultimately, I think it comes down to you gathering solid info, sitting down to write the pros and cons, evaluating your tolerance to risk and your own heart. Good luck! (and whatever your decision will be it will be the right one!)

@Shane Pawich, could you please explain why you think that, owning a rental and having am mortgage on it, would keep you from buying your own house for 7 years? I may sound thick here, but I don't see the correlation.

Gained freedom, made friends, learned new ways of thinking, becoming more creative, learned a LOT about marketing, love my county and its population even more.

I totally agree with @David Bokman. Marketing is the name of the game. In other words, you are not in the real estate business, you are in the marketing business. It does not matter after which list you are chasing. What matters is to have a consistent, multi-faceted strategy that you religiously follow, day in day out. Don't leave anything out: online and offline actions are equally important. 

Good luck!

Hi @Lee S.. I know that CallRail integrates very well with Podio. I'm not very familiar with it, but being a GlobiFlow customer too, I see many people talking about it and they seem to be satisfied with it. I have thought of doing the very same thing, but I dread the process of having to port my numbers... Let me know how you fare.

@Richard Kolb, where do you stand with tht deal (this conversation is 3 months old, so I don't know if you closed or not). I have an idea, but if things have settled, no need to type a long answer.

Balloons are not illegal if you work with a "commercial" counterpart. In other terms, if the borrower is a company AND that the house is NOT going to be occupied by the owner of that company, the possibilities are wide open. Dodd-Franck regulations only apply to residential real estate where the borrower is a private individual that is going to occupy the property as his primary residence. 

You can en encourage your borrower to refinance by having a 5 year fixed rate (required by Dodd-Frank) and have an adjustable rate as from year 6 ( again with rates being within limits allowed by Dodd-Frank). You can also extend discounts. Ex: 5% discount if refinanced between 1 and 24 months... There are many ways to encourage a "balloon" without calling it a balloon. We work with owner financing and show our buyers how they would benefit from refinancing and have them work with a good mortgage broker. 

@Michael Kappel, I have used PatLive in the past, because I was told that there should always be a "live" person answering the phone. Well, I have mixed feelings about it... First, when I used them, I was a new investor and did not have a lot of money. Their price is pretty steep... I ended up having $300 to $400 bills/month. I could not sustain that. Besides, I "tested" them... and the live person sounded... very mechanical. What I mean by that is that she was very young (not bad in itself), sounded inexperienced and exaggerated the "thank you, for this answer", that was repeated after each answer. I truly did not like that. So, long story short, I finally cancelled the service mostly for financial reasons. So, we started to pick up the phone ourselves. Yes, it takes some time, but it pays off. We can build rapport right away with our prospects and, at the same time, eliminate the "tire kickers". And for the people who don't leave a message because "there is no live person who answers the phone", well... they are not motivated sellers. For us, voicemail is a way to test their motivation. I hope this helps you a little bit. Have a wonderful day!

Welcome, @Steve Kehoe. BiggerPockets is going to help you tremendously. Many people who have a lot of deals under their belt and a treasure chest of experience. Good luck with your new endeavor!