All Forum Posts by: Nich J.

Thanks for the replies

I found an owner of a tri-plex that may be interested in selling off market, they also happen to be an agent.  Are there any advantages or disadvantages to working with them on the purchase instead of using my agent?

Is anyone cashing out on properties that have had improvements done to them without a "seasoning period" or do you just have to wait it out?  If so, how are you doing it?

20% minimum. Here's why - Furnishing a place is expensive and i want to recoup those costs.  Stuff will break and everything will wear out faster. Its more work than anticipated responding to bookings, coordinating with the cleaning crews, answering ridiculous questions.  Higher risk with the constant turnover, my specific situation is seasonal and most of the revenue is generated in the summer months.    

I bought a lakefront cabin and turned it into a short-term vacation rental. When i was working on the financing the underwriters at the bank, a large one, i use on my primary residence said they couldn't finance the property because it didn't have a thermostatically controlled heat source in every room...I worked with a local bank and got into a 3 year ARM.

The cabin is 600sq feet and has a living area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.  The main heat source is a propane wall furnace with a thermostate that heats the whole place no problem.

The place was meant to be a 3-season cabin and I've done a bunch of work to it to make it more livable year round.  New roof, new ceiling, upgraded appliances, spray foam insulation in the crawlspace, added a heater to the crawl space etc... 

I want to eventually refinance into a 30yr fixed, considering under a business entity for liability reasons.

My question is did they pass on the financing because it was a 3-season house at the time or is there really some rule about thermostatically controlled heat sources?

Is it as easy as adding an electric baseboard heater and now i can qualify for conventional financing.

Let me know if anyone has any expertise in this stuff

Thanks

Nich

Hey Jesse - I just came across your post, i see its from a while ago.  Did you end up turning it into a vacation rental or you still working on it.  My wife and i have a Vacation rental cabin we just bought in Grand Marais this summer.  I'd be happy to share the details with you.  We are also working with a great husband wife team for housekeeping/maintenance if your looking for any recommendations.

Let me know.

Nich

Hi - My wife and I own a Short term rental in northern Minnesota, we are looking for a CPA, Lawyer or other professional that can advise us on several decisions as we are starting out and future strategies as we continue to invest in real estate. We are interested in finding someone who specializes in real estate and is also an investor. We are currently trying to understand the benefits and decide if its worthwhile to hold our current property and future properties through an LLC, or another entity, and how that relates to taxes and liability is our specific circumstance.

If anyone can recommend someone or you think you would be a good fit to help us, please let me know.

Thanks,

Nich