All Forum Posts by: Nicole (Dunlap) Pendergrass

@Ceasar Rosas

It actually wasn't for a HELOC - I was looking to refi. The broker needed to find a lender who would do it w/o looking at my taxes bc my write-offs would make my DTI extra ridic. But with a 30-year fixed, my rate would be 5.8-something and I wouldn't qualify (even without looking at tax write-offs). So he had to structure loan with a 5/1 ARM at 5.375 (they want the higher rate bc they are taking more "risk" by not looking at my taxes). My current rate is 3.875 - so once I saw those numbers I had to pause. I'm trying to figure out another way this can get done. Let me know if you find anything! Sorry, to answer your question, all this is including the plan to pay off all my cc debt :-/

@Melida Maldonado-Perez

I bought a 3 family in the Bronx with 3.5% and I "cashflow", granted I bought in 2015 and now have about $150-$200k in equity. I'm trying to tap it to use for future investments but my DTI is too high at the moment. Cashflow is quoted bc I had nonpaying tenants which made me using credit cards for living expenses so all my cash could go toward the mortgage... ugh! (But if they had been paying, I wouldve cashflowed even without paying anything for the unit Im living in - new tenants and doing great so far!)

Following because I'm in the same situation (want to refi or get HELOC on my 3 fam, but looking to invest in another close market)... Have you already found a good lender for your refi?

and to @Jennifer Cheu's point, you won't need a property manager if you are house hacking because you are living there.  I have def learned a TON by managing my house while living here and that way you can learn HOW you want your property managed for when you are ready to hire a PM.  But just know that no one is ever going to treat your property the way you would, so you have to be ok with letting go of the little things which is very hard to do when you live there and see it day-to-day.

@Raeshelle C.  I'm actually not sure, that was one of my mistakes by wanting to jump into a deal so bad... I didn't get an inspection although EVERYTHING I had studied (incl seminars etc) said otherwise.  It was dumb and I knew I was being dumb lol.  But actually the issues that I had were not operational issues, it was more administrative/red tape and I don't think an inspection would have caught it...

@David Boroughes  When I read it, I was assuming she felt a 1031 would be a path to wealth in that once you have equity in a property(ies), you could "trade up" using the equity as a deposit on a larger building and not have to lose some of that deposit to paying taxes immediately..... is that not how it works?

Great goals!  I also suggest you house-hack for the amount you have and your goals.  I was in the same situation, studied for years then was super anxious to make the first purchase becasue I didn't want to wait anymore.  I bought a 3-fam that was "move-in ready" but within the first few months of living there I had to pay thousands in fixing plumbing and electrical issues - whole situation was SUCH a headache.  So one peice of advice is don't jump into the first deal you come across because you really want it, make sure you scrutinize everything before you buy because you don't want any surprises!

Hi all,

I received a judegment against my tenants and the eviction has already happened. But apparently the Marshal I used does not find employment/banking info (even for a fee) for the tenants in order to execute the judgement - I need to give them that info and then they will collect. They recommended a private investigator to me. So I called him and a few other PIs just for price comparison. But in speaking to the PIs, I've realized that they each have access to certain systems and try to downplay what other PIs use, saying I need to be careful bc some PIs will promise they can do certain things but then can't. So now I'm concerned and want to make sure I pick someone who is thorough and has the correct type of access to find the information needed (esp bc their services aren't cheap and I am low on funds since the tenants weren't paying for so long - I can't afford to pay someone else to do something that shouldve been done right the first time).

I guess I'm just looking for clarification on how executing a judgement really works in NYC? Has anyone gone through it? Does anyone have a good Marshal or private investigator that was succesful in finding all financial accounts, employment info and/or other assets that could be garnished?

sure i just messaged you @Chris Rosenberg

Well my 2 bedroom apartment will prob rent for btwn $1,500-$1,600 so if you're look strictly at the numbers and you're paying $1,100 in Manhattan then yes, it would be in your favor.  But you have to weigh pros/cons of other factors too to make a more informed decision.  Size-able 2 bedroom verse sharing a small apt with a roommate (don't know how many bedrooms) - also lets pretend that roommate rented the room in your 2 bedroom if you were owner-occupant.  Then you're numbers would be different.  Just as a super rough example:

Non Owner Occupant w/Roommate: $1,500 rental income - $1,100 rent payment = $400 gain

Owner Occupant w/Roommate:  $700 rent income - $0 rent payment = $700 gain 

...and that's at the most simplistic terms not considering other costs... But even thinking of it on an rent-to-rent comparison basis is not really giving you the full picture and I really think you shouldn't think of it that way :-/ 

Managing tenants while working a day job has been fine for me.  Every once in a while an issue happens where I wish I had a security camera (still need to install some), but normally I just deal with anything when I'm home.  But living there has definitely made me see how much can fall through the cracks if I wasn't there... I won't live in my properties forever but this experience has let me learn what to look out for and how I want my properties managed :-)

Hi @Louis L.

I recently (2 years ago) bought a 3 family house in the Bronx (Morris Heights section). I completely agree with the commute and vibrancy of the area not being the best, but I also consider it short term sacrifice for long term gain. And although your income rents are hypothetical, the rent you currently pay is not... so you're basing the benefit of house hacking vs renting all the units on a $2k spread that is not realistic. I live in one of my units and the rent from the other two (plus rent from 2 parking spaces) covers my PITI+PMI with a few hundred left over toward expenses. While I still technically need to come out of pocket to cover the remaining expenses + reserves... its still less than $1,000. Let me give you my real numbers just as an FYI

Income:

Apt 1 (2 bed) - $0 (I live there)

Apt 2 (3 bed) - $1,750

Apt 3 (3 bed) - $1,750

Parking Spot 1 - $150

Parking Spot 2 - $150

Total Income = $3,800

Expenses:

PITI - $3,260

Water - $400

Vacancy @ 5% - $190

Maintenance @10% - $380

Total Expense = $4,230

So the difference I need to pay is $430, which I basically consider my rent... I now split this amount with my husband but before he moved in I did have a roommate for a few months at $700 p/month rent for the room (even more income!).  Also the 3rd floor tenant recently moved out so I'm in the process of renting to a new tenant for $1,950.  

But to not give you a one-sided view, there are problems you have to just have know are possibilities and have the gumption to deal with. House was supposed to be move-in ready, but I ended up having to put out thousands a few months after closing to fix water and electrical issues. Plus, the 2nd floor tenant I've had issues with non payment and am currently doing court proceedings to get months of back rent (I know saving at a 5% vacancy rate wont cover this, but ideally you should have some PITI reserves on closing).

Since I am an owner-occupant, my total closing costs were btwn $20k-$23k, my annual insurance is $1,800 (included in monthly PITI above) and my rate is 3.85%.

So all in all, not perfect and have def hit some rough waters, but its all a learning experience and I still fully believe that this is a great investment long term!  If you have the money upfront to pay a higher down payment and are willing to do the traveling back and forth to manage it (and trust me, you will need to do this very often in the beginning) and the numbers make sense for you to still pay your current rent so you can keep your lifestyle than I say go with it.  But personally I wanted to stop throwing my money away in rent for someone else's investment :-)