All Forum Posts by: Patricia Steiner

If it makes sense to you, that doesn't mean it makes sense to someone in the zoning office of your city. When you put up a dividing wall in a SFH, you have changed the density of the property. It is no longer a SFH - it is a two unit property. Just is...what you don't want to happen is that you make the investment and have a neighbor or trade turn you in to the city because what happens next is a whole lot of not fun. Again, just because it is perfectly logical and makes sense - well, that's just not how the world works. Check it out at the city level - not the BP one.

Fingers crossed for you...

Contact your mortgage servicer; there is a request for change of title that you will complete to be authorized to change the title while retaining the financing in your name. Do not quit claim before getting authorization as it could effect not only your mortgage financing but your insurance (remember that you insured a property in your personal name...not an LLC).

It's important that you cover all the bases. Do it right once and be done with it.  

Hope this helps...

The 1% rule was never a rule - just a guideline and simple practice for quickly analyzing a property - and it hasn't been applicable for years, if ever in high-growth/high-ROI markets.

Good news is you don't need it so move forward with your search and set your own parameters for what is worth the investment.

Best...

@Faiz Kanash

I'm proud of you...you're doing a lot very well.  It sound like you're operating as a sole proprietorship whereby you are the business.  If you want to change that and have the business operate as a 'fix and flip' enterprise, you will want to have separate accounts and maintain financial records for the business.  At this point, you would show that you personally have LOANED the business money which is paid back to you at the end of the project.  That will start to give you the financial records that you need to secure a small business loan in the future.  I recommend that you go to a community bank and meet with someone in the small business lending department.  Learn what they will require to do business with your business. Invite the banker to come to see your projects and build a relationship with that advisor.  It sounds like you've got all the pieces in place - and that they just need to be organized differently to get you where you want to be.  Rock on! 

If you have a contract, you have a closing date.  The contract dictates the closing and conditions that may delay or extend it.  It sounds like the Seller either has a better understanding of the contract than you do OR is just holding everyone hostage.  Go read your contract.  And, your agent should have already explained the situation to you and/or pushed the other side to perform. The answer to this problem is not here at BP...it's in your contract.    

A business credit line requires business income that can service the monthly debt - and without that, as you have found, you're not qualified for that product (for now).  Your five credit cards may hurt you obtaining unsecured credit lines. For example: your credit-utilization ratio. That's the amount of available credit compared to what you owe. If one of your credit cards has a $10,000 limit and you only owe $500, you have $9,500 in credit available to you that you’re not using. Lenders like that; but if you owe $9,500 on that same credit card account, you have a poor credit-utilization ratio and it will lower your credit score and your chances for other credit including a mortgage.  I recommend that you set aside a portion of your net income per project as a liquidity contribution if you will to start building your wealth and liquidity.  You may want to consider an equity line of credit to pay off some of those credit cards; that would provide you with lower interest rates and funds that you can withdraw from the line for cash and other purchases.  Having said that, the unsecured credit used for a specific project should be paid off at project end, right? 

The bigger issue here may just be that you're working hard, you're paying the bills, but you're not building wealth. It's a different strategy based on not just getting by but building a surplus and creating wealth.

Hope this helps...

Neither.  And, here's why...it's not the price tag that matters; it's not the cost to rehab either.  It comes down to a few other things:

Are they legally zoned for STR? Does the condo association allow STR? Does the condo association act as the rental manager - and at what cost? What is the average occupancy for STR in that market? What is the average nightly rental price for a comparable unit per night? What will be your expense to furnish it - including all the linens, table/cookware, etc. What will be the ROI year 1, year 2, year 5?

I've had several clients go down this same path to find out that the ROI was going to be more in the annuity range when all said and done and that the Condo Association was simply too costly "a partner" both in money and control.

Hope this helps...

Let me ask you a few questions:  

What is the market?  What type/size of housing is in greatest demand and price?  What is the supply to the demand?  Everything you need to know about what makes for the best investment in a specific market is about market demand and supply.

The size of a home doesn't matter - that's a product.  What matters is what is the housing preference in your market and at what price does it command.  My problem often with "BP chatter" is that it tends to focus on property type.  A larger sq foot house may come with a big rental price but it may also sit on the market for a long time waiting for a rare tenant type which is a heavy carry and use of cash - whereas a 1000 square foot home has multiple applicants within minutes of coming on market at a lower acquisition cost.

Don't get caught up in doors and size and bigger and better.  Let the market tell you what is hot and what is not.

Hope this helps...

First this:  The Empire State building has 2,800,118 square feet.

Answer:  

New York City’s vacant office space could fill 26.6 Empire State Buildings

 Source: NYTimes

And, it's a trend across the nation.  

Just sharing...the full NYTimes article is worth reading (please google 'NY City's Vacant Office Space' to get a free version of it).

Best...

@Michael Smith

I standby my post; there is not one carrier in my market who will accept it for residential insurance coverage.  Roof coatings for commercial application are widely accepted but that is not the case for residential.  From Florida's largest insurer - as well as the one of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance:  "When a roof replacement is required, and a coating or sealant is used in lieu of roof replacement, the risk remains ineligible for coverage."  (End).