All Forum Posts by: Payton Haight

Hi Cody,

You don't have to go with a BRRRR for your first investment. For a new investor, starting with a property that needs light renovations can be a great way to gain experience without taking on too much at once.

Regarding your HELOC, I would advise saving a cash down payment for your purchase. Using your HELOC for the down payment (assuming an 80% bank loan + 20% HELOC), makes achieving positive cash flow very difficult for traditional long-term rentals. It adds risk and also ties up a valuable line of credit.

Alternate strategies like short-term and mid-term rentals might allow for positive cash flow in these scenarios, but they come with their own learning curve. It can work, but for your first purchase I would still recommend saving the down payment unless you're already experienced with those strategies.

Good luck! Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions. Glad to help if I can.

Hi Andy, I would not renew the lease in this situation. The buyer is purchasing the property based on the information you shared with them, which is one lease ending July 2025 and one lease ending April 2026. Renewing either tenant's lease prior to closing would be a material change to the conditions of the deal. Maybe the buyer is OK with it, maybe they aren't. If the deal falls through for some reason, you will still have time to renew the lease.

 Thanks Marc. I need to get around to putting those in my properties. Would give me a lot more peace of mind, especially when a unit is vacant.

Hi Mason, awesome that you are already interested in real estate. Do you have a job and/or regular income?  If you do not, I would recommend getting one and to start saving as much money as you can. If you are wanting to buy ASAP, I would talk to a few lenders and have them look at your situation. They should be able to give you more specific guidance on what would be needed in order to get a loan. It may take some time, but you will at least have some clarity on what you need to do. 

Last, I would recommend to look in to house-hacking for your first property. For example, buying a house with 4 bedrooms and renting out the other bedrooms to friends. Good luck!

Hi Luke, it sounds like you have some good options to choose from. What kind of cash flow are you expecting to get with the 'zero out of pocket' option? Is it enough cash flow to make it worth your time for 5 years? 5 years is a long commitment if you are expecting to put a lot of time in to the property and not generate much of a return, however if you can get enough money on the cash out refi on the back end maybe it still makes sense for you.

Assuming you are financially in the position for the putting money down option, I would compare the 5 year income projections, including projected appreciation/equity for both options. The answer for this one is going to be dependent on your personal situation, but make sure to consider your time and the time value of money when comparing these options.

That the worst case scenario would be manageable (and extremely unlikely). I over-analyzed and passed on a lot of good deals. The best learning for me was hands-on, managing my own property. It is important to do your due diligence and make sure you have reserves in case of an emergency, but I wish I had taken action sooner.

To more specifically answer your question, one thing I missed when running my numbers on my first small multifamily property was shared utilities. Since some of the utilities were not separately metered, I was responsible for paying those bills every month. I also do not like shared common areas inside small multifamily buildings. Those areas require regular cleaning and upkeep.

Hi Kevin, welcome to BP! The BP community has been a huge help in my real estate career. A couple of questions for you:

1) Do you have any past experience in real estate and do you own your primary residence?

2) Do you have any strengths which may give you an edge in some aspect of real estate? Such as a construction background, etc.

3) What are your goals for real estate? Do you need a portfolio that generates income in a short time period or are you looking to build wealth over time?

If you do not own your own home (and potentially even if you do), I would start out by looking in to house-hacking. It is a good way to learn real estate while significantly reducing your risk. 

Hello, I am sorry to hear that you lost your job. I do not know your exact situation or experience, but in general I would advise against borrowing from your HELOC so you can 100% finance properties as a newer investor, without having a job or cash as a safeguard. You would be putting not only the investment properties but your primary residence at risk if you run in to any issues, which will almost certainly come up. If you were an experienced investor and had really good opportunities that could pay off the HELOC then MAYBE that could make sense.

Do you have experience with renovations? Perhaps flipping or some shorter term strategy might make sense to help you build up a cash position.

Hi Albert, I like drop ceilings (when I am looking at purchasing a property) because I can see what is going on behind them. I would imagine original plaster ceilings were probably damaged at some point and it is relatively easy to install a drop ceiling to cover them and/or the owner wanted to keep 'access' to some areas. I had a drop ceiling in one of my 1920's duplexes. The previous owner had installed the drop ceiling themself. We did not have any issues drywalling it. You will have to assess the 'why' the best you can.

Hey Michael, glad to hear you were able to get that issue resolved with relatively minimal damage. It seems like these things always happen on a Saturday night and/or a holiday. How did you detect the water leak? Do you have any sort of water leak detectors in your properties?