All Forum Posts by: Philip Williams

I just say i'm in real estate, usually people just assume i'm a realtor lol. If they care to ask further then I elaborate if not continue on with your investing and keep being awesome!

It's all based on comps, there is a big difference between adding a bedroom by adding on an addition and finding unused space you can turn into an extra bedroom. In our area at least adding an addition is super expensive and not worth it. In contrast we have added half baths in small spaces when we had two story houses that only had one bathroom upstairs for example. 

@Jay Hinrichs Please don't even mention hundred year old houses lol it gives me nightmares.....we were doing two a couple months ago that were both over 100 years old. I swear no one built anything straight back then......

Great news I hope more cities try and educate people, I cannot stand the idea of someone walking into an elderly person's home and telling them this is the most I could pay for this house when it's truly not. If someone is in a situation of need, has an immediate problem I understand why they need cash fast. I have seen people just lie and tell an elderly person there house is only worth x when in reality we all know it's worth much more than that but they need to make a deal.....Perhaps I am losing out on deals but I only have whole saled properties that were bank owned and purchased by me already. 

Hey as always the answer is it depends, when I first tried to get a commercial loan that was my understanding. However at least in my experience the income of the property is not the most important thing. The banks check you personally first, make sure your credit and income are good then they look at the deal. Perhaps you might want to get your commercial deal before your wife goes part time. Also yes you can get a commercial loan on a duplex depending on the lender but the rates generally aren't as good with commercial lenders. 

How much work does it need? You could always partner with someone on the deal split the costs in half that would be an easy solution. Plus if the person has more experience than you maybe they will be able to examine the deal and find a creative way to finance the rehab costs. Are there any real estate meet ups in your area?

Hey how's it going, the biggest problem with not having a w-2 income is not how much you will get taxed it's more so your ability to get loans. As i'm sure you know rentals are very friendly come tax time, your tax burden will probably be very small. On the flip side when you go to get financing for future rentals it's going to be very difficult. As far as health care I have had private insurance for my entire adult life since I've never had it through a job it is fairly expensive sadly but depending on your income you may qualify for subsidies that will help out some. 

@Peter M. How many rental properties do you own? An even better question have you ever invested in or lived in a D neighborhood? I try not to be argumentative but unless you are highly qualified it's irresponsible to be advising something in which you know nothing about. I have lived in bought sold and rented D neighborhoods and this is not something a new investor should be attempting. @Cheree Harris If you want to do this long term learn from the mistakes of others who have done what you are attempting. The Naysayers grew up in, owned property in, moved there grandmothers out of those neighborhoods and away from gang houses. Two days after I moved my grandmother out of her D neighborhood there was a shoot out on her street and bullet holes in her old house. 

@Cheree Harris I love where your heart is but sadly I don't think you should nor would advise you to do anything like that. Most lower socioeconomic areas half occupied by renters and with gangs is not an area you want to invest in. That sounds like a solid D neighborhood, which is not something a new investor should be messing with in any way shape or form regardless if they know the area or not. I'm from a D area as well hell I suppose the south side of Chicago is probably more an F neighborhood than a D right now. While I would love to change things back there I would need multiples of how much money I have right now hundreds if not thousands of times the amount of money I have. To truly change neighborhoods like you are describing requires a ton of money and sadly those neighborhood cannot provide it. Now could you go out make a ton of money and bring it back........

Hey great job! How were your closing costs so low did you do a for sale by owner? In our area we are paying 5% realtor costs on our flips. Not to mention title costs and all that jazz.