All Forum Posts by: Randy Forcier

I’ve been hearing a lot about Series LLCs lately...

Currently I have one LLC with 5 properties and another with 3 properties. Does it make sense to switch to a Series LLC if I plan to keep adding? Seems like a pain in the *** but at the same time a good way to separate each property in a way that's easy to add new properties as needed.

Interested in any thoughts.

Thanks.

I finally have enough properties with plans to purchase more that I’m starting to think about getting my Real Estate License...

I think it makes sense in terms of access to data on the MLS, both present and past, ability to make quick offers and negotiate with Listing Agents, and of course earn commission on my own deals.

What are everyone’s thoughts on this? Any reason not to?

One wrinkle is that I’m also a Residential Loan Officer and primarily get referrals from Realtors. I don’t know if it’s possible but I’d prefer to keep me getting my Real Estate License on the DL as to avoid losing out on referrals due fear of future conflicts. It’s a tricky situation. Any thoughts on how to do this would be great.

Thanks!

I’ve been landlording for 10 years and have acquired a number of properties in that period of time.

Recently I’ve had some family, friends and business partners approach me about investing together with the plan for them to provide capital as silent investors. Does anyone have any experience with this arrangement?

What would be a typical way to set this? What would the silent investors expect to receive out of this: a specific return on investment or just to split the profits?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

@Harjeet Bhatti I agree with you. Should be able to go with 3-5% down Conventional Loan assuming the numbers work. Maybe try a more experienced LO that specializes in residential lending instead of the credit union. Good luck.

@Inemesit Crump I’m very familiar with gifts of equity and the situation you described seems ideal for it. You’d set the purchase price at the $550k you think it’s worth then set the gift at whatever amount will leave your Mom with enough to pay off her existing loan. You could also build in closing costs if done correctly. An experienced Loan Officer should be able to advise you on how to structure it. Because of your credit score and desire to borrow additional money for repairs/renovations you would want to use an FHA 203k loan, as you already know. You should be prepared for the rate/terms to be a little on the high end, FHA 203k loans have higher rates than tradItIonal FHA loans to begin with then through in a low 600 FICO and that will have an effect. Also note that because you’d be buying from family you’d need to have at least 15% equity on an FHA Loan so make sure the gift of equity is at least that much (it sounds like it would be). Again, this is all doable... Like I said, if you work with an experienced loan officer they should be able to help you structure it correctly. Good luck.

@Daniel Winsor If you're able to find cheaper prices you would want to let your Lender know asap so they could plan accordingly.  I do think your biggest area for savings will be with the Title Insurance, as @Tom Gimer said.  That is typically provided by the Title Company/Attorney that you use on the transaction not the big banks that you reference in your 3rd follow up questions.

If you were to shop for that I would reach out to a number of local Title Companies/Attorneys to get quotes then once you find the one you like let your Lender know so they can initiate the change quickly before the Title Company/Attorney that was probably assigned upfront gets too far along in their work.  One other thing to consider is that some Lenders maintain an approved list of Title Companies/Attorneys that you'll want to make sure you're operating off of as you do that search.

I know there are a lot of moving parts, hope that is a little helpful.  Good luck!

Thanks @Mark Gallagher!  I dont disagree with you in general about Desktop Applications going the way of the 3.5" disk but I do think something like a desktop version of Quickbooks sticks around for a while.

I have a Property Manager that does the rent collections, tenant screening and all of that stuff so I feel like I could do without all of that functionality.  I really only need something for tracking expenses.

The more I research the more I think something like Quickbooks Desktop Top Pro makes the most sense to me but I'll keep an open mind and keep researching for now.

Thanks again.

@Randy Forcier I guess the PM fee isn’t that high now that I reread but I’d think you could get 8% instead of 10%.

@Scott Lyons I personally would like to see higher NOI but maybe this is typical for the market you’re in. Here are some thoughts/questions I’d have: Is there potential to increase rent? How did you come up with 10% vacancy, think you can lower that with good tenants/screening. Where did you get that Property Management cost? Seems high. Is the Insurance figure accurate? I’d get a quote to be sure if it’s just an estimate. Good luck, hope it works out.

@Daniel Winsor I should say that I am only now seeing the picture of the LE you uploaded. It doesn’t change my responses, the things I said are high do seem high. Also, apologize for he formatting. Not how it looked when I typed it up. Lol.