All Forum Posts by: Reggie Rearden

@Ben Dean thanks for the feedback. That’s basically the same items I was charged for on our closing. I need to look at my itemized sheet and see the breakdown and I’ll share it with you.

I have several units already and just purchased my first SFR as a cash deal. I was under the impression cash closings are a lot less expensive than traditional closings. The purchase price was $45K and I agreed to pay all closing cost, which was $1,400. Does that sound about the going rate? This is the same attorney that I've used for several closings in the past and who also set up my all of LLC's and Holding Company. Going forward is there a way to estimate cash purchase closing costs? The Law firm I use is great at keeping me straight, but I'm just a little curious what others see for Closing Costs.

Hopefully this will encourage all, specifically the newer investor:

My wife and I used to basically live paycheck to paycheck. We decided about 2 years ago that we wanted more opportunities and freedom, which is when and why we decided to begin investing. We decided last year to really hunker down and put ourselves in position to retire from our W2 jobs with in the next 10 years. 

I work 12.5 hr swing shift, she runs and works at our salon and our income tax businesses, and we have 4 young kids. We knew going into real estate would be extremely difficult with our schedules and having the little ones. 

We began our REI path with a buy and hold. We liked this but wanted more. We then bought a 3 unit commercial building, remodeled it and added an additional 2 units to it. Next, we bought another commercial building and 2 more SFHs. This past week we was able to do cash out refi's on 3 properties, signed a commercial LOC, and bought our first cash deal SFH. Looking back at this time last year, I would of NEVER that we would be where we are today.

Before we bought our first REI, we met with our attorney to lay out our short term, 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, 10 year, and long term goals. The attorney structured our LLC's and Holding company based on what our goals were. I definitely suggest anyone starting out to meet with a Real Estate Attorney and a Lender prior to looking at deals. We picked their brains and they helped us network. By showing them our Plans and Goals, I believe that they saw how serious we were and helped us network which is how we grew so quickly.

I know many people on here have fulltime jobs, kids, activities, etc. In our case, I work shift work and can not have a phone for 12.5 hrs while at work, my wife runs our 2 small businesses, and we have 4 kids, 3 which play travel baseball. We could've easily said we're too busy to invest. What kept us going is that we found WHY we want financial freedom and that is our driving force. 

The point of this post is that we used to think it would be impossible to do real estate with how busy we are. With hours on BP's forums, reading books, networking, and listening to podcasts, we are very close to being able to retire way sooner than we initially thought. Trust me, I could've made a lot longer and detailed post but this is just a synopsis. Hopefully this will motivate others that have super busy lives like we do. Don't make excuses, produce results!

@Jazmine Henderson I was approached with the opportunity to lend to someone else seeking capital to finish a rehab. I spoke to my attorney and he structured the deal based on what me and the borrowers agreed on. I've never thought about being a private lender. This happened organically for sure by networking with a borrower here on BP's. 

I'm actually doing that right now. I'm doing a small private money lending deal for someone purchasing a buy and hold that needs rehab. The ones I'm lending to are newer investors and are in need of capital to complete rehab. If the numbers work for the situation, I think its a good thing to do for all parties involved. 

@Josh Jackson I definitely spoke to both. I own a tax and bookkeeping business. I had one of my tax advisors speak to our attorney and they structured everything while working together (I know nothing about taxes or accounting). I basically went to the attorney and told him our current situation and where I expected to be in years 1, 3, 5, 10, and long term. He took into consideration the fact of having kids while structuring due to legalities of probate (Hopefully a LONG ways away) and my entire financial and business model. I’m a firm believer in being 100% transparent with the attorney and have a game plan when you meet one. This will enable the attorney to set stuff up based on YOUR situation. Essentially, I have a business plan and model as well as annual goals I want to achieve. This makes it easier when meeting with attorneys in my opinion. 

I have HVAC serviced 2 times a year, Fall and Spring. Its not very expensive and it gives me the peace of mind knowing they are in good working order and drains are cleaned. I don't know the data but regardless, I will still continue this way.

@Jenni Utz that is an awesome idea about adding that fee to the lease. May have look into that for mine also.

I went to my attorney and told him my short term and long term plan so he could set up entities based on that info. I have a holding company that controls all of my other llc's. "Parents" and "Kids" are what some refer to this as. I have multiple sfh's under 1 LLC due to the equity in them. We meet annually and the attorney reviews my portfolio and can create additional LLCs as needed. This is something you should definitely talk to your attorney about in my opinion.

@Steve Vaughan the bank does not make me provide them with any financials, although they are supposed to annually. They have never asked. That maybe because I buy more properties with them throughout the year anyway. I have a couple of commercial buildings under separate LLCs and a few SFHs under a separate LLC. On top of that, those LLCs are controlled by a holding company. I wanted complete separation from all assets. The primary reason for the SFHs being in LLCs is the type of w2 employment I have. I have constant credit monitoring and don't want my name associated with any of my properties or businesses. I just laid out everything to my attorney and told him to set it up as if it was his own.

I'm doing a cash out refi on one of my properties. I will then have enough equity to pay off an existing 5 unit. Next, I'm doing a commercial LOC against my newly paid off property. This will give me access to a couple hundred thousand cash. I'll take that cash and buy more rentals. So, to answer your question, I would do a cash out refi and buy more. All of these transaction are already approved and scheduled for august. Just consult with the lender and let them know what you want. I went over a legit business plan with my lender and they helped me navigate to this based on what I wanted.