All Forum Posts by: Robin Casper

What is the average rate for a commercial line of credit nowadays? I was recently offered 5.50% what’s everyone else getting? Syracuse NY area.

@Danté Belmonte I honestly can’t recommend deal machine one way or the other because I only used the free trial then deleted it lol. But I can say it got me the cellphone # of the property owner that I couldn’t find anywhere else which led to me getting a really nice deal on a 6 unit I currently own. 

@Elle Bindra I am also investing in the Syracuse area remotely from Tel Aviv, Israel. The main places I look are Zillow, the GoNYSMLS app, Auction.com LoopNet and craigslist. I have gotten great deals from all of these. I look twice a day and adjust the search criteria to single families under 70k and multi families in any price range. Another place i’ve had luck are the annual tax auctions that local municipalities have. I have my property manager and contractor do a video walkthrough and usually that’s enough for me to make a decision. I have email alerts set up so that when there is a new property listed in my area I get notified. Another way I’ve found deals is specifically targeting properties and contacting the owners directly and asking them if they are interested in selling. I use the app DealMachine to find out email addresses and phone #’s of owners.

Hello BiggerPockets, has anyone out there ever restored a historical property and taken advantage of state/federal tax incentives? I just started a development project turning a historical mansion into a 10 unit mixed use and I’m wondering how I can take advantage of tax or grant programs available. If you have; how big of a headache was the process? I’m also curious about energy efficiency rebates and things of that sort since this will be a full rehab with new mechanicals. Anyone have any tips as I start from ground zero??

@Michael Garrett

Personally I don’t like to have credit card debt unless it’s necessary or short term bridge money or if it’s a 12 month 0% interest promotion deal BUT I will always suggest getting started in real estate now rather than later. I think the biggest mistake someone can make is waiting for the perfect time to invest. There is no perfect time. I don’t know your market but if you were to retrieve some of that 100k equity and buy a rental property with it; then the monthly cash flow from that property could pay for your cc debt and you kill 2 birds with one stone.

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $65,000
Cash invested: $70,000

Historic Mansion mixed use commercial development project.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The Architecture, historic district tax advantages, purchase price and projected profit.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I talked to neighbors. It was listed for $180k I got it under contract for $65k

How did you finance this deal?

cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Put a brand new $50 tarp on the roof to stop it from leaking.

What was the outcome?

TBD

Lessons learned? Challenges?

TBD

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

No

@Bryan Cavellier I think it just depends on the street you’re on and if the area supports it. If your apartment is on south Salina st. then you're pretty much going to get the same quality of tenant and rent price no matter how you renovate. Having a Luxury apt in a bad area isn’t going to get you a high class tenant paying higher rents. Sometimes i'll spend extra on materials if I know it will better tenant proof the unit. Flooring for example i'll pay a dollar more per sq. foot if I know the material will last twice as long and require less maintenance. For appliances sometimes i'll buy stainless steal if it's a unit I think will be harder to rent. The reason being that it's a relatively cheap upgrade (you can get most appliances in stainless steal finish for $100 more) and it can make a kitchen look a lot more attractive to tenants. Countertops on the other hand I always go with the stock, pre-cut laminate countertops you see at Home Depot for like $200. Upgrading to hard surface isn't worth the cost difference to me. Something else I've learned is that a good contractor can make cheap materials look like a million bucks.

I'm currently shopping around for a commercial line of credit with local banks in the Syracuse,NY area. I was informed that any bank considering giving me a LOC against the equity in my properties would want me to refinance all my loans with them because no bank will want to take a second position. Is this typical? I would rather not pay all the closing costs and end up with a higher rate. But if it means getting a line of credit for 500k it might be worth it?

I am trying to decide if I should take out the maximum amount I'm able to when I refinance a BRRRR deal. This is the scenario on the SFH...

Purchase price: 50k

Rehab/ closing costs: 10k

ARV: 100k

My bank will give me a commercial loan with 80% LTV so potentially a loan for 80k. That leaves me with 20k extra that I could pull out of the deal on top of getting my original 60 back. I plan to rent this house out for $1200/month. Expected cash flow if I take the full 80k would be $300. If I only took my original 60k out my cash flow would be more like $500. My thoughts are that If I took the additional 20k that It's cheap, low interest money that I could use to buy the next deal. Would you choose to pull out just the original 60k OR pull out as much as possible?

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Auburn.

Purchase price: $80,000
Cash invested: $1

Tax auction BRRRR strategy duplex

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Big sexy looking turn-key house, low purchase price

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Live Auction,

How did you finance this deal?

Personal cash