All Forum Posts by: Salvatore Lentini

@Angela Pipitone - My first few deals were wholesale deals that I wholesaled to other investors.  No partners  On one of those deals I profited $25,000 so I took that money and bought my 1st fix & flip.  No partners  Yes I was nervous.  It was a dump.  I had my work cut out for me but I just took it step by step.  My attorney that I used to draft my wholesale docs a year or two prior loaned me 90% of the purchase price and rehab costs.  I spent 6 weeks at the property getting dirty and hiring others for jobs I couldn't do.  I made $35,000 profit on that deal and then bought my 1st rental with a partner.  He's my brother in law and we have been 50/50 on every project for the past 7 years.  Yes, nervous every time (well, only when it's something different).  I'm closing on a $3.5M property next week.  Those kinds of numbers can be a little rattling when I think about them for too long!  It's a property type I haven't invested in before so the learning curve is high...but fun!  It's a commercial space on bottom with 14 food vendors/restauranteurs and 2 floors of apartments above.  I'm learning new things every day and sometimes I feel overwhelmed but I love it.  Makes me feel alive.  I'm closing in 6 days and I feel even better about this deal now than I did when I got it under contract 5 months ago!  Feel free to message me with specific questions.  Happy to help.

@Colin J Parks - Welcome.  Feel free to message me with questions, advice, tips on getting your purchases financed.

@Account Closed - Doesn't the lease say a unit number?  On a duplex each side usually has either their own specific street address OR same street address but different unit #.  Is the unit # in their lease?

@Marquita Hightower - buying in an LLC name won't make it so you can put less money down but it will allow you to buy a property without having W2 income.

Hi @Garrett Swan - there is no calculating for school and property tax... it is what it is.  Unless in your area the property gets reassessed upon sale/transaction?

Let's put aside whether it's right or wrong from a social/moral/love perspective.  I say it's a hard NO purely due to the numbers.  Isn't the debt pushed off to the end of school?  What is the interest rate?  If you're doing things right in real estate your return on investment is going to be WAY WAY WAY higher (like high double digits higher) than the interest you'd save by paying it off.  

Thanks @Richard Neuharth and Stony...I've tried Loopnet in the past without much luck.  So far my only success has been through referrals from others (lawyer, title co etc).  I'll give Loopnet another try.

Anyone had luck finding commercial brokers on BP?  Not for finding commercial mortgages...but finding commercial properties.  I have a a few that I've closed several deals with but looking to accelerate my acquisition rate so I'm looking to form relationships with another 1-2 commercial brokers.  Wasn't sure if this site is mostly made up of residential investors, Realtors and commercial investors but not commercial brokers?

@Ryan Howell - although people have been predicting high inflation since the '08 bailout and stimulus....13 years later the same calls are being made.  @Allen McGlashing but I agree, I only use my HELOC for very short term situations. I want to know that I am going to get that money back. HELOCs are very useful but they are not the right tool for every scenario. As far as 15 vs 30, you'll hear arguments for both sides. Depends on you and your plans. With 15 it's paid off faster and some use that as a plan for retirement. After 15 years, no mortgage and 100% cashflow (well, minus taxes, insurance and expenses). But it also puts you more at risk on a monthly basis as you need to cover a higher monthly mortgage payment. Lose your tenant and now they're no longer paying your mortgage...that high monthly payment is coming out of YOUR pocket. This recent eviction moratorium a lot of landlords had to deal with was especially tough on those with 15 year mortgages. I prefer 30 year mortgages. That gives you the most flexibility. Low payments when you need them or when you can afford it and if you want to, make one extra payment per year and it brings you down to a 23 year mortgage. Then you're splitting the difference but it keeps you in a safer position.

@Laxman Molugu - that's the huge upside to real estate investing once you start building a portfolio...and why my plan A is always refi and plan B is sell.  When you sell you get taxed on profits, when you refi you not only don't get taxed, you get to deduct the interest because it's a loan and not profit.  Now what you don't want to do is refi and then use that money for something that doesn't produce money (like a new addition on your primary) because now it's just a loan that's bleeding your bank account every month.  If you use it to buy a cashflowing property now it's a loan that you've used as investment capital.