All Forum Posts by: Salvatore Lentini

@Khaled Seirafi - Yes.  I'm in the middle of 2 refis.  Both are 4 units and both have one vacant unit.  Wasn't a problem with the lenders I work with... but I spent years assembling a network of investor friendly lenders.  Message me and I'll see if it's a deal that would work for them.

@Bryan Eugene Long - I have a LOC on my primary but I only use it for temporary situations where I am POSITIVE I will be getting it back soon. I use it as kind of a stop gap. Also, there are creative ways to use less money than you think you need. You can get seller financing, do lease options, sandwich lease options, quit claim, money partners, equity partners and even partner with the seller. On a recent purchase we did a double closing and the seller came back into the deal with me as an investor which meant I had to come up with very little on a $3M purchase. Try not to get locked into a certain, rigid way of thinking about acquiring real estate. You can make it happen sooner than you think Bryan!

@Michael Nolan - I would not recommend an out of state investment for your first property.  Even for experienced investors like myself, my out of state properties are the least profitable and are the biggest headaches.  Finding good property management is difficult, especially when you can't keep close tabs on them.  You have a lot going for you Michael...good income, credit score and capital.  Use those 3 things to your advantage and even though you have 130K doesn't mean you need to use it.  Figure out how to get the most mileage out of that.  If you're putting money down, make sure you have an "Escape Plan" for it.  How is that money going to "escape" from being tied up in that investment and find its way back into your pocket?  Also, having that amount of liquidity is useful even when not using it.  You will be much more attractive to lenders if they see that you HAVE that money...even if you're not actually using it in the deal.

Commercial brokers, property owners or anyone that knows of commercial properties for sale in the Philadelphia suburbs - I'm buying. Bucks county, Montgomery county or Berks. I'm closing on a $3M+ property in 10 days and am actively looking for two more in that range by year end. Multifamily, mixed use, commercial, office - are all in my current portfolio. Would love to connect. Message me and let's talk.

Hey @Matt Devincenzo - sounds like you need a different lender.  The lenders I use to build my portfolio underwrite the property I'm buying, not me.  They look at my credit score and make sure I have enough money to bring to closing but the approval is based on the financials of the investment property I'm buying.  Feel free to message me to see if these lenders would be a good fit for what you're looking to do.

@Elijah Crew - I always view selling as a last resort.  Sometimes it makes sense but most of the time you're better off refinancing and using the cash out (while maintaining 25% equity in the property).  While paying off a property sounds good, what you're really doing is locking up your money.  I'm working on paying off my primary just for peace of mind (I know, I know it doesn't make financial sense - it's an emotional decision because it's my home)...but I'll probably never pay off any of my 127 rentals.  I use the equity to fuel my portfolio growth.

@Austin Shandley - The lenders I work with for my portfolio only do loans to LLCs.  You just need to find the right lenders.  Message me if interested.

Same boat on appreciation vs cash flow.  Thankfully I bought my Dayton properties at the bottom of the crash so appreciation, ultimately has made this portfolio of properties "winners" but cash flow has been erratic over the years.  The key is finding good property management... which as other landlords can attest, is somewhat of an oxymoron.  Any decent property management companies or property managers in Dayton OH, feel free to message me. 

@Paul Young Never sell! Kidding. Sort of. I always try to make "selling" Plan B. I have 127 rentals and recently sold 3 SFRs because they were sucking up a lot of time, I was going to have to dump a bunch of money into them soon and the money I could get from them was double what I paid a few years ago. Even then, I thought long and hard about selling. With rates as low as they are, refinancing is the closest thing you can get to "free money" to use for future investments. And you get to deduct the interest on the new HELOC. And you only get charged on the HELOC on the money outstanding. It can also provide you with a nice cushion personally for any unexpected short term financial burdens (as long as you have a plan to pay it back quickly - because you don't want to use it like a slush fund)

@Dorian Redden - not impossible.  I did it and I'm not the exception.  I started with zero $ by wholesaling.  Wholesaled a few, with one of them being a whale of a wholesale deal.  I used that big assignment fee to buy my first fix & flip with 90% private money financing from the lawyer I had draw up my wholesaling contracts a year prior.  Profited about $35K on that fix & flip and used that money as down payment on a "fix and keep" rental.  Used the cash out refi money to buy #2.... 7 years and 127 rentals later I'm about to close on my 4th $3M+ commercial property.  Not saying it was easy and there weren't setbacks and there were definitely many moments of doubt along the way but.... it can be done.  I know many others with stories of success in real estate that each took their own unique path... so don't think there's one magic way to achieve your goals.  Your path will be unique to you but you can learn from others to help develop that path.