All Forum Posts by: Sam McCormack

Hi Everyone, 

My name is Melody and I’m brand new to the world of real estate investing! A friend introduced me to the podcast, which has been eye opening!! I’m hoping to make my first purchase this year so am in my data collection/researching stage. Looking to learn the ropes from folks who have some valuable knowledge. Please share any thoughts, advice, resources you have for a noobie. Really appreciate it!

Thanks,

Melody

Quote from @Sam McCormack:

Quote from @Deepika Prakash:

Hi all,

I’m new to real estate investing and looking to buy my first real estate property. Im looking to buy an out of state property. My goals are to diversify my portfolio, take advantage of the tax benefits of having a mortgage, and invest in a property with long-term appreciation potential.

Given my busy schedule, I’m hoping to take a more hands-off approach by working with a trusted local team. That said, I know how challenging it can be to build the right relationships and get started, especially when investing remotely.

I currently live in a high-tax, landlord-unfriendly city with sky-high property prices, so I’m definitely not looking to invest locally. I’d love to start small and smart, but I’m also feeling overwhelmed with how to choose the right market from afar.

Has anyone been in a similar position? How did you go about shortlisting and evaluating your market? Would appreciate any tips or lessons learned!

I first ask, if there is a market nearby that REI is possible for you to do instead of being farther away. That would be the first thing I recommend looking into and if possible, doing that first to gain confidence. If the properties don't fit your preferences or don't have a market nearby that works, then looking OOS (farther away), may be your best option. Maybe another thing to look into is if you have family OOS in and or near a better market that fits your needs

What is your goal with real estate investing? Are you looking for something that is going to cash flow on paper the most or have "more appreciation"? This will help us answer the areas you should look in. There is a lot to talk about that I can't type, so if I can help you more with fitting a market to you, let me know

Thanks a lot Sam! I'm looking for long term appreciation in the property value. Dont need the property to cash flow right away etc. I care about the right location and quality investment that I can buy and hold, but of course the numbers should make sense. 

Hi all,

I’m new to real estate investing and looking to buy my first real estate property. Im looking to buy an out of state property. My goals are to diversify my portfolio, take advantage of the tax benefits of having a mortgage, and invest in a property with long-term appreciation potential.

Given my busy schedule, I’m hoping to take a more hands-off approach by working with a trusted local team. That said, I know how challenging it can be to build the right relationships and get started, especially when investing remotely.

I currently live in a high-tax, landlord-unfriendly city with sky-high property prices, so I’m definitely not looking to invest locally. I’d love to start small and smart, but I’m also feeling overwhelmed with how to choose the right market from afar.

Has anyone been in a similar position? How did you go about shortlisting and evaluating your market? Would appreciate any tips or lessons learned!

Hi all,

I’m new to real estate investing and looking to buy my first real estate property. Im looking to buy an out of state property. My goals are to diversify my portfolio, take advantage of the tax benefits of having a mortgage, and invest in a property with long-term appreciation potential.

Given my busy schedule, I’m hoping to take a more hands-off approach by working with a trusted local team. That said, I know how challenging it can be to build the right relationships and get started, especially when investing remotely.

I currently live in a high-tax, landlord-unfriendly city with sky-high property prices, so I’m definitely not looking to invest locally. I’d love to start small and smart, but I’m also feeling overwhelmed with how to choose the right market from afar.

Has anyone been in a similar position? How did you go about shortlisting and evaluating your market? Would appreciate any tips or lessons learned!

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $140,000
Cash invested: $15,000

My first house. It’s a beauty. over 100 years old. very nice community. grocery store, library, sheriff station nearby. It’s getting a lot of traction. Rents for $950.

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

I’m starting my retirement portfolio.

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

The deal found me, by an agent selling the duplex I was renting at the time. I told her my plans & she held my hand along the way. It was occupied by two residents already so I talked to both to get a feel about everything, talked to the owner & decided this was it.. after some slight repairs of course. I inherited residents & some other minor repairs that wasn’t a deal breaker.

How did you finance this deal?

I work for USPS, I work really hard. I saved a bunch of cash, also took cash from my retirement accounts & brought it to the table. I used the FHA 3% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

I fixed some things around the place, raised the rent. I have more plans like landscaping, energy efficiency, safety improvements, etc. All the bells & whistles.

What was the outcome?

I lost a resident after raising the rent. I used the cash to bring the place up to life. I placed a for rent sign in the front which has gotten a lot of attention so i’m excited.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Greed gets you nowhere & also you have to ask folks.. do you want something NICE or some CHEAP?? challenges? nothing I can’t overcome.

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

https://s1l.com/loanofficer/jennifer-sheil/about-me/

Quote from @Dan H.:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Christine Mulkins:

@David Delahanty get it in writing from the tenant otherwise, just throwing it away without his/her consent could be a real problem for you. 

 People always say this. I've evicted 100's of people in my career and in the real world, it's not very high on the risk scale. What's this deadbeat going to actually do? This deadbeat making a problem for this guy is in the range of lighting strikes being a problem for him.

 I suspect you are right in Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH.   In my market tenants have access to government paid legal assistance.   The risk is higher here than in Ohio.

The stuff is worthless.   I think the way to handle this is as a lease violation.   In my market give the tenant a 3 day notice to remove their stuff from common areas.  Start eviction process if the items are not removed in 3 days.   Charge tenant for any legal expenses.   Virtually always this will light a fire under their a$$ and items will start to be removed from the common areas.  This also puts the effort to remove their stuff items on the tenant.

good luck

 So what you're saying is in Ohio it's about the same level of risk as a lighting strike, but in other places it's about the same level of risk as a Hippopotamus attack?

My sister and I were looking to house hack a duplex around the Cincinnati Area. I am currently a student at the University of Cincinnati with 3 years left (5 year program due to 5 mandatory co-op rotations). I have 14k in savings, and I am going on co-op this summer making 23 an hour 40 hours a week. I will be switching on and off of co-ops every semester to make income, and my tuition is covered by scholarships and my parents. My sister is a full time nurse making 60k with no current loans. We both have credit scores around 730. With my complicated income status, would that be stable enough to qualify me to get a loan with my sister?

Hello,

I sell technology to school districts in Washington. I have the opportunity to move out to Washington and have properties in Ohio. My goal would be to purchase and rent out after a year. I would be looking at doing this next year. Looking for someone with experience in that territory.

james 

My business partners and I are wanting to do the BRRRR strategy but we have a concern that comes into play more long term.

let's say we buy a property refinance it and do a HELOC on that money we get from the refinance. We then use that money on another property. And then we try and repeat the process. At what point are the banks going to say "no you have too much debt in houses"

Is this a valid concern?

I’m 21, living in New Jersey with my parents, saving about $2,000 a month, and not in a rush to move out. Given that I have low overhead and time on my side, what would be the smartest first real estate investment move I could make to build long-term wealth