All Forum Posts by: Sara Abernethy

Are commercial lenders concerned with down payment seasoning?  For past bank loans, I have had to provide bank statements, but this is my first commercial loan.  I'm just wondering if I'll have to provide those statements. 

Welcome!  I actually have a buy & hold property right in your neighborhood!  There are some nice deals in that area because there's low cost of living, but really good schools, and plenty of employment.  I like the Pittsburgh idea!  I'm from there - haven't invested there yet because I don't know it as well as I used to, but agree that it would be a great long-term investment.  

Hi there!  Interested in hearing updates!  Looking into this method and just following along here.  For those that removed an inquiry themselves, how did you do that?  

Hi - another thought that came to me...I like to ensure that my properties have the maximum number of possible end-use cases...long term rentals, short term / vacation rentals, upgrade and sell, etc.  

Derry Township just put in some new laws to severely limit AirBnB usage.  One of the limitations is that you can't do it at all if your property shares any walls.  Even if you do get a standalone property, you still have to get approval from the township to use your property that way, and they may not approve it.  You wouldn't want to buy a house with the intention of doing AirBnB, but you should know that buying a condo ensures that you absolutely cannot.  

I did AirBnB my condo for a summer before they put that law in and it was super lucrative.  A lot of families come to Hershey and they loved spreading out in a 2BR instead of cramming into a hotel room.  I ended up converting it to a long term rental and it does great that way too.  I always try to keep my options open!!

You might consider looking in surrounding areas (Palmyra) with less strict zoning (I haven't looked into it). 

Thank you Travis!  I have worked with Members 1st before - I didn't realize they offer HELOCs on investment properties!  That's great news.  

I talked to him yesterday and discussed the secured/unsecured issue.  I think I convinced him to keep it unsecured, but I still need to structure the new deal.  

Interesting on the second position piece!  

Thanks @Account Closed  The property is actually in New York, but probably a similar process.  

Yes, I get that.  I will have skin in the game, just not the whole 20%.  

@Account Closed  That's a great idea!  How do I do that exactly?  Can I just put in a promissory note that it is secured, or do I need to file a lien somewhere??  

Good luck to you!  I have a condo in Hummelstown, lived in it while I worked at the chocolate company, and now rent it out to a family.  Look for homes in Derry schools because people LOVE that school district.  There will always be demand for housing there.  Largest employer is the Med Center, second largest is Hersheypark, and third largest is The Hershey Company.  Keep that in mind - make sure your lease ends May 31st because that's how you get on the doctor cycle (so I've heard, I'm not renting to doctors, but I made sure to structure my lease so it renews then).  

Reserve and Gardens will have a lot of condos that are affordable.  I lived there when I first got to Hershey (I just rented at first).  They're fine, but nothing special.  You do get a lot of amenities like a pool and fitness center - probably the only place in that area where you'll get all that.  

My favorite area, and the area that my condo is in, is back Alpine drive. It's back in the woods and has a totally different feel than Reserve and Gardens. Innsbruck is my HOA, and I don't recommend them because their finances are kind of challenging - the HOA's financial position gave me a tough time when I was refinancing last year. But there are several condos back that way.

So it depends what you like - if you like cottage in the woods, go back Alpine. If you want simple living, go for Reserve and Gardens. Just one watch out - there are a handful of condos in Reserve and Gardens that go for dirt cheap - there's a reason!! There's some structural issue in a couple of them that probably won't matter much while you live there, but could make it difficult to sell. That said, if you're going to hold forever, it might not matter, but "holding forever" isn't usually a great idea with condos....they eventually just get old and no one wants to live there. With SFH you can always do a full renovation, but with condos you can only do the inside.

Anyway, a few things to think about there.

Yeah, it's a weird property so that's probably why.  There was debate whether it's truly commercial.  It's 3 cabins on some land.  Right now the owners live in one cabin and rent out the other two.  I won't be living in any of them.  A lot of banks just dismissed it because the use is changing, but the local bank who lent to the sellers I think wants to keep it in their portfolio.  That said, once we get to underwriting a lot could change - it could change to 20 years!  Thanks for the heads up - I'll watch out for that.  

I have tried to get lines of credit (HELOC), but the bank won't give them on non-owner occupied properties. At least the ones I've tried - any suggestions?

I do want to stick with this route because the cash is already in my bank account.  He invested in my last deal, I pulled the money out to do this one and roll it forward, but now he wants to be secured (even though he wasn't secured on the last deal).  

When I bought my vacation property, they offered to let me finance it at 90%.  I didn't take them up on it (though I wish I had that cash right now because I'm working on my next deal).  It's *possible* that it's because it's a vacation rental.  Of course it's also possible that it's because I was using a local bank and they just have more flexibility.  Just like anything else, you need to shop around and local realtors often knows which banks like to play.  

You may want to consider looking into vacation rentals regardless, especially if you're looking near your home.  I have 3 traditional rentals, and they cash flow just fine, but having this vacation rental that I can visit and enjoy, and make DOUBLE what i'm making with my traditional rentals, I'm hooked!!