All Forum Posts by: Sarah Lorenz

There is a student real estate investing club at the business school. They put on a real estate conference in the fall. And they just hosted a reception at the urban planning conference last week at the school of architecture and urban planning. I would highly recommend that you connect with them.

Yes, that’s right.

Would it be possible to originate notes on accessory dwelling units for homeowners who cannot qualify for a HELOC or refi to build one on their own? We would like to build these, and I'm sure there is a large untapped market of people who would want an ADU but cannot get the financing for it. The cost would probably run about $75,000 and the units would generate $900-1400 per month in income. Our area has very high rental demand, low vacancy rates, and high quality tenants. If the homeowner had a 2-4 years of income, they could then refinance or pull a HELOC and pay off the note. Does this sound like a viable strategy? If so, what might the rate be? There would obviously be a mortgage in first position.

Some people do use AirB&B, but more in Northern Michigan use other sites like Homeaway and VRBO.com. They seem to cater to week-long, higher-priced rentals. You can also search by criteria like lakefront or beach, over a wider area. With AirB&B, seems to trend toward nightly rentals and you have to search by the location name, I think. 

@Kati Stoermer We haven't moved on the lake house scenario yet, as we are focusing on our Ann Arbor projects right now. But hopefully soon. I'm still evaluating the purchase prices vs. STR rental income of local lake properties within an hour vs. those up north, about four hours. I think the STR rates are much stronger up north.

 I am sorry to hear that. I have been following your posts from the beginning. That is really tough luck – I hope you bounce back soon.

@Asad Shaikh Very nice project. Thanks for the detailed description. Quite similar to what I can do in my area. Good luck! I would like to hear how it all pans out. I guess my main question would be, does your builder have a track record of staying on a tight timeline? That can really kill a project, as well as finishing and listing at a sub optimal time of year. And will you wait till it is completely finished to list? It is always tempting to the list just before the construction is finished, but I have regretted that in the past. I may do it again though!

@Michael Warinner I’d highly recommend that you go back to school and finish your degree. You can become a real estate agent anytime – I just did, in my spare time, and I have a Masters degree. And there are millions of people like me, who will be competing with you and stealing your business at every turn. Take your spring break and study for your real estate license. Or if you are dead set on dropping out, make sure your parents have a really nice finished basement or that you marry a sugar mama. I think almost every single entrepreneur has a period where everything falls apart and they’re dead broke. You may need a “real job” to fill-in at some point, and virtually every single well paying one will require a college degree before they will even look at you. And it is very very very very very very very very very painful to go back to school and finish a bachelor’s degree once you are well into adult life.

@Corby Goade Thanks for weighing in--I'll keep that in mind. 

@Danny Kay and @Greg Dickerson  Thank you so much for the advice. My husband got his builder's license last year, and he has some experience with new construction as well as a lot of experience with picky clients, so we do understand your points about change orders. I'm sure you are right about selling the finished house being much easier than something that turns into a custom nightmare. It may be worth the hassle for a few projects in order to scale up faster, however. This week we've started contacting the loan officers that we know at our local banks so they can connect us with the people in charge of vetting builders--thanks for that reminder.