All Forum Posts by: Shera Gregory

Hi @Zachary Schimenz -- I have found rentometer.com to be fairly accurate in my area. There is a free version that gives a reasonable amount of detail. The most important (in my opinion) is to look closely at the location of the homes that show up as part of the analysis. You shouldn't just use the average number that pops up. There is a default radius that you can't change with the free version. So the list of homes used for that average may include very different neighborhoods. I use the "professional" version that you do have to pay for. If you are analyzing a lot of rentals that may be worth doing. It lets you select the type of home to include (i.e. house vs apartment), the radius and the # of months history to use. Plus you get a more detailed list of houses with # BR, SF, etc that are the basis for the analysis. Play with the free version to see if it has enough data in your area to be worthwhile.

Agree with all .. LVT is the way to go. The Select Surfaces product sold by Sams Club is VERY thick (14 mm) and under $2 per foot for the material cost if you buy in the store.

The Plan to Profit in Real Estate seminar is just around the corner on Saturday April 27th. Details are at the website www.PlantoProfitRE.com. This is a full day in-person stand-alone educational event with a lot of practical and actionable information. It is not a promotion for other seminars or services. Tickets for the full day including lunch are $52. Book today and take a step forward in your real estate journey!

Thanks @Linda S. for the mention! @Karim Z. - are you still in town or was that last week? If there's still time to catch up in person I'd be happy to do that. Otherwise a phone call is always an option too.

Shera

I was able to get a HELOC on rental property owned by an LLC at a local credit union. I had to open an account in the business name but I don't have to have any type of deposit account with them. I agree .. keep calling around! There is a lot of value in having a HELOC if you only want to use it sporadically to self-fund a flip or to get a new rental up and running. The downside to using it to self-fund a rental is that you still have to find long-term financing at some point for the rental so it could be best to just get long-term financing now on the full portfolio.

Ticket update: It is now possible to purchase tickets to attend just the morning or afternoon portion of the seminar for $26. In the morning we will cover Analysis and Financing of Rentals and Flips and in the afternoon we will cover the Private Money Lending process and Self-Directed Retirement Accounts. There is also a self-study option for those who cannot attend the seminar in Richmond in person on April 27th.

ANALYZING AND FINANCING RENTALS AND FLIPS FOR INVESTORS AND PRIVATE MONEY LENDERS

Join us in Richmond for this full day seminar on Saturday April 27th. 

Seminar fee of $52 includes 

• Full day seminar with presentations, discussion and Q&A presented by Shera Gregory with guest speakers (Fixer Upper Coach Pete DeWorken, local bank commercial loan officer, and local property manager)
• Printed copy of the presentation for note-taking
• E-mailed copies of all spreadsheets and resource links
• E-mailed examples of all Private Money Lending docs (samples only, not for legal use!)
• Lunch (Fajita & Taco Bar), Snacks & Coffee 

Tickets can be purchased on EventBrite: Plan to Profit in Real Estate

This full day seminar will cover four main topics:

Investors, Private Money Lenders and Wholesalers can all benefit from learning about these fundamentals. For example:

Hi - I have used a property management company that doesn't show properties until someone has already paid for and passed their background check. I was skeptical, but they did find a qualified tenant at the rent level that I was looking for. I think that it was beneficial that they have many, many properties under management so prospective tenants would figure that something will be a good fit. If you only have a few properties to show then I think it's less likely that someone would pay the $25 fee just to see a place that they may not like. What I don't understand in your process is the difference between the $25 application fee and then the $40 for a background and credit check. Is it normal in your area to charge for both? In my market the "application fee" does cover the credit and background check.

Hi @Glenn Williams - Have you been to any of the local real estate groups? I checked on meetup.com for groups within about 10 miles of Bedford and there's the Great Lakes REIA (https://www.meetup.com/GreatLakesREIA/) and a few others. That would be a really good place to connect with investors in your area. Good luck!!

You also have to take into account the long term capital expenditures. The big ticket items that you don't replace now will eventually need to the repaired or replaced if you hold the property long enough. So it's more of a "pay me now or pay me later" thing and either is actually fine as long as you plan for it. I usually set aside about $125 per month per property for capex but that can go lower or higher depending on the situation. If I buy a property with a tenant in place I can't do a lot of rehab right off the bat so I put that number up closer to $200 per month and if I've just put in a new roof & hvac then I'll drop it down to about $75. So your cash flow estimates should be AFTER your set-aside for future capex.