All Forum Posts by: Brandon Stevens
Brandon Stevens has started 4 posts and replied 137 times.
Post: Deciding On A College Major
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Ah modern day education, a farce, I'd guess 80% of us on here have degrees which have nothing to do with what we do today and that the hours we spent in textbooks have never once been applicable to our daily lives. I actually think college is an important experience for everyone but the curriculum is more often than not useless..and expecting an 18 year old to know what they want to do in life..don't get me started. If I had to do it again, knowing anyone can be successful in real estate without a degree, I'd take a combination of marketing, economic, and finance classes along with anything relating to real estate that was available for a couple years, I wouldnt worry about a degree. I'd get a job, or a couple jobs, save until I could buy a multifamily with an FHA with 3.5 down. Limit my expenses, partner in a flip to get some cash, or do one on my own if I could get financing, do a couple, put some $ in the bank and start building my track record so I'd have no problem getting $ in the future for deals. Maybe not as easy as having a high paying job with $ to invest passively..but in reality if you went that route, when would that really happen...Start now..find a way..Imagine your 15 year holds paid off when you 35...begin, believe, work hard.
Post: rental purchases and resulting cashflow
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Originally posted by @Jamie DeRossett:
You and your wife. That's why you are so successful and that is the secret to my success too. To be honest my wife really does run our business and she does a great job. She keeps track of the money and I manage the contractors and it has worked great for us. All joking aside you are very fortunate to be in relationship with someone who is on board and supportive and really it makes a big difference. Good luck to you all and have a great evening!
More important than words can express...
Post: rental purchases and resulting cashflow
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Originally posted by @Jamie DeRossett:
I pulled you up online. Are you from Virgie. I am from Prestonsburg and used to go to Virgie in my younger days to play football and basketball. I don't know why you would want to start **** with another eastern ky boy. Us Hillbillies usually stick together.
Ha I am not originally from anywhere near KY and not trying to start anything just stating your opinion on how to be successful in rentals is close minded. While some people like to pay cash for the stability, it limits your scalability and tax benefits while most of us would prefer to let someone else payoff our loans and make us rich. You sound like you have plenty of experience rehabing and selling, I hope you get some of those profits into long term rentals while your young, itll be worth it one day, busy deciding what to do with your multi-million dollar portfolio someone else paid for.
Post: rental purchases and resulting cashflow
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Originally posted by @Jamie DeRossett:
Who is we?
Not that it matters, but my wife and I own 38 units and we own another 14 with a partner. If you'd like to learn, there are 100s of success stories on BP about a multitude of ways to be successful with buy and hold properties of which most include mortgages, private $, etc...
Post: rental purchases and resulting cashflow
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Originally posted by @Jamie DeRossett:
Brandon how many properties do you own and how many have fix and flips have you done in your career?
We own 52 units and have done 17 fix and flips.
Post: rental purchases and resulting cashflow
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Originally posted by @Jamie DeRossett:
Rental investments are only profitable when you have a large downpayment, greater than 50%, or when you buy with 40-50% equity in a wholesale type deal. When you take out a mortgage a market value and pay 20% down it is a uphill battle. By the time you factor in taxes, insurance, vacancy, reparis there is very little left, and you are hurting your debt ratio and ability to do deals that make money unless you are a doctor, executive or make a boat load of money monthly and do not have to worry about DTI (Debt to Income Ration) which lenders use to determine credit worthiness.
I hear investors say I am going to make money on the appreciation. Good luck property values have peaked and are not going anywhere for a long time. I hear investors say I am going to pay it off in 30 years that is if you dont refinance. Every time you have to refi the clock starts over again at 30 years, but if you look back if you keep a property 30 years you will have had to replace everthing twice and when the updates and modernization is calculated into the formula the returns are less than stelar.
The only way to make money off rentals is to pay all cash and have no mortgage or pay at least 50% or buy a property with a ton on equity or multi-family with a ton of income.
Hysterical. Feel free to read the other millions of success stories on BP using the opposite of all those methods.
Post: Who is more unethical Realtors or used car salesmen?
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Maybe you should find a realtor at your church. How come you just don't get your own license if you are so upset with your representation? It just seems a little unfair to make such a broad statement such as 99.9% indicating you've basically never met an ethical realtor. Every industry has unethical people, they don't last but trying to put every realtor into that basket is ridiculous.
Post: Banker told me SFH rentals are as bad as printing companies
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Originally posted by @Danger Brown:
The banker is speaking from his perspective. His concern is having a serviceable note with good collateral. The information is probably colored by the mortgage meltdown and possibly by housing prices being potentially overpriced with risk of a correction.
He is not wrong from his perspective which also assumes that an asset will be leveraged. Depending on the market, many types of housing are in a position exposing them to at least a temporary correction in market value. His view is similar to a margin call in a declining stock market. SFR values can swing pretty wide because there are SFR owners who are not investors influencing the market. They can often be too pricey to cash flow well and may have greater downside risk in a general economic downturn.
Even if a landlord is still making payments, the reduced property value reduces the resale value of any debt against it. It also hurts the creditworthiness of the bank which could lead to banking regulators intervening with the banker's portfolio of loans. So even in a case where a landlord would survive a downturn and continue to make all payments, the downturn combined with a leveraged loan could indirectly hurt the bank.
The investor's view should be different. We may have any number of plans for the property. We may have a longer or shorter lense on the future of that particular investment. Just remember to be aware of the situation as it relates to your risk tolerance and objectives... and make your decisions based on your criteria.
Except he was qouting an article "someone sent him" and referencing printing companies which he then felt compelled pass off to a customer as a real opinion for which he had no basis. Did he also share any recent cat videos he'd seen?
Post: Banker told me SFH rentals are as bad as printing companies
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
He probably thinks Johny Manziels a real nfl quarterback too.
Post: Sick of this business
- Investor
- Lexington, KY
- Posts 139
- Votes 100
Just tell the buyer you disagree and get your two engineers to write something up saying its working. Sucks to spend that money but we've done it before with foundation questions and even if the first buyer walks we were ready for the next. Otherwise there is no sense in getting mad about something ya have no control over. If youve got a good product you'll have plenty of buyers and one of them is bound to have a better inspector :) id still just tell the buyer you think its working fine and you'd like to get a second opinion if they dont't care about getting a second opinion i dont think they really care about the house.