All Forum Posts by: Crystal Smith

Hi! I work full time and have partnered with others in DFW on assignment of contract deals for a few years now. I am wrapping up my licensing education with the intent of being able to buy and wholesale solo part-time, while keeping my full time job.

How would I go about finding a brokerage that would sponsor me as a sales agent while allowing me to have this flexibility? Or would most brokerages need their agents full time?

Thanks!

Good morning everyone. I am currently in the bit of a rutt. I have recently just purchased my 4th investment property all in my name and have accumulated a DTI of 45.9%. This is the max it seems most "A" lenders will loan too, I might get 50% from a credit union but that still probably not help in the short term.

How do people keep going? I know there's seller finance and "B" lender that are good for the short term, but if a balloon payment is due say in 5 years, there's no guarantee that my DTI would be in a better place then I'd be stuck without funding. I'm not sure if I'm simply over complicating this or not. I used a heloc to purchase the first 4 rentals, so $155k of dept is wrapped up In that until I refinance each property which have already appreciated extremely quickly given the current market. Would taking out a small business loan make sense st this point? I was going to wait to build my portfolio bigger before starting an numbered company, but I'd like to hear what the BP community has to offer in words of advice.

Here are the current numbers I'm working with. Thanks everyone.

Annual T4 income: 250K

380K in liquid investments.

Principle property est. valued at 670K with 250k left owing and 155K heloc attached.

Rental 1: purchased 2021 for 220K current est. value at 270K was a house hack with 5% down and $1600 monthly rental income.

Rental 2: purchased 2022 for 280K 20% down current est. value 345K rental is $2000 monthly 

Rental 3: purchased 2023 for 267K with 20% current est value 310K rents for 2100 a month.:

Rental 4: purchased 2024 for 240K with 20% down current est value 245K rents for 1800 a month.

I have no consumer dept, I only owe on my mortgages.

Hi everyone, happy Sunday!

I’m looking for some guidance on my next steps toward achieving financial freedom through real estate.

My long-term goal is to acquire enough rental properties to secure my financial future. In the short term, I aim to replace my monthly income from my current entry-level job, I dont make a ton of money so this shouldn't be too difficult. Since I don’t have many assets or a lot of cash on hand, I’ll need to be creative and strategic.

Currently, I own a single-family home that serves as my primary residence. I'm considering getting a HELOC for a down payment on another property. I've also heard about the possibility of buying a new property with a lower down payment while keeping my first home as a rental.


I understand that it may take time to build the capital for larger deals, but I’m committed to making it happen. I’m open to any suggestions or feedback you may have.

Thank you!

Hi BP looking to see if anyone has experienced this before…

Been working a deal out with my agent (well known on this forum and has great reviews) and trying to close on my first out of state rental property. I was initially looking for a turnkey property but after finding this deal and going down the rabbit hole it has turned into a BRRRR.

Property is well priced and seller agreed to lower price after inspection was done and scope of work completed by GC. Both parties have agreed on price however seller needs max of two weeks after closing to move out since they need funds from the deal to move. 

I’d like the begin rehab as soon as possible and PM will be managing the rehab for 10% of rehab price. Per the agent, ok to start rehab while seller still in there for a few days up to two weeks.  my main goal is to just get the roof in before weather gets bad.

is there anything I can do aside from a 3k escrow holdback suggested by my agent to prevent getting burned?  I’m worried they won’t leave or damage the property. (Property is already in poor shape). Agent says this happens all the time.

I’m struggling to wrap my head around the reality of negative cash flow. I’ve been exploring multi-family properties for house hacking in both the Philadelphia and Boston areas for several months, focusing on the cheaper areas around the cities rather than in the cities themselves, as housing costs are incredibly high. Despite this, every analysis I’ve done shows not only negative cash flow while living in the property (which I expected) but also significant negative cash flow even after moving out and renting all the units.

While I’m living there, my housing costs would be higher than they are now because I currently rent very cheaply with three roommates. Having them join me in the house hack isn’t an option, as I can’t afford a place with enough bedrooms in a single unit in the areas I want to live. So, it would just be my partner and me, which limits our options in the neighborhoods we’re comfortable with. I’m also at a life stage, where I’d prefer to just live with my partner and not rent out individual rooms in my unit.

When I move out, the rental income would sometimes just barely cover the mortgage and taxes (usually not even insurance). However, this is what many real estate books call “phantom cash flow,” which is considered a red flag. After moving out, I’d still be out of pocket $750 to $1,500 a month to cover vacancy, capital expenditures, maintenance, and property management. And on top of that, I’d be paying rent or a mortgage somewhere else.

I understand real estate is a long-term investment and that appreciation and equity plays a role, but losing money month after month, even post-move-out, is hard to justify. One of the main challenges is that I can only afford to put 5% down, which would leave me tied to this property’s expenses for the foreseeable future, making it harder to pursue other investments.

All of this said, I’m really struggling to stay positive about investing right now. It just doesn’t seem viable unless I wait a year or two to save more for a larger down payment. Any advice or insight would be appreciated, with the focus on the current situation (I’m not looking to move somewhere else). Thanks!

I'm considering leasing my house to an assisted living company or investor. There are already many existing assisted living houses in my neighborhood, and I am thinking of doing the same, but only leasing my house. I plan to live overseas long-term, but I don't want to sell my house. Do you have any advice? And where can I find these investors?

I purchased an investment home under my personal name as my LLC had not been established yet, now wanting to transfer to my LLC. My concern is exposing my anonymity and other property attached to my LLC since there will be a correlation with my name to LLC on sale history record? I am afraid that I will blow my cover this way lol? Please help.

I have $200,000.00 cash to invest. Considering all the factors in today's real estate market, how would you guys recommend investing this money?

Hello. I am looking to start Real Estate(primarily focused on House Hacking and SFH if it goes well) as an engineer after graduating. In terms of loans, due to high income, loans won't be an issue but since I already have a 40 hour a week job, it will put a restriction to how much I contribute in Real Estate. Are there any of you guys that had challenges like these? Additionally, are there any challneges as working 40 hours job and doing Real Estates?