All Forum Posts by: Rachel Luoto

Originally posted by @Julie McCoy:

Originally posted by @Rachel Luoto:

I haven’t tried this with mine, but a friend suggested linking up a Turo rental with the house. We have a large home and charge additional per person, have disclosed outdoor security cameras, and make it known that additional unapproved guests will be charged an even higher per person fee, to discourage people from sneaking others in

 I nearly bought a second car a) because I wanted to and b) because I justified the expense saying I'd rent one or the other on Turo when I wasn't driving it.  Then I looked into the insurance implications.  

Your personal insurance will almost certainly drop you if they find out you're renting on Turo.  There's no commercial policy that will cover a single vehicle or small number of vehicles for these purposes - the car insurance industry does not appear to have caught up to the sharing economy the way property insurance has.  And while Turo's insurance policy appears to be solid, if something weird happens (e.g. the renter lets their friend drive who's not on the agreement and they get in a wreck) you're toast.  Your umbrella policy won't cover it either.

I have too much to lose to take that kind of risk - and anybody with investment property is likely in the same situation.  Consider the risks carefully if you want to start renting cars out.

 Thanks for the information Julie! I used to work in insurance so I know how bad things can get. I’m not going the Turo route - real estate is where it’s at for me - but I will ask my friend and make sure he is taking the proper precautions with his Turo! :)

We bought a triplex over a year ago with 25% down investment loan. Since then we have renovated it, 2/3 units rented (cash flows) and are moving into the third. But, what if we did a cash-out refi into a conventional owner-occupied loan? Our current loan is seasoned, both renovations and market have caused appreciation, and we will be living there getting a better interest rate and more money to buy our next property. Note: we used the cash-out before, so we are familiar with the process Has anyone done this and turned their investment property loan into an owner-occupied one? Thank you BP!!

I haven’t tried this with mine, but a friend suggested linking up a Turo rental with the house. We have a large home and charge additional per person, have disclosed outdoor security cameras, and make it known that additional unapproved guests will be charged an even higher per person fee, to discourage people from sneaking others in

“You can’t eat your house” If you believe as many people do the market is at a high, that $20k in equity disappears fast, and could lead to a situation where you’re underwater and negatively cash flowing. Something to consider with your own goals and risk/reward tolerance. Let us know what you decide to do, I’m curious!

Haven’t seen anyone mention commodities on here. I’m not as familiar with them but if you’re looking for an asset class in a current “low”, something to investigate

Hey! I had seen your question and was listening to and old favorite podcast - Episode 124, at 33:00, their lender implies that how they were dressed mattered for getting their first portfolio loan. Best of luck!

Your budget is $250k... how much do you need in rents? 1% rule is $1250/door. What class of neighborhood/property are you looking for? 

I think your main challenge will be finding a property in that price range that can command that rent in Washington. I’d look up the average rents of your markets of interest first, because rent price is set by the market and not something you can control. Then, look for the deal in that market (that is not in the worst neighborhood or you won’t get that rent price) - your buy price is, to an extent, more within your control. Good luck! 

Have you asked your credit card to raise your limit? Using too much of your credit limit is one of the big 3 (out of5) ways to hurt your score - credit karma and credit sesame can show you where exactly your score is hurting. So if you’re using 80% of the cards limit it’s bad, and you can either pay it down, or you can see if they’ll raise your limit (which so long as you haven’t been in default is often in their interest - they want you to charge as much as possible so long as you remain able to prove you can pay it back)

Welcome @Jacob Blattman! I live and invest in Bremerton with my boyfriend and would be happy to share my knowledge if you want to PM me :) Also the local REAPS meeting (register as reapsweb.com) led by rockstar @Mike Sumsky is a great place to come learn and network!

Welcome Michael! I am in Bremerton and started investing in real estate about a year ago, let me know if you have any questions! Regarding meetups, I like the satellite meetings of REAPS.