All Forum Posts by: Thomas C.

Hey all, 

I've decided that I'm going to focus on buying a home with some type of renovation loan.  The property I'm looking at is in a great area, and liveable as is but needs some cosmetic things for sure.  For example hardwood floors need refinished, the place needs paint, and the yard is pretty rough.  Beyond that, there are a couple of big ticket items like the roof which may need replaced, and the wiring because I'm not sure if it's got aluminum wiring or not. 

Ideally, I'm looking at doing a renovation loan because I don't have the liquid cash to do renovations unless I drain most of my savings.  Also, it may be fairly easy for me to do because my dad is a licensed full time general contractor and has been for 20+ years, so I'll feel a bit better trusting him with the project (and getting my hands dirty as well) rather than trusting some slimy third party contractor. 

This would be my first house which is why I'm considering purchasing a bit more of a fixer upper so I have the chance to build some equity and gain some knowledge in the process. Just trying to figure out what option is best for me. The 203K seems more restrictive than Home Style and Home Ready but I'm not sure if there are any other downsides in the non-FHA options that I am not seeing. Ideally looking to keep the house as my primary residence for at least a few years, then either use as a rental or sell depending on market conditions. Home would be located in Florida, for anyone who may be able to connect me to a solid lender that has experience with these and can walk me through all the options. Let me know y'all's thoughts. Thanks so much!

@Stephen Brown thanks for your reply!  My concern with getting my numbers estimated is that I am trying to get a lot of the funding work done on the front end, so there is less chance of my contract falling through due to financing.  Also I am not on facebook, can you possibly recommend any private money lenders who are new-investor friendly or point me in the direction of somewhere else where I can find one?

Hey all, 

I would love to get some information or pointers as to where I can find private financing for my first rental property.  I have a unique set of circumstances as I'm still a full-time student and I would love to get my first rental property under my belt.  I've been told by plenty of people just to wait until I'm a few years older and I have more savings, but I am really wanting to get started as soon as humanly possible.

Ideally, I am looking at private financing to purchase the property and then eventually refinance the property since I know the interest rates will be higher and I would like to pull some cash out to possibly fund another deal. My main concern is the LTV requirements on investment property loans. I can comfortably put down 10% at the most, but that would leave me little room in my savings for rehab or any other expenses. I am thinking that in order to make this work, I'll have to temporarily borrow money for my down payment from a family member but for obvious reasons I'm trying to avoid that if possible.

If anyone knows of any connections for private money lenders or other investors who might be willing to finance a good deal with a smaller down payment, I would really appreciate it!  I know I'm asking for a unicorn here, so if y'all have any other ideas about what I can do to get the ball rolling (ideally not house-hacking) I would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone on here who's been so kind as to give me advice thus far! 

@Jonathan T Harned that’s great to hear! I’ll definitely keep him in mind. I am a bit of a control freak so having an agreement like that would make me feel a little better and also hopefully save me a little bit of money too. I’ll for sure get in touch with him when I’m ready!

@Reden Dionisio I am local yes! :)

@Jonathan T Harned thanks for the recommendation! I am actually looking to self manage but would love some help with finding a tenant. I can do the advertising if needed and definitely the day to day management, but would love to have someone screen and place tenants. Do you know if they do something like that? I know some but not all PM companies do.

@Korey Rademacher Hey Korey! Thanks so much. I have a property in mind but I believe it will probably sell before I am ready to purchase. I already have an agent and right now we are just working on getting financing all locked down. I’m going to send you a private message with the property address that I’m interested in to see what your thoughts are. Thank you so much for reaching out!

Hey everyone, 

I am taking a look at properties and planning to purchase a rental home or condo within the next month or two.  Just curious to see if anyone who is familiar with Pensacola can vouch for renting in some of the areas on the west side.  I know to stay away from areas like Mayfair, Oakcrest, Montclair, etc. but I'm not sure how some of the areas in the 32526 zip code are.  Anyone have any insight as to rentals in that area?  I am not looking for something super high end obviously, but would like something that is more safe and will attract a somewhat higher quality of tenant than the other areas I mentioned.  Any information is appreciated!

@Dan Armich, I have used Zillow's "rent zestimate" tool but I have found that in about 80% of cases they are off from comparable rents in the area.  I will try Rentometer though for sure!  Thanks for the recommendation. 

As for screening, what processes do you use to screen tenants?  I know that there are some management companies that are willing to do the screening, place tenants, and facilitate lease agreements while leaving the day-to-day operations and management of the property for the owner, which is an option I am considering.  But if I can do the same level of screening myself with minimal extra risk and potential problems, that may be the route I go.  Would love to get your thoughts on that! 

*I should make it known that I am ideally looking to advertise and show the property myself as I am considering getting my license and making a career change to real estate while also managing my own and potentially other rental properties, so if that makes a difference as to the decision to hire a management company for tenant-screening purposes that is something to consider as well.

Hey y'all!

I am considering purchasing a property in a neighborhood that I would consider a "C" neighborhood.  This particular area is an area that has a fair amount of investor activity (but not as much as the "D" or "F" areas), however I am having trouble finding rentals currently on the market to use as comparables.  This will be my first rental property, so I want to make sure that I price correctly and ensure that I attract a decent quality tenant while not being overpriced.  I should mention that this property will be financed, so I want to make sure that the return will be enough to justify my purchasing.  Any tips on how to determine pricing or finding comparables would be appreciated!