All Forum Posts by: Max Emory

@Justin Sutton, you have some awesome things going on! I grew up in a town right beside Rock Hill. I've been investing for 3.5 years and have 22 doors. I'm taking a short break from acquisitions right now to focus 100% on my bookkeeping firm. I'd love to connect with you!

Hey @Antonio Chelala, the firm will most likely charge their hourly rate. As long as the contract you provide is pretty comprehensive it should only cost an extra couple hundred bucks. And, yes, they will help you with filling out portions of the contract if it's incomplete or you have questions. 

They can also provide you a contract but that will be more expensive.

@Antonio Chelala, I don't have a seller financing template contract but I'm sure some of the courses/programs that are out there have one. Contracts to purchase real estate will be state-specific. 

For the duplex we just secured with seller financing, I found a template offer to purchase contract online specific to the state and made sure it contained everything I'm used to seeing in a purchase contract. Then, I added addendums as applicable and a promissory note. Then, had our law firm add anything else that was needed. 

You can write into the contract that there will be no penalties for paying off the note in full early. That's the beauty of creative finance. Everything is up to you and the other party in the transaction. You have a lot more control over the terms of the agreement.

Hi, @Joel Broyles! You'll be a huge asset to the community and hopefully learn some things yourself. Welcome to BP!

Happy to connect any time!

Ok, great! Maybe throwing out a post on social media wouldn't hurt either. Especially, if there is a Facebook group for your area. Those are usually pretty helpful.

Do you guys have local REI meetups? That's the first place I would look for experience with this other than these forums.

Hi, @Tony Davis! This all depends on what your business looks like. Different business activities, number of accounts, number of transactions, number of entities, number of properties, partnerships, just bookkeeping or add-on advisory services, etc etc.

95%+ of the transactions that flow through a real estate investor's bank and credit card accounts have to be coded to a specific property within a specific entity. Flip property transactions are coded differently than rental property transactions. Every HUD statement and property management statement has to be manually "translated" onto your books. Every loan payment has to be split between principal, interest, and escrow (if applicable). There's a ton of manual journal entries involved on a monthly basis.

That being said, $100/mo to maintain a REI's books is too good to be true. You get what you pay for in the financial industry just like most other industries.

I would go with a reputable, real estate investing-savvy service from the get-go to avoid a large clean-up job in the future.

Hope this helps!

Hi, @Alon A.! I'm in the same boat as you as far as being self-employed. Some options I continue to use to purchase rental properties (BRRRR method) are...

1) hard money lenders who wrap the rehab costs into the loan and don't require personal tax returns

2) refinance into a DSCR or other commercial loan that is asset-based and doesn't require personal tax returns

3) seller finance or subto (no bank required)

Lenders are usually state-specific. So, you'll want to ensure they lend in your state prior to getting things started.

@Patrick Gilbert, following along for this one. I'm super interested in this strategy for late 2023/early 2024. Will you be managing them yourself?

Hi, @Antonio Chelala! My first investment property was bought from a distance and every property I've purchased since then has been purchased from a distance. The key is to have the necessary "team members" in place that are local to where you are buying. They will be instrumental in your due diligence process. 

There is absolutely added risk when purchasing from a distance. "Long Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene is an excellent resource for this.

On the creative finance front, there are more deals available now than before with sellers willing to offer seller finance or subto. We actually just secured another duplex with seller finance. 

You will typically need to go direct to seller to be able to pull this off. Not always, but typically.