All Forum Posts by: Tim Swierczek

Quote from @Brady Herbaugh:

Hello BP, I’m new here my name is Brady. My wife and I are traveling healthcare workers. I work in CT Radiography and she is a CNA. We are looking to buy a multi family property close to where we are from for the first investment. We are from North Dakota but have family in Minnesota as well. Since we will likely be on the go but can have our permanent address be set at the property we purchase. I’m curious if house hacking would work best? Maybe there’s another strategy that might benefit our unique situation. 
Thanks in advance 

Brady

Hey Brady,

From a lender's point of view, you would need to have some intention of living in the property. You would at least need to move in within 60 days of closing otherwise it is loan fraud. I'd recommend you pick a place to live when you are on a longer contract that you expect to be in place for a year. If your contract changes you would still be ok as long as it's reasonable that you would have lived there for the full year. 

Quote from @Jake Doty:

Hello,

TLDR: I need a brokerage to sponsor me for my MN Real Estate Salesperson license

I am new to real estate investing. My current strategy is investing remotely in low cost properties in Detroit, renovating them to bring them to a rentable state, and then selling them to other investors. I am working with a program that helps me do this; otherwise, I would not be comfortable investing remotely. As I gain experience and confidence, I plan to start replicating the process here in the Twin Cities (Minnesota). The market here is not quite as hot for this type of thing, but I'm looking to establish a long-term business. And sidenote, even though I'm new to real estate, I do have 25 years of Corporate Finance experience, so have a little bit of a clue about some things. :)

So, the question is, are there brokerage firms who sponsor licenses for people like me? I don't have any intention of doing the traditional "realtor" role. I just want my license for the access it gives me to data and the savings it gives me on transactions. Sure, I may do deals for family and friends here and there, but that's not the main point.

Can anyone advise on whether or not there are brokers who are supportive of this and if so, any you would recommend in Minnesota?

Thanks!

Jake

If you just want the ability to buy and sell your own properties and get MLS access you can get a MN limited broker's license and pay MLS dues. The catch is you will get zero support so unless you know what you're doing when it comes to the contracts, negotiation, etc it's probably not a good idea. Otherwise, find a broker who would like some extra cash to answer your questions and pay a split on each deal that motivates the broker to help you figure things out. I know many but have no idea if they would be interested. You are best off googling for RE brokers hitting them up with an intro email and seeing who would be interested.

Quote from @Natasha Rooney:

Hello! 

We are just starting out in all this and I have been looking at a few potential broad markets/states to start doing OOS investments, potentially in Ohio, Alabama, Connecticut, North Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota (I know - lots on the list). 

What are the main things that you look for when trying to really narrow down on a market? There are just so many markets that could offer decent potential cash flow. I know there are lots of stats and things to look at when analyzing deals as well as markets like job growth, unemployment, etc. I guess I am just having a hard time really trying to decide on a market. 

Goals: Looking for a buy and hold multifamily property. Decent cash flow but not looking for a home run the first time around (although that'd be nice!). Hoping to buy one property by the end of this year, 2 next year and to scale up.

Neighbourhood: Class B or C+ neighbourhood.

Rehab: Comfortable with cosmetic and upgrades to the property but not a whole tear down gut job. 

Any input, advice would be greatly appreciated! 

TIA :) 

 You can have a great plan but if you can't properly execute it, it won't work. Focus on the area you can best manage properties in an area that also makes sense from an investment point. Don't worry about all the other details. There are mega-successful investors in every market even the ones that are not landlord friendly. 

@Injung Kim I've owned rentals in Minneapolis for 21 years. Hit me up if you want to chat about it.

Hey @Daniel Church I'm an investor and flipper in the Twin Cities. I'd be willing to meet and see if it's a good fit. Pm me if you are interested.

Quote from @Daniel Mortigo Espinel:

Hi @Tim Swierczek I have reached out to you on Facebook, looking forward to chat some more. Thank you!

 I don't see anything. Can you please PM me here or PM me on FB messenger?

@Spencer Perron check the data. Determine what it would sell for on a comp-based approach as a 4 unit (they don't sell based on cap rates) and determine what it would sell for as a Cap rate 5 unit. Try hard to find 5-7 unit property cap rates. Buyers of 5-unit properties are different from 10+ unit buyers. This data should give you a better answer than we can give. Randy is correct on the insurance, check out those rates. and then make your decision.

Quote from @Carliss Robinson:

@Tim Swierczek for some reason the video won't play. Do you have another link or address?

Thanks!

Carliss

 I just clicked it and it worked. You can try going directly to my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tim.swierczek it's the video from July 16th. Our most recent video from July 30th would be another example, although I would call that one an outlier.

Quote from @Monica Gonzalez:

@Tim Swierczek I'm new to investing and starting to look in Minnesota. As a CA native I've never purchased out of state and curious how different the lending rules are in MN.  Any tips you can provide would be great.  

Happy to help. One of the things that make "Agency" guidelines good is that they are standardized across all states so you will not find many differences in Conventional, FHA, VA, or USDA loans. Having said that Minnesota does not have termites due to our weather so we don't do pest inspections, we don't require hurricane insurance, or earthquake coverage, but many but not all lake properties require flood insurance.

We do have some local portfolio lenders who can be accessed through brokers. I do not broker those but my wife does. I can connect you if you ask.  I think your big difference will be in local rental laws which vary by city. St Paul is the most strict, followed by Minneapolis.  That being said I'm under contract to purchase a duplex in St Paul using a local portfolio lender so I can definitely run through my thoughts on a zoom. 

I do a weekly "live deal analysis" on my Facebook page if you are interested, it's public so you can view it without friending me. This may give you some insight into the Twin Cities. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk.

@Daniel Mortigo Espinel I get it. You're Realtor should help guide you and your loan officer should be able to answer your questions. They can't help you if you don't let them know. I have on occasion learned that my client would ask the Realtor questions about the loan that I didn't know they had. Don't be timid about asking questions. Feel free to reach out if you need help.