All Forum Posts by: Brad Swearingen

Hey Everyone,

I am still pretty new to wholesaling and have a question.  I have a contract on a property. Another wholesaler has approached me to let her put my property on her website and find a seller.  She thinks she has a seller who wants it.  How much, either percentage or amount, should be good to give her? Thanks for the feedback.

Brad

I am still a newbie but I love thinking of strategies for investing and creative financing/buying properties. So I want to know what you all think about this strategy and if any of you have experience doing this, please add some feedback.

What if I house-hacked but instead of me moving into the house, I got someone else to move in? Let me explain.
My wife and I don't want to move from our current house but we still want to house hack. So, what if I gave my adult son the 3.5% down payment for an FHA loan on a duplex. He would agree to move into the house and live for free on one side while we rented the other side to a tenant. After one year, he sells the house to me using a Subject-to. Then we find another house and do the same thing over again every year. This way he gets to stay for free and I still get the low FHA loan and the house without having to move. Maybe this could be done with multiple people I trust every year. What do you think?

Does this throw up any red flags?  Is there a chill going down your spine of fear, or excitement?  Let me know

Thanks @Chris Martin for the info.  I will ask the bank about the Master D-T and make sure to add a release clause.

@Chris Martin, I am not sure if the properties are free and clear but I know the owner has at least 40% equity in them.  He would like to sell the properties all at once and buy a lake house.  He indicated he likes to have his properties paid for but didn't come out and state that.  I will have to find out if he just needs a down payment for the lake house or wants the whole thing.  I don't currently have a relationship with any banks so it looks like I need to start talking to them.

@Account Closed, the owner does not have them all bound up.  They each are paid off or have their own mortgage.

@Caleb Heimsoth, this is in Oxford, NC.  I have heard that Benchmark Bank, a local lender, will do "investor" type loans so I will have to talk with them.  Thanks for the suggestion of running the numbers at 15 or 20 years.  I am sure my margins will get tighter.

Thanks everyone for the help.  I have some work to do.

Brad

Thanks everyone for the good responses, suggestions and warnings.  I am going to start by calling a property manager local to the area and get some rents and expenses info from them.  I am not sure why it is vacant but I am going to ask.  This sounds like a lot of work but I am willing to dig in if the reward is there.

Brad

I have a lead on a 50 unit apartment complex that is empty, has no past expense sheets and no rent rolls.  How do I find out the expenses for this complex?  I use Rentometer to get some local rent prices so that shouldn't be an issue.  Also I want to look through every unit during my due diligence. If the electricity is turned off can I ask the electric company to turn it on for just one day?  Thanks!

Brad

I found a seller in a small town who owns 9 rental houses (11 units total since 2 are duplexes).  The houses average around $33,000 per property so let's say I could purchase the whole bundle for $300,000. Is it possible to get a portfolio loan to purchase all 9 properties?  Has anyone done this?  Is this is a good idea to do this?  What do I not know to know if this is worth pursuing?

The pros I see:  at $500 average rent per unit x 11 = $5500 per month.   Purchase price of $300k. Down payment of 25% over 30 years at 5% = Mortgage = $1562.  So 5500-1562 = $3938 net profit per month.  Rents can be increased due to below market rents. Half the houses have updates.  The rental market is strong in this area.

The cons: multiple capital expenses, multiple people to deal with, difficult to get a loan, half the houses need updates, once rents are increased can cause vacancies.

Brad

@Charlie Moore

Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey. It’s pretty much the complete “how to run a business” book.

My Life and 1000 Houses by Mitch Stephen. It was entertaining as well as having great info on how to be a real estate investor.

80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall. The definitive guide to working less and making more.

Enjoy!

@Nathan Hall

The BiggerPockets podcast on Google Play is still there. You have to download the new version. It has Josh, Brandon and David on the cover.

Hey Everyone!

I am looking at an opportunity and need some suggestions.  There is a rental house for sale at $35K.  The Zestimate is $74K.  A tenant is living in it and has been there for 6 years and is paying $600 monthly rent.  The Rentometer average is $800.  Should I buy this house and immediately raise rents to $800? Should I raise them slowly over a couple years to bring them up to average?  Should I even buy this house?  It looks good and doesn't need any major work, maybe lipstick at most.  What do you recommend?

Thanks!

Brad