About Broomfield's The Broadlands

Investing in Real Estate 5 – Large (5+ unit) Apartment Building
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, large apartment buildings, in The Broadlands neighborhood.

What this investment is: Still targeting tenants for 6-12 months at a time, buildings with more than five units are considered "commercial" property. The loans are more difficult to qualify for, and usually a larger down payment is needed. Uncommon for the new investor; this is usually what landlords with several years of experience "trade up" to. Cash flows on larger buildings are more stable than for smaller buildings, and the economies of scale make it practical (and desirable) to hire a property manager to take over most the work for you. This takes reduces the hassle factor of the landlord process.

Equity needed: Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical. For a commercial loan, your net worth should generally be at least as much as the loan you are seeking. The good news is that the commercial loan usually does not show up on your credit report, so it doesn’t count towards the “four investment home limitation” from Fannie / Freddie.

Importance of credit: Essential. A 720 FICO is a must. A 740 would be better.

Importance of experience with contractors: Some exposure would be helpful, but you are not likely to encounter construction projects any more difficult than you have maintaining your own personal residence. We run classes on how to do this from time to time. Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Important of experience with property managers: Not important; the majority of our clients manage their own rentals when they get started. Ideally you will have started with some smaller investment rentals and built property management experience. Now, when you have to finally manage a property manager, it will be easy since you have done the job yourself in the past.

Next week, we’ll continue to explore large apartment buildings in more detail!

Investing in Real Estate 4 – Small (2-4 units) Apartment Building
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, small apartment buildings, in The Broadlands.

What this investment is: Purchase of duplex, triplex or quadplex to be rented to tenants, usually for 6-12 month terms. Usually what the rental home / condo landlords graduate to. In most markets they cost a little more than a rental home, but are much more likely to cash flow on the average month. Less cash flow risk; if one unit is empty you have other tenants that still help you with the mortgage payment so it doesn't all come out of your pocket. Many owners will start to delegate some of the property management tasks to an on-site assistant (typically the most responsible tenant), such as yard maintenance and showing empty units. The financing process is only slightly more involved than a residential loan. Relatively small down payment requirements make it affordable. The purchase process is also very similar to purchasing a home. It's a good way for beginners to get started.

Equity needed: 20% - 30% down would be typical.

Importance of credit: Very important. A 720 FICO score would help a lot. Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical.

Importance of experience with contractors: Some exposure would be helpful, but you are not likely to encounter construction projects any more difficult than you have maintaining your own personal residence.

Important of experience with property managers: Not important; the majority of our clients manage their own rentals when they get started. If you get a property manager, you’ll be able to figure it out easily on this small of a scale. We run classes on how to do this from time to time. Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Next week, we’ll continue to explore small apartment buildings in more detail!

Investing in Real Estate 3 – Rental Condo or Rental Home
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, rental condos or rental homes, in The Broadlands.

What this investment is: Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term. This is how most new landlords get started. You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own. There are smaller down payment requirements than for larger rental buildings. The purchase process and financing process is very similar to what you experienced buying the home you live in now. It's a great way for beginners to get started.

Equity needed: Currently 20% - 25% Downpayment. In some cases you might be able to do it with 10% down, but expect the second mortgage to be at a higher rate. While Freddie / Fannie lenders might only let you have four loans, smaller local lenders will let you have more than that if you have strong credit. Contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the right people.

Importance of credit: Very important. A 720 FICO score would help a lot. Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical.

Importance of experience with contractors: Some exposure would be helpful, but you are not likely to encounter construction projects any more difficult than you have maintaining your own personal residence.

Important of experience with property managers: Not important; the majority of our clients manage their own rentals when they get started. We run classes on how to do this from time to time. Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

The next few blog articles explore related topics, such as rentals, fix and flips, and new construction. Next week, we’ll continue to explore rental condos / homes in more detail!

Investing in Real Estate 2 – Assignments
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, assignments, in The Broadlands.

What this investment is: An investor who is interested in Assignments gets a property under contract for an attractive price then assigns the contract to another buyer, usually another investor. The first investor will be paid a fee for the work. If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing. You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at it, though.

Equity needed: None, just earnest money.

Importance of credit: Not important, since you are not purchasing the property yourself.

Importance of experience with contractors: Not important. The person that you ‘flip’ the property to will be doing the work.

Important of experience with property managers: Not important. The person purchasing the property from you will be managing the tenants.

The next few blog articles explore related topics, such as rentals, fix and flips, and new construction. Next week, we’ll continue to explore assignments in more detail!

Topic: Special considerations for Investor loans

The talk around the water cooler these days is all about LOANS. Who can get them? At what price? What if I already have a few loans, do I still qualify? A year or two ago the question was at what price do I get a loan (those were the days!). Today it is "am I still in the game?"

Here's the deal: if you have an owner occupied loan and 3 investor loans you cannot buy any more properties and get Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac financing, meaning you can't get a conventional 30-year fixed loan. Now, my hope is that someone reads this and tells me I'm wrong. That would be great! But as far as I know that is the case.

Where does this leave you? You can pursue loans that are warehoused by lenders, meaning they are not sold on the backend to Fannie or Freddie. You are probably looking at a minimum of 20% down but more importantly it will be almost impossible to get a 30-year loan. But a 5/1 ARM is not out of the question. (Lenders, please start a dialogue here and let folks know who has what products available.) There is also Hard Money available. I met with a group of high-end Hard Money lenders today to discuss options and the consensus is that they are proceeding…but with extreme caution.

A final version is to contact smaller local lenders. You'll need 25% down, but if your story makes sense, you'll get your loan - and usually at an attractive rate. Let me know what your situation is and I'll try to refer you to the right person.