Steven Goldman
5/17/2024
Decided to make that move! NOW it is time for YOUR FIRST DEAL!!!!!!!!
When a veteran investor is speaking at a real estate meetup one of the most asked questions is: What was the hardest thing about starting up your real estate portfolio?” The almost unanimous answer is pulling the trigger on the first deal.
Most new real estate investors spend months if not years reading books about investing and going on popular websites, watching YouTube videos, Tik Toks you name it. Really it is just mash up of a million different strategies and new investors become even more confused than when they started. Most of the needed content is hidden by a pay wall. Sign up for my classes, I mentor, I am a guru. Blah blah blah
I hear many new investors talk about how hard it is to picture the whole process from start to finish. Here’s a brief look at that process:
IF you build your team correctly, all of this info comes. Building relationships, just like in life, is just as important in real estate investing.
YOUR NETWORK IS YOU NET WORTH.
REI One step at a time. What type of investor do you want to be? You can be all, a few or none…..
Buy turnkey and hold. (short, mid or long-term rentals)
BRRRR (Buy, rehab, rent, refinance and repeat)
Fix and Flip (purchase, rehab and sell to an end buyer)
Once you have made that decision here are some suggestions on how to overcome the paralysis analysis on your first deal. After you choose your strategy, research the market where you want to buy your investment properties. Factors like population density, employment opportunities, and vacancy rates on rentals are some things you should consider. We recommend you buy your first investment property within 30 minutes of where you live. Proximity provides you with familiarity. It also cuts down on your travel time and costs. As you are looking for properties, learn the area’s average market price per square foot. This is where a good team, including an agent, contractor, mortgage pro, title agent and property insurance agent helps.
BUILD YOUR TEAM
At G2Loans we are investors and lenders. Our clients receive the benefit of our dual experience. We provide deal analysis and real financing advice as part of our service. We want you to succeed and build a powerhouse portfolio. We work for you, not for some faceless mortgage company! We will be the first to tell you to walk from a deal if we see something that causes us concern.
Call us if you want to learn more about the process or need help taking the leap on your first deal.
Steven and Eric Goldman
5/15/2024
IS IT A GOOD TIME TO MAKE A MOVE?
Spoiler….. it is always a good time to make a move!
One of the major questions on every real estate investor’s mind is: Should I buy now or wait for interest rates to decrease?
To evaluate this question, you need to determine your investment strategy. In today’s, ever changing real estate market, investors are running with whatever pricing dictates.
Common Investment strategies:
- Fix and flips
- Fix and holds
- Turnkey purchases
Are you a fix-and-hold rental investor or a fix-and-flip rehabber? If you are a rehabber, you can use a simple formula. Add the purchase price and the projected construction costs together and subtract the sum from the after-repair value. That is your potential pre-tax profit. That spread should be significant enough to absorb the additional interest payments and holding costs associated with the flip. Today’s bridge loan rates are 10.5 to 13 percent plus points.
In addition to calculating your lending costs, you must determine your carrying charges and miscellaneous expenses. If a sufficient profit exists after that calculation plus the additional interest costs and cost of doing business, you should keep moving.
If you are a turnkey investor or fix-and-hold rehabber, you have other considerations. Your first question is what is the market rent for the property? The market rent determines the monthly cash flow, and everything is derived from that number. To analyze a deal, subtract from the market rent by the principal interest taxes and insurance (PITI). This will determine your monthly income, which should be positive. (for more information on DSCR and PITI see our blog post below)
If the property cash flows reasonably at today’s interest rates you can purchase the property today and refinance after the pre-payment period expires, reducing your rate and increasing your monthly income all while your property appreciates in value.
Why not just wait for lower rates? The short lived 2.5% interest rates are over. Historically, they have never happened before and are very unlikely to ever emerge again.
Since Covid, real estate values have exploded year over year. Lower interest rates increase the value of real estate plus the lack of inventory. So, if you wait for lower rates, you will encounter higher prices. It really is the same story as always. The investors who are buying are buying and the investors who are thinking about dipping their toes in are still on the sidelines waiting.
A good deal is a good deal and interest rates should not be the determining factor on whether to purchase. If it cash flows get it closed.
Here at G2 Loans we are experienced rehabbers and investors. We help all our clients analyze their deals to help ensure that they are successful. The last thing we want to do is get you into something you can’t get out of! If you have a deal, run it by us!
Eric Goldman
4/23/2024
DSCR LOANS……30 years fixed….
A Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loan is a type of mortgage commonly used by real estate investors to purchase or refinance rental properties. It’s designed to assess the property’s ability to generate enough income to cover its debt obligations, including principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITI).
To calculate the DSCR, you divide the property’s net operating income (NOI) by its total debt service (PITI). The formula looks like this:
DSCR=Net Operating Income (NOI)Total Debt Service (PITI)DSCR=Total Debt Service (PITI)Net Operating Income (NOI)
Here’s a breakdown of the key components and considerations:
- Net Operating Income (NOI): This is the income generated by the property after deducting operating expenses but before deducting mortgage payments and income taxes. It typically includes rental income minus vacancies, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and property management fees.
- Total Debt Service (PITI): This encompasses all the monthly mortgage-related expenses, including principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance.
- Desired DSCR Ratio: A DSCR of 1.0 indicates that the property’s income exactly covers its debt obligations, leaving no room for unexpected expenses or vacancies. A DSCR greater than 1.0 means the property generates more income than needed to cover debt payments, which is generally preferred by lenders. A commonly accepted minimum DSCR for lenders is 1.25, meaning the property generates 25% more income than the required debt payments.
For example, if a property has an NOI of $10,000 per month and its PITI is $8,000 per month, the DSCR would be calculated as follows:
DSCR=$10,000/ $8,000=1.25DSCR
This means the property generates 1.25 times the income needed to cover its debt obligations.
Properties eligible for DSCR loans typically include 1-4 unit residential properties and 5-8 unit multifamily properties.
When seeking a DSCR loan, factors such as credit score (typically 660 or higher), usable funds in the bank, and the property’s ability to meet the DSCR ratio are considered for approval. Additionally, down payment requirements for purchases and cash-out refinances are typically in the range of 15-25% of the purchase price, with cash-out refinances capped at 75% of the property’s value.
If you’re interested in obtaining a DSCR mortgage, please reach out to us and we would be glad to go over options.
Steven Goldman
4/5/2024
REFINANCING YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY
Being a landlord, owning a rental property can be a great way to generate semi passive income. But did you know that refinancing your rental property could help you achieve financial freedom even sooner? Refinancing your rental and tapping into its equity can give you a boost in useable funds to buy more investment properties!
Typically, a rental property will appreciate over time. As you pay down the mortgage the spread between the original mortgage value and the appreciated value of your property will increase. The difference is called net equity. Many investors look at the increasing net equity in their properties as a tool that can increase the size of their rental portfolios. How do you utilize your net equity if it exists only on paper?
There are multiple methods of utilizing your net equity to increase your purchase power. One is to cash out refinance your existing mortgage. Our clients prefer to use 30-year fixed mortgages that only factor in credit score and the DSCR of the property. We make underwriting these a breeze. Do what you do best and let us handle the heavy lifting.
What is DSCR?
The debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) measures the cash flow available to pay current debt obligations. In basic terms, you take the rent and divide it by the PITI (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) A number comes out and if it is 1.0 or better you will be on track to cash out refinance your property.
We have solutions
We offer competitive rates, excellent service and quick processing times.
Don’t let your equity just sit, utilize it!
Thinking of doing a Fix and flip in 2024? The “do list” and the “don’t list”
Eric Goldman
3/15/2024
- Build your Team
- Buying correctly
- Estimating rehab budgets correctly
- Have as solid exit!
BUILD YOU TEAM
Investment real estate does not always need to be a team sport, you don’t always need to bring on partners. But what you need to do is have a team around you. These professionals (real estate agent or wholesaler, insurance agent, property manager, contractor and lender) will help guide you. If you are successful, they will be successful. We always stress having your team in place before starting a project.
BUYING CORRECTLY
Finding properties today is a bit more complicated than in the past, but as always, off-market properties are leading the way. One of the most important items on the “the do list” of flipping is to buy correctly on the front end. Overpaying on the front end can sink you on the back end. The front numbers always play a part in the back numbers if you are flipping or holding. What areas are you targeting? Are you going to be the first to do a flip in that area or the last?
ESTIMATING YOUR REHAB BUDGET CORRECTLY
Under estimating rehab costs is another item on the “don’t list”. We have managed over 100 projects in the last 7 years. The common theme we see Is that the rehab budget is constantly on the low side. We always stress the importance of building your team. This is real estate and what can happen usually does, we cannot foresee every issue that will pop up but leaving yourself with a solid contingency always helps. Don’t forget money for the appliances as we have learned on one of our own flips. The grade of rehab for the area is important. Don’t build a castle in an area that will not support it. Figure out who your end buyer will be. Your agent can get you these buyer demographics.
HAVE A SOLID EXIT
This goes back to buying correctly. If you overpay on the front, it will hurt you on the exit. Use your team, make sure there are comps to support your ARV (after repair value). If it does not appraise that is also a problem. Rates go up and down. Run the numbers at higher rate predictions for your end buyer, if they can’t get a mortgage for it that’s a problem. Run the numbers if you end up having to hold for a bit, do those numbers work? There are a lot of variables to real estate investing.