advice: Mortgage 101 (Buying Your First 2- to 4-Flat) #3
- 06/06/08 12:44 AM
•· Whatever you choose for your initial financing is probably temporary financing. In the beginning, your equity is just what you put down (0%, 5%, or 10%). Later most plan to refi to get a better rate (based on a higher equity) or pull money out for repairs. Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (0 comments)
advice: Mortgage 101 (Buying Your First 2- to 4-Flat) #2
- 06/05/08 12:40 AM
In general it's easier to get ‘owner-occupied' than ‘non-owner occupied,' but even for a 3- or 4-flat investment property, 10% down may be all you need to put down. Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (0 comments)
advice: Mortgage 101 (Buying Your First 2- to 4-Flat) #1
- 06/04/08 02:42 AM
Financing a multi-unit is now easier, but, at least in some ways, it is now almost an ‘art.' Credit score (your ‘FICO') as well as your intent to occupy will influence rates a lot, but it may not be necessary to have a big down payment to get a reasonable rate, especially if you have ‘fully documented' (as opposed to ‘stated') income. For certain, we think you should avoid an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) with a low INTRODUCTORY rate and then virtually no cap on how high the rates can go. Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes … (2 comments)
advice: Universal Laws of Real Estate #4
- 06/03/08 01:25 AM
And here is the last "Law" of Real Estate. The Law of the Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Expect 20% of the listings to be good, 60% bad or okay, and 20% outright ugly. With those proportions in mind, 50 becomes a magic number: If 50 possible listings fit your criteria, you should expect to find ten good properties worth seeing, probably two of which are great and worthy of a bid.
Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (3 comments)
advice: Universal Laws of Real Estate #3
- 06/02/08 01:31 AM
Here is another "Law" of Real Estate. 3. The Rule Of 2 Goods And A Great: Property, price, and location-TWO of the three must be good and ONE must be great for a property to be a winner. •· Don't ever buy if one of the factors is bad or all are just okay. •· On the other hand, you can't expect ALL to be great. Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (7 comments)
advice: Universal Laws of Real Estate #2
- 05/30/08 12:40 AM
Here is another "Law" of Real Estate. 2. The Barrel Rule: Rarely, if ever, does it make sense to scrape the bottom of the barrel in a neighborhood. Most people have a choice in neighborhoods-we always recommend staying away from neighborhoods where all you can do is scrape the bottom of the barrel: •· The bottom 10% or so of the listings will probably all be bad (very small, a bad property, a bad location, or with some other problem). For instance, if there are 240 2 bdrm/2bath condos on the market today in a given area, the ‘barrel rule' … (1 comments)
advice: Universal Laws of Real Estate #1
- 05/29/08 01:09 AM
Here are some "Laws" of Real Estate. If you have been looking for property for any length of time, we think your own experience will confirm them: 1. The FIRST law in real estate: Big and cheap NEVER equals wonderful. Many people, when they first start picking property to see, focus on properties that are big and cheap... They are hoping, of course, for big, cheap AND wonderful, but that is like winning the lottery-and never applies to properties that have been on the market for any length of time. •· BIG, wonderful, and very expensive can be found quite easily. … (0 comments)
advice: Questions beginning investors often ask #6
- 05/28/08 02:51 AM
4. How can I minimize the cash I need to invest? If you already own property in which you have some equity, you might choose to leverage it. How? You might take, say, an 80% mortgage on the new property, but to avoid paying 20% in cash, what many do is to take a 2nd mortgage on some existing property. In essence, they now have two mortgage payments to make (one on the new place, one on the old), but they made the new purchase happen with no money out of pocket. And, in fact, there are some neighborhoods where you … (2 comments)
advice: Questions beginning investors often ask #5
- 05/27/08 12:12 AM
3. How do I choose the right area? Going OWNER-OCCUPIED is the only option if the price of property in an area is too high to support a pure rental (and so almost all that is being sold goes to people who want to de-convert or be live-in landlords). If you want to go non-owner occupied, there are few, if any, opportunities on the regular rental market to cash flow a 2- to 4-flat with any kind of low down. Many believe the best arm-chair 2- to 4-flat opportunities are for Section 8-and rehabbed, Section 8 ready properties are most commonly … (0 comments)
advice: Questions beginning investors often ask #4
- 05/24/08 03:37 AM
2c. What are common investment options to consider: general cautions? One option to be careful about is buying condo's preconstruction with the hope of flipping them. While some have made money, there are others who have lost-and some of them BIG. Renting out single-family homes can also be dangerous (as tenants can do a lot of damage). What about Non-Owner-Occupied 2-Flats? It's true that they require less of a down payment, but rarely does a 2-flat bring in enough rent to cash flow (and so few find this a viable option). Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes … (0 comments)
advice: Questions beginning investors often ask #3
- 05/23/08 03:01 AM
2b. What are common investment options to consider, if I do NOT have a lot of capital? Owner-Occupied 2- to 4-Flat. Going owner-occupied means having to put less money down- and can give you a lower payment than if you bought a single-family home. Non-Owner-Occupied 3- or 4-Flat rented Section 8. See #4 below on how this can happen with no cash out of pocket. Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (0 comments)
advice: Questions beginning investors often ask #2
- 05/22/08 01:59 AM
2a. What are common investment options to consider, if I DO have a lot of capital? A. 3-4 Flats rented commercially (not Section 8). Expect to have to put 20% down and even then, in most areas, you won't get much pre-tax cash flow. B. Commercial property (5 units +). Expect to put 25-30% down for a stable investment with cash flow. C. 2- to 4-flats to rehab and flip (which means buying foreclosures or property needing rehab). Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (0 comments)
advice: Questions beginning investors often ask – #1
- 05/21/08 01:25 AM
1. Why should I move from just stocks to having investment property? A) You can buy property with anywhere from 0% to 30% down-whereas with other investments you typically must invest the full purchase price. B) Investment properties tend to offer good CASH FLOW only if you put a lot down. What drives most investors instead are the TAX SHELTER (including depreciation, a tax benefit other owners don't get) and APPRECIATION (which is often the biggest benefit). C) Once you own two properties where you have 10% or more equity in each, leveraging can become the name of the game. Two properties can … (4 comments)
3. The Appreciation you can get with any property can, over time, be significant especially when you consider that $25,000 invested in the stock market buys you $25,000 of stock, but, if you are buying property with, say, 5% down, $25,000 invested lets you control a $500.000 property. Just 10% growth (50K) could mean doubling your investment!
Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (0 comments)
advice: The ‘Rules of the Game’ for Owning a 2- to 4-Flat – #2
- 05/13/08 02:02 AM
The second of the THREE ways to judge any investment property purchase: 2. Tax-Shelter of a multi-unit-especially with its depreciation deduction investment property qualifies for. Visit our website to read more about Chicago multi-family homes with two or more flats. … (0 comments)
advice: The ‘Rules of the Game’ for Owning a 2- to 4-Flat – #1
- 05/12/08 01:11 AM
Many people know that owning a 2- to 4-Flat can be a very good thing, but may not know the 'rules of the game,' like the THREE ways to judge any investment property purchase. Here is the first:
1. Pre-Tax Cash Flow is never large on a 2-4-flat unless you put a lot down. But, if you are going owner-occupied, we promise that we can get you into a multi-unit for a much lower net payment than if you were to buy a comparable single-family home. And we will show you how, if you are already a home owner, you … (0 comments)
•· Whatever you choose for your initial financing is probably temporary financing. In the beginning, your equity is just what you put down (0%, 5%, or 10%). Later most plan to refi to get a better rate (based on a higher equity) or pull money out for repairs.
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