External link for Condo.Fund
Portland, OR, US
Daily progress!! It’s amazing to see your dreams materialize in front of your eyes. Last week, we took off that crazy popcorn ceiling!!! Holy smokes, that stuff gets everywhere!! 😂😄🤪 I’ve lost count, but if I had to guess, we’ve had more that 40 skilled craftsperson working on the property. Title company = 3 Lender = 6 Inspections = 8 Architecture = 2 Engineering = 4 Survey = 6 Electrical = 3 Demo = 6 Cabinetry = 4 Flooring = 4 Drywall = 6 It takes a small army 😍😍😍
The US has -Never- recovered from the 2008-2009 Housing Crisis. Sure... That was 15 years ago... but systemically, the ripple effects persist. Take a look at this chart... Developers have basically flatlined the number of units built... In 2006, 130,000 homes were built. In 2022, there were 143,000 homes built. This is why home prices keep rising... despite the FED's best efforts to keep inflation in check. The Demand is so much greater than the Supply of homes that the price will continue to climb for another decade. That's why Condo.Fund was created. We fill the gap. We help people buy affordable homes, and start building equity, instead of being burdened with rent for another decade. Buying old apartment buildings, and renovating them to Condo-Quality takes a lot of planning and prep work. We are very proud of the work we're doing, and the people we're helping. Please ask questions. :) We're eager to build a community around this business model. We want to help other property owners transition their apartments into condo. We will solve the Down Payment Dilemma together.
As we roll out our first condo conversion, our new homeowners will enjoy Mortgage Payments PITI between $1550 - $1850. (a thousand dollars a month below the national average)
I love Redfin. They provide exceptional Housing Data. If you -Really- want to know the state of the economy Tzvi 'LLC' Weiser, this is where I would turn to. The FED deals with lagging indicators. Redfin tends to take a more Future Forward (predictive) approach. Quoted from the article: "The median U.S. home price rose 5.2% year over year this week, and mortgage rates hit their highest level since November 2023. Prices continue to rise partly because there are still serious buyers searching for homes. The median U.S. home-sale price hit a record $383,725 during the four weeks ending April 21, up 5.2% from a year earlier–one of the biggest jumps since October 2022. The average weekly mortgage rate hit 7.1% this week, its highest level since November 2023, as it became clear the Fed would keep interest rates high longer than expected. High prices and mortgage rates drove the median monthly housing payment to a record $2,843, up 13% year over year" My Opinions: Paying a $2,843 monthly mortgage payment is truly astonishing to me. I bought my first home in 1987, I paid $56,000. My Interest rate was somewhere close to 9%, which made my payment around $500 PITI. It's hard to imagine a 6X jump in mortgage payment prices... I feel sorry for these young people today... Wages certainly haven't jumped 6X in 30 years.
❓ ❓ ❓ "What makes a good Condo Conversion" ❓ ❓ ❓ I've been asked this same question a dozen times last month. After spending three decades as a real estate professional, a lot of what I do is instinctual. It's almost become Muscle Memory... But, that's when I was a solo-prenuer... accountable only to myself. Now, I have a team of 5 additional Partners, and Investors, and Contractors, and Residents, and, a small community of various Stakeholders, that I'm ultimately responsible to (and for). So, I thought it was high-time I started answering this question: "What makes a good condo conversion" ? Above all other factors, you must have the right team. 1, Business Partners 2, Property Managers (Thank Gaud for Merilee) 😍 3, Contractors (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Roofing, Fire Suppression) 4, Lawyers (Landlord Law + Condo Law) 5, Insurance Pros (Construction + Condo + Developer + Tail + E&O) 6, Mortgage Pros (Fractional SQFT Lien Release) 7, Software Pros (too many to list here... I use two dozen software tools) 8, Realtors (Commercial + Residential + Condo Pro + Apartment Pro) 9, Engineers / Land Surveyors (Structural + Land + Condo Plats) 10, City + State Regulatory Agencies -- And a willingness to communicate effectively through ANY situation. Once you've developed a Marvel Universe of Super Heros' --- You need to start honing in on the other factors at play. 1, Location 2, Demographics (Income, Ownership trends, Transportation access) 3, Market Demand for the product you're delivering (Pricing) 4, Rent Subsidies? / Long-term occupancy? / Income Capacity for a Mortgage? 5, Home Owner Association Dues? Will the building require a LOT of Upkeep? 6, Affordability ( 80% Area Median Income is our target price )
It's amazing how important Communication and Collaboration are to a project like this. Great Teamwork Gents !! :)
Another day... ... Another Water Leak. --- 💧 💧 💧 🛁 🚰 🚽 🚿 Yesterday was a Wonderful Day !! We accomplished soooo much: 1, Toured a potential new acquisition property 2, Team Meeting to plan next steps 3, The Squatter in Unit 12 moved out (mostly) 4, Major Demolition began in 6 Units !!!! 5, Four different conversations with Residents wanting to Own Their Unit 😀 As we were leaving for the day ( a 12-hour workday), the Bike shop emailed us... Dale and I were upstairs, talking with some Residents. We popped down to the Bike shop, to get a look at things... --- W. T. F...? The leak is coming from an unoccupied unit... ??? This was a real head-scratcher... it didn't make sense. No one has lived in Unit 3 for more than 6 months. ??? Why is there a leak in that unit??? --- Demo... (Whoops....) The Demo team broke a small release valve on the Water Heater.... causing a slow , but steady leak , into the bike shop below. Thank Goodness ~~~ We are on great terms with the Shop Owner... He sees how hard we're working to improve the building. Yes, it's a massive inconvenience for him... Every couple of weeks, there's a new leak to fix... But because of clear, respectful, and consistent communication, we work together to improve the space. Thank goodness we were in the building last night... Jeff Devine and Dale Welch are Rockstars !!
Demo Day !!! Today was a Super Long Day, filled with wonderful sounds of Crash !! Boom! Bang! and the whirling screams from a Sawz-all and Electric Drill. The Cacophony was Music to My Ears !!! 😍 😎 🤣 😍 As of today, we have 6 empty units !!! The water will be shot off, intermittently for the next several days, as we begin plumbing work on several of the units 🚿 🚰 🚽 We have 4 or 5 people very very very interested in buying. We have connected 3 of them with the Mortgage Broker. We could use some help. Our Mission is to help 1,000 people buy their first Starter Home Condo. If you know anyone in the Portland, Oregon area, looking to buy their first home, please connect with us. Price Ranges from $1550 - 1800 a month All In.
I'm shopping for our next property. Would you rather have a 1.3X Equity Multiple, and be finished with the transaction in roughly 12-15 months? Or Would you rather have a 1.55X Equity Multiple, and be finished in about 24-30 months?