Investing in Cleveland Turnkey, Breakdown the Costs

[Account Closed]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to invest in real estate in Cleveland, OH. I'm 18 years old and this will be the first piece of property I own. I've been looking into Cleveland because of the low prices, it seems this is an easy way to get into the market and build up a portfolio with a very limited budget. I live in the NYC area so it'd be a long distance investment, I'd rather not have to go to Cleveland. I've come up with a general plan and rough breakdown of costs, I know I'm definitely leaving costs out and missing some details so I'm asking, what is wrong with this idea? Why will this not work?

I'm looking at turnkey properties, already rented with property managements in place in the $30,000 range. I'm really new to this and I made an acoount here to learn from others that have made similar investments. 

Is it possible to get a mortgage on a $30,000 home? I have about $6,000 to put down and I've read that I'd have better luck getting a mortgage from a local bank. 

Now according to Zillow, which I know can't be the most accurate estimate, for a $30,000 home I'd be paying about $200 including my taxes, insurance and 30 year mortgage. Is this figure way off? I really have no experience in the market. 

Some of the nicer duplex's in Cleveland seem to bring in up to $1300 a month between the 2 rentals. I'd need a property management service which takes I believe 10%. So with the management fee in addition to my mortgage, insurance, and taxes I'd be looking at netting $1000 per month. Is this too good to be true? What other costs am I leaving out? 

I know I need to factor in several aspects when picking the home. From what I've read the neighborhood seems to make a huge difference in the Cleveland area. I also need to factor in the condition of the home, I don't want to buy something that's going to need a roof next year. I'd send a home inspection company to look at the house before I buy it. 

What else is there to look out for? Big red flags? Is buying a turnkey duplex in cleveland a profitable idea? I'm just looking to have some passive income while I'm in school. 

Tells me the flaws in this plan, what am I overlooking? 

Thanks!

[Timothy Murphy III]

@Account Closed's brokerage and his team of agents. They offer bus tours of their investment areas for out-of-towners to get a feel for the neighborhoods. They also work with some financiers that can get these lower priced deals funded. I imagine he'll chime in shortly with some more info too.

As far as expenses go, a general rule of thumb is 50% of your rent will go towards expenses (maintenance, management, vacancy / collection loss, property taxes, insurance, etc) and the remaining 50% is left for return on investment, principal / interest debt service, profit, etc. Remember that it's just a general rule of thumb and every property will be different. For example, replacing a water tank on a $30k house will cost more or less the same as replacing a water tank on a $300k house, though their rent prices will be dramatically different. I like to break it down in an even more detailed way and use exact expenses costs where possible. For example, I'll use 25-30% of rents as my expense buffer for vacancy, management, maintenance / CapEx, and use actual insurance and property tax costs. The more detailed your numbers are, the better your projections will be.