Brand New - Central FL

[Evan Kiggen]

Hi All, 

I am new to the BP community and excited to meet you all! I am eager to build connections with like-minded people experienced investing in real estate, specifically in the Central Florida area where I live today and plan to invest. 

My goal is to purchase my first investment property before the end of 2018. I want to follow the "build wealth one house at a time" philosophy through investment in single family homes around Central Florida that I will hold onto and rent out long term. 

I would love to get some feedback on rules of thumb / evaluation criteria when evaluating potential properties. My current unsophisticated method is to scour Zillow with the 1% rule in mind. Today, this is me:

"This house is listed for $130K on Zillow, and comps in the area are renting for $1,300. Seems like a deal!" 

My mother-in-law is a real estate agent so I will send her the address and she will look it up via MLS and we go check it out together. We haven't made any offers yet.

Assuming no major repairs are needed, what am I missing??? I understand with every new purchase you should assume at least $5K in repairs no matter what...

I am also familiar with and plan to mostly abide by Schaub's 10 / 10 / 10 rule that states: 1) Pay at least 10% below market value 2) Pay 10% or less down 3) Borrow at interest no more than 10%

So - I would love some feedback here. Besides 1% and 10/10/10, what are your rules of thumb? As someone just getting started, is this even the right question to be asking?

Thanks all!

-Evan