Do I risk my savings for an owner financed duplex?

[Joshua Pagan]

Here’s the underlying question.

Do I spend my living expenses to pay for this opportunity?

I’m on the fence with this for several reasons and since this would be my first investment property I’m trying to get as much feed back as possible. I’ll be brief

Here’s the deal:

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Style: Duplex

Ask: $275,000

Unit 1: 1bd/1ba

Unit 2: 2bd/1ba

Gross Monthly Rent: $2,200

Sqft: 1,543

Taxes/yr: 3,000

These are his terms:

$10,000 down payment

Seller (him) pays closing costs

5% interest

He (the trust the property is in) holds the note.

The property is in a flood zone and the utilities are separated. The property is also zoned CMX2 and can have the first floor converted into commercial space.

Background:

I’m a licensed realtor in PA and helped introduce the owner to a buyer for another property of his. Since this was just a favor (I was not paid) he told me he would be willing to owner finance his duplex rather than traditional sale.

His goal is to liquidate his assets because he dislikes the mayor, city, Etc.

He has also provided a full inspection report and an Apprasial that provides a valuation of $290,000

I’ve currently got the $10,000 although that would be all but close to my entire savings that I’ve put aside for my living expenses. Since no paychecks are guaranteed I’ve decided I needed “x” months saved.

My question here is if this is a no-brainer or am I missing something. Is it worth to have the cash flow now or should I wait until I have more saved ?

[Mitch Messer]

Hey @Joshua Pagan, welcome to BiggerPockets!

What you've described so far looks interesting, but you're missing the punchline: What does this deal do for you? What's the return on your investment? How much actual cash flow do you expect to generate monthly? What are your assumptions for expenses, like repairs, management, vacancy, capex, etc.?

Without the financial analysis, there's no way you (or anyone) can determine whether this is a good decision.