Is This a Bad Investment?

[Rick Sheldon]

Here is the inspection report for a house I am currently in the inspection period for. Under contract for $70K with 3% concessions.

This would be my first investment property and I would be managing it from out of state. I just visited the house and while there are many items on this report that seem to need to be addressed, I think most of them are not immediate fixes. The ones I think do need immediate attention are the soffit/fascia allowing bats into the attic and the roof leak caused by the improperly attached flashing. And I would install downspouts and minor re-grading to direct water away from house.

I have plumbing and basement specialists checking the home out, this week, but I wanted to get some feedback from this community in case this seems like a money-pit even if those inspections come back okay.

This house would likely be rentable with very little immediate repairs needed, and the rent/insurance/taxes would be around $500. Rent would be at least $950-1,000, so after 30% for vacancy and repairs, cash flow should be around $200/month... Around 9% COC ROI if I put $8K into repairs up front.

[Mark Albini]

The home inspection doesn't have anything that surprised me and see them all the time. However, your valuation of $8k may be a little undervalued. I would safely budget 10-15k being out of state having contractors handling all the repairs.