Sandown, NH · Member since 2014 · 110 posts · 44 votes
I bought my first property in April and am finding it harder to land my second. With my cash down payment I'm only able to buy in the $120K and less range and I'm finding real duds that need a huge amount of rehab. (I'm in NH.) I'm wondering if it might be better for me to wait until late summer/early fall when I can afford better properties. I'm looking for 2- and 3-plexes with 3brs. I'm okay with taking on replacing kitchens, bathrooms, drywall and floors, but don't want to get into significant plumbing, HVAC, electric, water or foundation issues. I figure that's not as likely in a property in a higher range. Interested in anyone's thoughts on times of year that are better, or should I just be patient and keep looking?
Rental Property Investor · NH · Member since 2013 · 111 posts · 28 votes
12y
hey Renee. My opinion, there's no such thing as waiting, you'll always be looking, know what I mean? I'm in the same boat as you for investment 3, and so are other folks I've spoken to on BP who are just starting out, we are constantly evaluating what waiting will mean to our buying power and at the end of the day it's all about ROI. I don't worry about getting stressed about rushing bc of real or perceived price appreciation. I just evaluate my current position relative to my projected position and what my buying power can garner for an ROI and that takes the stress out of now vs 6 months or a year or whatever.
I also believe that there are always deals, always. No rush.
Lastly, in terms of seasonality I believe that the fall/winter can be good simply because deals slow down so the competition isn't as tough and if your dealing with a motivated or quasi motivated seller and its Thanksgiving or the week before new years or something, that seller is probably wondering if your their best bet to lock in a sale or risk waiting until the market heats up as the spring thaws.
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 2 posts · 1 vote
11y
I'm not sure this is the correct forum, so pardon my jumping in, but this seemed like the only one that dealt with my situation.
I purchased an investment property in late March, 2014. It's going fairly well (knock on wood!). Because of this, I starting looking at a second investment property. However, my (potential) lender is telling me that the income from the first property can't be officially "counted" until after I've owned it for 24 months... but in the meantime, the burden of the mortgage, insurance, taxes, etc... are counted as a liability! A lose-lose situation!
Has anyone else had this experience? Or is my lender just being overly cautious?