Updated about 11 years ago on . Most recent reply
Terrible Property Layouts
I have been following the MLS in my area to understand how fast single family and multi-family properties sell, as well as understanding what type of property I would want to invest in. Here in New Hampshire, and the majority of the Northeast, I find many older homes have been renovated over several decades. You might encounter new room additions, a newer second floor, as well as old steam heating systems still kicking around. Several of these types of properties I have found have also been on the MLS for over 200 days, sometimes even over 400 days.
When I was renting in college, I had several deal breakers in an apartment and I feel I've set these as standards when looking for properties to invest in. I could not see myself purchasing a property with a useless kitchen, or slanted walls on the second floor (due to the roof which minimizes useful living space, generally the bedrooms), or closed off rooms (I prefer open concept, as do many homeowners & renters today). I just can't get my head around ever purchasing something so useless.
As a side note, everything in my general area is expensive due to high property taxes and regional demand (with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Lebanon & White River Junction crossroads). Running preliminary numbers on a few properties, I would have to offer, say, $120,000 maximum on a $200,000-$225,000 listing in order to achieve $100-150 cash flow per door.
Do you buy anything you can? Do you throw out a potential property immediately due to poor layout or the type of house? Do you find renters even caring about the layout? I know I did, but some people just need a roof over their head. I have many questions but I thought I'd lay out some thoughts on the forum.