HELP!!! Cash Flow Seems to Good to Be True! What Am I Missing

[Yonia B.]

My partner and I have been reading a lot recently about how hard it is to buy a property in New Jersey that produces positive cash flow.

We made an offer that has been accepted on a property in Perth Amboy NJ and so this sentiment has us nervous. After running the analysis we see this property is significantly cash flow positive but we can't help but feel that we might be missing something. The numbers are as follows...

Accepted Price: $275K

Units: 6

Rent per unit: $800 ($4,800 per month total)

Vacancy: $480 (10% of Gross rents); Maintenance and Repairs: $480 (10% of Gross Rents); CAPEX: $350; Taxes: $917; Insurance: $833

The tenants are paying for utilities separately so there's nothing budgeted for that. not sure what to expect for common area expenses .

Mortgage: $898

Total monthly cash flow of $842.

Would appreciate any insight on what we might be missing???

[Adriel Hsu]

You mention: "Definitely, all the apartments needs cosmetic work and to be updated. This building was built in the early 1900-1920. I did go thru it with my contractor and roof will need to be replaced as well."

So figure ~$40,000 in roof replacement and cosmetic updates for 6 units. How much can you bump rents after the updates?

I don't see a budget for Property Mgmt, so I'm assuming you will self manage, but factor in the time you will need to do showings for lease ups and other things related to property mgmt.

Who does lawn maintenance if any? Did you factor in quarterly pest control? 

Class A area or Class C area for tenants?  If Class C and the asset is 100 years old, repairs and maintenance will be higher unless plumbing and electrical was completely re-done within the past 20 years