First rental property investment

[Thomas Baylor]

Hello to all my BiggerPockets fam.

So I think I’ve come across a pretty good deal. I was hoping to get some insight from my BiggerPockets family.

This property is a duplex in Portsmouth, VA. Asking price is $90,000 BUT it's been on the market since 2018. Red flag I know. I've analyzed using the BiggerPockets rental calculator and it's showing fantastic numbers. The comps around the area are showing anywhere from 150-170 and the rents are at the lowest 750 to a high of 1195 (for both units after its fixed would net nearly 1100 a month. I still have a good bit of due diligence to do & I need to actually see the property and what's going on on the inside. (They did not show any inside pictures) another red flag.

Any insight would be great. Thank you.

[William Taylor]

@Thomas Baylor

Hey Thomas! I actually bought a home for $40k several months ago and we are just finishing up rehab. Same deal with ours— long time on the market, no interior pictures, etc. I thought maybe I could offer a bit of advice.

It sounds like this property might need some significant repairs. The rental we bought was about an hour away from us, which turned out to be a huge PITA. There are so many barriers you have to consider, and I just want to point some of them out:

- how do you get on site to let contractors in to give estimates? (We used a lockbox, but a lot of contractors want to walk the property)

- how do you stop squatters/break ins? (We had a few during the first few months)

- what happens if there’s a water line burst and no one is around to check on things for a few days? (Also happened to us)

- how do you check on quality of work being done? You should be going down to check things out at LEAST every other week.

Now don’t get me wrong. We’re on the other side of this finishing up, but it has been just an awful ride to get here. We will cash flow >$1k/mo on this fourplex, but knowing what I do now and how much time commitment it takes (even when hiring things out), I would not have done it as my first investment property.

You might be willing to take it on, but I just wanted to give you some perspective from someone who has just gone through it. Happy to answer any questions you have.