New investor needs repair advise

[Ellen A.]

I'm new to real estate investing.  I have one house that cash flows for $900 a month. I lived it that house for years. I have heard from that tenant twice last year for repairs.  So then I was hooked. 

I bought another property $20k below value. This use to be a rental property.  The cash flow started at $525 BUT due to repairs I'm now at a $228 cash flow. It needs 2 things: 1) a new roof. 2) new duct work. I was hoping to hold off a year on those 2. If I get both done now I go from cash flow to losing money for a year. Probably negative $200 a month. Then I will move back to $228 cash flow next year IF nothing else goes wrong.

I close on another house May 20 that I will move into and rent out my current home. My realtor expects a $900 - $1000 cash flow.

Lesson learned I wont buy a property that use to be an investment property.  

I need advise on my house #2. Do I bite the bullet and get the 2 major repairs done now and lose money for one year. Or ride it out and wait and see of they both can hold out for a year.  The risk involved with holding out is I can lose my tenant in October when the lease is up. I'm not sure yet if she is a good tenant. She pays on time but calls a lot. But it could be the calls are coming from the  problems I inherited from the owner I bought from.  By losing my tenant I will have to clean and have a vacant house for a short time. The house was rented in 2  weeks after purchase.

[Hubert Kim]

Originally posted by @Ellen Alvarez:

...Lesson learned I wont buy a property that use to be an investment property.

Just a friendly comment/suggestion regarding your comment above. An investment property, owner-occupied townhouse, 4 unit multifamily, or 60 unit apartment complex and so on are all different, but unexpected deferred maintenance and repairs can be minimized with proper inspections. It sounds like your second property was priced reasonably considering the maintenance it needed.

Regarding the repairs, you may be the best person to determine how to proceed. If unsure, communicate with the tenant and gauge which seems more of a priority. If hot weather is a primary concern and the tenant believes the a/c does not cool well enough, perhaps that may be a higher priority. If rain is likely and the tenant is aware of leaks, perhaps that is the repair to complete first.