Louisiana Bond for Deed

[Jim Burkett]

Seeking guidance.  The opportunity is this:

Turn key rental property with ARV 145K. 4 bed/2bath 1575 sq ft, 5613 sq ft lot with 3 car driveway. current mortgage is 103,556.44. Monthly note is 988 and covers mortgage, property tax, home owners ins and flood insurance. Same tenant has been renting for 8 years. Monthly rent is 1250 leaving 262 cash flow.

The sellers want 25K in a bond for deed deal.  So basically, Owner is selling the deed (ownership) of the property but the owner will remain on the note.  Loan servicing company is in place to make all payments and mange the deal.  If the mortgage payments cease, everyone will be foreclosed on and/or the original deed goes back to the original owner.  the loan servicing company will receive all payments and disperse all payments to the proper entities. The tenant cannot be evicted due to change of ownership unless for our reasons such as missed payments, destroying home, etc...  Tenant will be responsible for all minor repairs to the property.

Thoughts?  Questions I should be asking?

[Nathan Gesner]

It's not considered a "good" investment by Biggerpockets standards.

"Cash flow" is calculated by subtracting all your expenses from all your income. However, you include more than just your mortgage as an expense. What about vacancy? Maintenance? Setting aside money for capital expenditures?

As a general rule of thumb, you can expect to set aside about 50% of your rent income for expenses. Then pay your mortgage out of the other 50%. Whatever is left over is your cash flow. In your example:

Rent is $1,250.

50% set aside for expenses = $625

That leaves you $625 to pay your mortgage of $995, giving you a negative cash flow of $370.

Not a good investment. You would need this property to rent for $2,000 a month to be considered a "neutral" investment.

Do yourself a favor and read this: How To Calculate Cash Flow