Just Saying Hello-Introduction

[Sacha LaCoss]

My husband and I became accidental landlords about 9 years ago and were basically hobbyists with a SFH that has an ADU that we ran haphazardly for a number of years. Two years ago we got serious and began treating it like a business. It's not making us a ton of money but we are profitable and for us this is ok as we are paying down the mortgages in an expeditious manner looking for income in early retirement in a few years.

Our advantages are any money we make right now is not needed as income.  We have day jobs.  I’m a people/project manger in my day job so I can handle the people and am used following laws, regulations ect,,.and my husband can basically fix or install anything so we handle most repairs and upgrades ourselves.  He gets paid by others to do similar projects so the work is professional quality.  We have a local handyman we have known for 20+ years who handles the random maintenance issue and do the rest ourselves 

Disadvantages: We live in California and all our property besides our current home (live in flip) is in New Mexico :/ 

Current Property:

Our Home-upper middle class, golf course community that needed some updating.  We bought a foreclosure and got a phenomenal deal. 5 beds, 3 full baths 3,000 square feet.  We want to stay here for 3 more years until our youngest graduates.  We have been working on it steadily.  Projects remaining: 1 bathroom, deck, downstairs flooring, flooring in pantry/utility room, replace part of the driveway that is cracked.  Then it’s turnkey and we should net around $400-$450k when we sell. If the market is down we will hold and live here until it rebounds. 

The original SFH and the ADU gross $17,400 with Net of $200 a month. Currently the ADU is under market rent and could easily net us an additional $200-$250 a month with some cosmetic updates which will be done when the lease comes up next. It's a long term tenant who we are ok if she decides to leave. She pays on time and is basically neat but a PITA. Not about repairs just an abrasive pushy personality.

1/2 ownership of the house next door to the property above.  We are currently buying half the property from a family member the other owner is a relative who will go under financially in a few years at most then we will buy her out too.  The home is 3,100 square feet custom home that is now a duplex.  We rent out the back 1/3 of the property and the other relative lives in the front part.  Expenses are split (taxes/ins).  Rent is not, we keep.  We are currently not taking any profit out of this property at all-on purpose.  We could have up to $375 a month but we just want to get it paid off as quickly as possible because we want to have the funds available when the other family member goes under financially so we can buy them out too.

2 lots in Northern New Mexico-1 is developed with water/electric/septic but has a tear down mobile home on it (next summers project) the other is undeveloped but electric/water is next door.  Super cheap costs-taxes are under $200 a year.  I’d like to either rent out the developed lot to the owner of a mobile home or put a small home on it-then develop the 2nd lot and do the same.  We inherited this property and it’s been in the family 50+ years nearby local ski resort (Angel Fire & Red River) 

Long Term Plan:

Sell current home, buy one free and clear that has property that we can expand on with ADU. Will eventually be rentals or sold to invest in another project.

As cash flow from these rentals or home improves over the next few years look for additional property-especially interested in mobile home parks or tri-plex+ size properties. not sure we want any of it to be in California even though we love living here now, we will eventually relocate.  

So that’s us, I’ve really enjoyed reading the forums so far.