Newbie Looking to Take Action

[Daniel Quintana]

Hey BP Fam,

My name is Daniel Quintana, and I am looking to finally take action this year and invest in my first rental property (tired of sitting on the sidelines). I currently reside in the Tampa Bay/St. Pete area, and have been "studying" real estate investing for the past year (religiously listening to the BiggerPockets Podcast, reading up on anything real estate related, etc.). In addition to learning, I have also been saving, putting away as much money as possible for a future down payment. With my current apartment lease coming up in the next 5-6 months, I am aiming to invest in my first house hack (duplex/triplex) within that same timeframe. 

The #1 thing I have found myself struggling with is the numbers. I have attached a screenshot of the excel calculator I have been using to analyze potential deals in hopes to receive some pointers/constructive criticism from you all (ignore the actual figures in the picture... simply playing around with them when the shot was taken). My main questions/concerns are:

1) How conservative is too conservative when it comes to estimating repairs/maintenance? Obviously every deal is different, but for someone who is not looking for a total rehab, is 10% too little/too much (also including CAPEX)?

2) Similarly, what % of income should I be accounting for replacement reserves? 3-5%? 

Any and all feedback is GREATLY appreciated. Thank you all for your time, and I look forward to chatting more with you guys moving forward!

[Sean Drees]

@Daniel Quintana a house hack is a great way to start out in real estate (it’s how I started). If your interested I’m looking to liquidate some of my smaller properties this spring one property in particular is a 4 unit in kenwood st Pete. One of the units is used as an Airbnb so it would be a smooth transition turning one unit into an owners unit. Property is a cash cow