Condo Deal Analysis

[Steve Ryan]

I know most are not fans of condos. I have continually passed on this deal but the price is starting to drop enough that I am starting to consider it. The problem is that the condo fee and taxes alone eat up 50% of market rent. The taxes are absurdly high since they were last adjusted in 2007 or 2008 (I don't remember the exact year off the top of my head). OK now on to some of the information:
3 BR/1 BA
Price : $20,000
Market Rent: $850-$900
Condo fee: $190
Taxes: $2800
Assessed Value: $108,000
Last Sale: $120,000 (2007)
Only thing it really needs is a couple of coats of paint.

Is the price low enough for you to consider it? If not is there a specific price you would begin to consider this deal? What if the taxes were able to be lowered? Anything other information I should be looking for/taking into consideration before I make my decision?

[Chris Adams]

I should also mention the 50% rule needs to be adjusted for different priced properties. It won't work the same on properties of different price ranges.

a 20k, 100k and 1m property will all work out differently w the 50% rule. The same thing applies to the 70% rule on flipping. They are just guidelines for you to use as a preliminary analysis. They are by no means rules written in stone.