Recent Purchase

[Zach Davis]

My wife and I recently purchased this duplex and we're looking for ideas, analysis, and/ or warnings. It’s a 3/2 with garage on one side and a 2/2 with garage on the other. Here’s some of the numbers. Rental income is $1,900 per month, property taxes are $2,700 a year, insurance is $490 a year, water/sewer is $85 a month, and garbage is $45 a month. We have a $152k mortgage at 4.75% and our payment on that is $793 per month. Vacancy in the area has been less than 6% for years. Also, the duplex is on the edge of small pocket of 70s built, trashy, low quality rentals but with new construction on one side and a gentrification program pushing in from the other. The potential for property value increase seems to be very good. The property has had some work done on the interiors, though strangely, it’s mostly been larger “improvement” jobs while simple maintenance is lacking… So far we have re-roofed the building, gutted the overgrown landscaping and fenced both back yards, put up security lighting, fixed some plumbing and electrical issues and collected rent. We are managing the property ourselves. I’m mostly looking for potential pitfalls and ideas to make the property more appealing for future tenants and help bring up the quality (and value) of the neighborhood. Thanks for looking.