All Forum Posts by: Aaron K.

Varies widely by area so I can't say, but since I'm in California and you are in Pennsylvania, your numbers should be higher than mine, potentially much higher.

One way that is not foolproof but will give you a good estimate is to only look up properties that have not been sold for 30 years that assumes someone stuck to their original mortgage terms. You can find this information on sites like propertyradar.com

Ideally they should be able to provide you with either trailing 12 months or trailing 24 months worth of financials so that you can see that the cap rate is reasonable/ accurate and that they have a consistent tenant base.

Not without considerable cost, you might be able to form an LLC or corporation, but I believe that you need someone over the age of 18 as a designated signatory for those vehicles. If you formed an LLC or Corporation and appointed a parent as designated signatory for the corporation that might work, but this is probably a question for an attorney rather than Bigger Pockets. Also I've had luck in the past with asking questions with the online chat feature for bizfilings.com

Staying local will be relative, the main argument is that you know the area and what properties should rent for during the buying process.  If you are willing to accept a property manager's opinion on what a property should rent for and how long it may take to find a tenant then go ahead.  Staying local gives you a better idea of how long your property will be on the market, what it should rent for, and what condition it needs to be in.  The main risk is if a property manager or realtor inflates potential rental value and you get stuck with a property that doesn't work out well, this would not happen as often if you stayed local where you are able to estimate your own numbers more accurately.

Ok, you might also want a structural engineer to take a look if the space has been uninhabited for 30 or so years especially if there was fire damage.  Also I'm assuming that you own the attic space and it is not counted as common space of the building like a foundation or the land the building sits on probably is.

As @Kyle J. said first thing to do would be to post the 3 day notice, after that start the eviction process, always better to start that earlier rather than later, because you don't want a non performing unit for an extended period of time.

Making sure you have the permits and that the building is up to code, otherwise when you plan to sell a new buyer may have to tear out the old work to meet their financing terms.  Also it is not clear if the 2 additional bedrooms are an additional unit but if they are make sure that the zoning allows for multiple units on the property.

It depends on what your goals are, if you want cash flow you should either refinance or sell, if you want to continue paying down mortgage debt and building equity and bank on appreciation you should probably hold on.  Another good option if you haven't done so in a while would be to run the rental comps for the property, if the rent is below market you may be able to raise it and alleviate some of your cash flow issues while also maintaining the higher pay down rate for your mortgage.

Another option if the main reason for you wanting to exit these investments is that you don't want to do the repairs yourself any more would be to hire a property manager to handle all of the maintenance, showings, and rent collections.  Yes your return will be less than you're used to but it will eliminate the majority of your headaches if you can find a good property manager.

If you do decide to sell, selling one at a time will probably net you the most.