All Forum Posts by: Alan B.

Great post. Low income investing isn't for everyone but yes it can still be done effectively.

Maybe you can say "no Housing Choice Vouchers" in your ad. If not I wouldn't worry about it, just don't list your properties on a section resource. 

Check out your local Landlord Association, they should be able to give you advice more specific to you geographic location.

I'm not brand new in real estate, currently managing two doors. Been stagnant lately while trying to finish my undergrad. Will be finished with undergrad in less than 2 weeks with a BBA in finance.

The title of the post is misleading because I'm not choosing either or. I intend on pursuing real estate for life and maybe getting my mba later on.

With this new found free time I'm going to have soon I decided to give myself a project/goal/ ultimatum. For 1 full year I'm going to give realestate a full 100% just like I gave school when I was determined to finish. If after 12 months I don't see any significant progress then I will go ahead and devote my energy to getting my MBA.

I'm honestly just not sure on how to start this 12 month project. What things what you be doing daily, weekly, etc? I not the type of person to sit still with nothing to do. However I don't want to be spending my time doing non income producing task just for the sake of staying busy.

Having less than 2 years of rental income I am unable to use my current rental income as "income". Due to that my debt/ratio is too high to get traditional financing for any deals. I'll primarily be looking for owner financing/land contract type of deals.

I was thinking of just spending some time getting my debt ratio as low as possible while educating myself & networking. All opinions welcomed. Thanks in advance.

Let me apologize for the long post you are about to read. I was given a call by someone looking to unload a home. Met with the individual (Mr A) yesterday and here is the situation.

Mr A is 1600 behind on his land contract and was taken to court by Mr B. The courts decision was that Mr A must pay $800 by this coming Wednesday and another $800 within the next 2 weeks or he forfeits the land contract & loses everything.

Mr A wants me to pay him 2k and he will sign over his land contract to me. Being that the $1600 is due to Mr B NOW and I would have to pay that first, Mr A said that I can pay him his 2k at a later date.

First I need to know if it is even legal for Mr A to assign his land contract to me and allow me to take over the payments? I asked him if Mr B knows about this deal and Mr B does not which obviously concerns me but I can understand where MR A is coming from because he stands to lose all he has paid into the contract and then Mr B has just made 1 years worth of profit and can start the land contract all over with another buyer. 

At least this way Mr A gets some money back and I get a home on a discount because I would only be paying 1 years worth of a land contract @ $400/month + $1600 of back payments and 2K to Mr A.

Mr A is going to provide me with a copy of the land contract on Monday. According to him there are only 12 months of payments plus the past due $1600 remaining. Mr B has been paying the taxes he says (I would need to verify this for myself).

Like I mentioned, $800 is due to Mr B by this Wednesday so due to the short time frame I highly doubt I can even make this deal happen "IF" it is legal because I would want to get a lawyer to make sure my interest is protected. 

I know in business you have be able to make decisions quickly and execute even faster but I dont want to put myself or my business in a bad situation. A part of me is questioning myself with "am I just being scared and lack the confidence needed to succeed or am I being smart and cautious".

All questions, comments, concerns, and advice is welcomed. Thanks for being an audience.

*aggressive...auto correct on the phone

In my very limited experience the pros are that the profit margin can be very high & you can sometimes either pay for the home in cash or pay it off very quickly due to its lower value.

Cons, because of the lesser value & the neighborhood it may be harder to sell if you ever decide you want to unload it. But if your desire is to be in the buy & hold arena for the long hull then this won't be an issue. 

Another con is the tenant pool. I know bad tenants aren't limited to just low income properties but you may encounter more. You may have to accept that with low income you need to be more hands on. More agrees I've with enforcing rules, more frequent property inspections.

Definitely become a part of your local Landlord Association. Even if you don't think you will need them join anyway.

I have a seperate minute phone that I give my tenants the number to. I call it my money-phone. If it rings and I have a vacancy then I know it's a possible pay day. If it rings when there are no vacancies then I know I'm about to write a check, lol.

For accounting Excel & Waveapps (it's free). Great for creating recurring invoices, generating balance sheets, general ledgers, & income statements.

Wish you and your partner much success.

The voucher still applies. In my city no matter how many or little bedrooms the voucher says the section 8 applicant can still get what they want. For instance my other tenants voucher is for 2 beds but she is in a 3. She just pays the difference which is $84.

UPDATE:

I had the city inspection last week which is a piece of cake to pass. The city inspector told me that the tenant can use that room as a bedroom if they so choose but that I just cant list or market the place as a two bedroom.

Today was the Section 8 inspection. Housing Commission & city rules are totally different. The section 8 inspector had no problem with the room and said according to section 8 standards it is a bedroom. To be considered a bedroom it only needs a light fixture, outlet, and window.