All Forum Posts by: Alexander Ball

I know a couple of flippers in the NOVA area, but they all do 1-2 properties a year and they typically buy at the above price point.  It's possible to buy 50-100k under market value, but honestly it's likely out of your scope, respectfully.  I'd buy a house hack and use it as an opportunity to save on rent on gain experience.  

Looks like this is going to the highest bidder, but if that isn’t the case and this isn’t a D area then yes it’s a good deal.  2% on cheaper properties is a good rule of thumb.

Go to meet ups and get referrals, I can’t think of a faster or easier way.

If I ever retire off of rental income there is no way I’d coach someone for $3,600.  Not nearly enough money for the time and effort lol. 

@Tanner Westerheid I bought my condo (3bed 2 bath) in Reston for about 200k and make $1,500 a month renting the spare rooms. I think after accounting for everything I pay like $50 a month. What that doesn't include is taxes which I'm pretty sure I will owe a lot on at the end of the year. Renting out spare rooms in a primary residence is not the same as a rental so you rental income is taxed pretty much as just additional income. It does work though and I am saving/making a lot more in the long run then I would if I just rented. One thing I've realized is it's actually common enough to find houses that have a basement with a full kitchen.. I'm not talking about a duplex I literally mean a property that is zoned as a SFH with an additional living space. Keep your eye out for one of those.. a buddy of mine has a property like that here in Norther Virginia where duplexes basically don't exist. As for out of state investing, I'd recommend getting your feet wet with a house hack.. It's a super hard thing to mess up and an awesome learning experience. At the very least get prequalified and start looking, you'll find something that works! Good luck

The above statements about vacancy is correct if you have multiple rentals, but if you don't then it's obviously 100% vacancy. I'd start with a duplex to minimize vacancy issues and then experiment with SFH later on to see if they work for you.

1. What is the rent?

2. Are the utilities separated? Who pays for what?

3. If the tenant is there, ask them if they've had any issues with property

4. I look for leaks under toilets and sinks...Also look for gigantic cracks in the wall or a titled floor for foundation issues

5.  What kind of parking?  Washer and dryer hookup?  

6. Check the roof from a distance if you can, just get an idea if it looks shoddy and might need replacement

7. Check the basement and attic if you can. Basement I'm really looking to make sure water isn't seeping in under the property and the attic I'm mostly checking for leaks in the roof. 

8. Don't be afraid to take pictures and notes, if you look at a lot of properties you will forget basic things about the properties and either have to go back in look or hope you get it right..

These are just a few things I look for when looking at properties, best of luck

If you can't get 2% on a property, you shouldn't buy it all cash.  At a 100k price point at roughly 1% return you might as well just put it in index funds in the stock market and you would get similar returns with 99% less effort.  Honestly though, unless a property is too cheap to get a mortgage buying in all cash has almost never made sense to me.  The whole advantage of real estate is how easy it is to leverage money.  If it's a risk issue, then hold a years worth of mortgage payment in reserves.  

B class properties are properties you can hold for life, C class are good for scaling faster.  This is the beauty of real estate, so many different strategies for so many different types of life styles.  Drop the rent aggressively until you can get a tenant, put their lease to end early summer when people are looking to move and go from there.  This will give you time to think of a strategy and you don't have to worry about losing too much money.

I'm forgoing my 401k and putting everything into real estate.  So far, I haven't regretted it a bit and I don't think I ever will.  Life is too short to always play it "correctly" and safe.  If it were me, I'd do it 100%, but I know I'd do anything to make it work.  If you're not serious about real estate, I definitely would NOT do it.