All Forum Posts by: Alexander Zurn

I will look into that @Rick H. Thank you for the input

Will do. I checked it out further online and saw some mounted solar panels on the ground a few hundred yard behind the property. I assume it has something to do with this. I will keep digging and certainly drive past it in the near future. Thank you all!

Hello - I am interested in a single family in the Rhode Island/Providence area. It is a GREAT price considering other single families and, while it could use some work, might be a worthwhile investment (still vetting). A problem I see, perhaps why it is priced so low, is that it is zoned "light industrial". I do not know much about zoning but basic research I did essentially says this type of zoning involves areas with small manufacturing plants near by (?).

Few questions:

1. I assume noise will be an issue but other than that, what else should I be considering with a "light industrial" zoned property? How does this effect the value of the property?

2. Is there a way to research this further and look at potential zoning plans for the city I am in? If so, what am I looking for?

3. If anyone knows more, what exactly does "light industrial" zoning mean?

4. Would I be able to re-zone a property? If so, what would I want it zoned to as?

Thanks for the help!

Hi @Pat Tramma, just reviewing the "college" search topics and figured I'd offer some food for thought as a recent grad of a college in your area.

Be sure to consider the college's off campus policies! For example, I know a few colleges that have been cracking down on off campus living. This is for many reasons: students not maintaining the houses, the community not having enough homes for their own, and most importantly the colleges lose money!

Please consider that if you purchase a place in one of these small areas, where rents and cash flow could be great, a few years down the road it could be stagnant due to increased student housing and less houses needed to satisfy the fewer students, leading to your tenants being natives of the area where rents surely wouldn't (or couldn't) be as high as they are for students.

Again, this is specific to your area but just be sure to understand the college policies as well as the housing market in that college town. They may both have an effect on each other.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Thanks @Charlie Fitzgerald, can you explain a little bit more about what that is and how it will help? I will do some independent research but a quick expert summary would be great.

Hello, I am again on the verge of purchasing my first unit! A small condo unit in a 4-unit Condo Complex. The numbers work, it cash flows VERY well. If rented right away, I could pay off in 10 years.

My problem is financing. I want to finance as an investment but here is the problem. It seems to be industry policy to not give a loan to a condo that is NOT 50% Owner Occupied. As of now, there is 1 owner and 2 renters in the complex. I would rent it and therefore make it 75% rented, 25% owner occupied. This is forcing me to owner occupy, which isn't the end of the world but it's not how I first saw it. NOTE: It is not HOA guidelines to have 50% owner occ. it is the financing (perhaps government guidelines) industry.

Any ideas of how to finance this as an investment? I understand I could owner occupy, put 3.5% down, live in for a year, and then start renting/cash flowing. I suppose this is why it has been on the market so long.

Any advice helps! Thank you

Thanks @Robert Wodogaza , I appreciate your insight

Good points. Thanks for the input @Brent Coombs

@Anthony Thompson Thanks! I've been looking, researching, watching for 6 months now, which in the grand scheme I know is not a lot. But that is starting to be my point exactly. I just need to get started. I can read, write, ask a ton but the most learning will come from experience.

I also don't want my decision to be based on impatience. The MF market isn't there right now so I'm playing a waiting game. I feel as though can only wait so long to get my hands dirty, is that sensible or restlessness?

Thanks @Brent Coombs . Yes, I see your point. My accommodation costs are $0 right now. My thought process is: buy condo, continue living for free while saving at same rate as I am now, plus extra cash flow $, continue to seek out a MF in months after closing. Does that change perspective at all?