All Forum Posts by: Andrew R.

@Patti Robertson - Thank you so much for your insight!  Looked at her this morning, charming, great neighborhood; however, single pane windows, incredibly small dining/living room in the 2/1 unit we would occupy, some knob and tube wiring, and a questionable foundation made it a solid pass.  Starting to realize house hacking a quad may be a pipe dream with a baby (and 2nd in the near future) due to layout/square footage issues.

To your comments;]

1) Rent being BEST case scenario; in this market do you foresee rents decreasing? With waterside, the main, navy expansion, and the first pana-max port on the east coast I see a bright future. 

2) Where were you able to find these numbers?  Great information and did not know it was accessible.  I assumed that location would rent in a heartbeat.

3) Electric and hot water was separately metered.  I agree 100% about utilities.  I have lived in apartments where utilities were included and shamefully abused the perk (think flip flops and board shorts, in New Hampshire....in February).  I read Larry Loftis' book, "Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes & Quads" and he charges tenants a pro-rated utility bill based on square footage.  There was no detail to how he implemented this, any thoughts?  I imagine he would pay the utility bill and charge tenants the following month.  I would be weary as a tenant, but as a landlord it seems like a great option...as long as you can get tenants to bite off on it.

4) Central Air was a huge concern.  Again, where did you pull this information from?  Very high ceilings so we weren't too concerned aesthetically...but huge expense none the less and another factor into our passing on the property.

5) The layout was strange and don't know if 4k would be possible without going high end.  I like the idea of hardwood over carpet.  Always surprises me that apartments go with carpets.  Hard wood brings higher rent will need refinishing less often than carpet replacement and is cheaper to refinish (if done yourself) than carpet replacement.  We hope to make our units aesthetically pleasing bunkers.

6) Calculations were completed w/o electrical and by doubling our current utilities for each unit (2 br).  Rough estimate, but figure rounding way up would put us in the ball park or pleasantly surprised.  Do you have a way to estimate utilities?  Before placing offer we would ask seller for utility bills and contact the City of Norfolk for rates.

Don't know much about Ocean View but you have me interested!  What are some pros/cons to the area as it compares to Ghent, Colonial Place and Riverwalk? We dropped down to a 1 car family (thanks Hurricane Matthew) as I can bike to work from Ghent...Ocean View would add the expense of buying another vehicle.  Thank you so much for your insight Patti!

Andy, Jen & Eleanor

Hello! 

First off, thank you for contributing to this incredible corner of the interweb.  Amazing to see sincere dedication to helping others in such a competitive field.  I have gained so much from lurking, time to get involved.

A bit about me. 32 years old, married, 7 month old daughter, active duty military (yay VA loan!) currently stationed in Virginia for the next 2 years.

The plan; Buy a duplex/tri/quad in Virginia with my VA loan (can do down payment to ensure cashflow, if needed). House hack and BRRRR multi-families through the rest of my career as I must to move every 2-4 years (for the next 15 years). Upon retirement hold properties that are doing well and liquidate others (if needed). Then, reinvest in the area that we retire (undecided location). Sit on boat, catch fish, die happy.

Action taken; Lots of reading, looked at 10 properties (and counting), ran numbers on 50 properties (and counting), attend every open house we see to talk to realtors, drive/bike/walk for dollars, hired a realtor.  We are starting to figure out what we want and what constitutes a good deal but feel like we will never truly be ready....how do you know? Multi-families on the market are few and far between in our desired area, especially ones that cash flow prior to rehab.  

Best option so far; Quad (2/2, 1/1, 1/1, 1/1) listed for 450k.  

Monthly Rent- $3,575       Expenses-  $3,877 (10% repair, 10% vacancy, 10% mgt fee + taxes, utilities, mortgage, insurance, ect.)  We will manage until we move.

House was built in early 1900's but in a great area, very easily rented and should be able to bring rent up to 4k with little rehab....With a good home inspection and hope that negotiations go our way, I'm very interested....but is this biting off more than I can chew for a 1st deal? 

Thank you BP community,

Andy