All Forum Posts by: Armel Bayot

You can see more about my first deal here. (It's in my profile if the link doesn't work.) 

After that first deal I decided to go for cash flow rather than appreciation. I've been buying in Cleveland ever since. I picked up about a dozen small multi-family properties, ranging from duplex to 7 units. In Cleveland you can get a duplex in a "C" neighborhood for $75-100k that rents for $750 a side. If you are interested I can connect you with some folks out there, send me a PM.

I'm aiming for larger multi-family next.

Joel

One helpful site I've come across is called Smart Asset and they have a property tax calculator that will help estimate property taxes.  Zillow is also good because I believe they use actual historical numbers for the specific property you're looking for.  I did a little research in Indiana as well due to their low prices.  One city I looked at was Gary, IN.  Originally it seemed good because I found some homes that could cash flow well, but I noticed their overall population has been declining over the past decade.  That worries me a bit when it comes to thinking about potential vacancies.  Ideally, I think the place I want to choose will have moderate growth in population as well as a strong labor market.  I didn't see any major employers in Gary, IN although Chicago is about an hour away.

@Blake Edwards Thanks for the request. I'm actually reading the Long Distance Investing book right now by Mr. Greene and as I've been reading it I knew he was somewhat local to me and thought how cool it would be to actually have a chance to work with him or someone on his team. I'd absolutely love to attend one of your future meetings. I do have a question about HUD homes. When looking at HUD homes, it says you need to go through a HUD-approved agent to submit a bid. If I were looking out of state, would I need a HUD-approved agent from that specific area out of state or could I use a local one to submit on my behalf? Another book I read (by J Scott) mentioned that he started out with HUD homes in the beginning so I've looked a little in that area but the whole "needing a HUD approved agent" thing has stopped me in my tracks for now. I'm still reading and learning, but I know if I do decide to go that route that'll be something I'll need to figure out.

@Armel Bayot  Is there a specific area you're looking for in the mid-West?  I've looked at Texas, but the one thing that scares me about Texas is the high property taxes.  It seems more flip-friendly than rent friendly unless you secure a home at a great price.  TX property taxes are almost 3x as high as ours here in CA.

@Armel Bayot - Welcome! There's a lot of great info here as well as people! It's always great to hear when people from my neck of the woods (The SF Bay Area) become interested in REI. We (The @David Greene Team) hold meetups pretty regularly which can be found on the events page.  Lots of knowledge out there to be had for free, as well as people who are more than willing to share lessons learned in their journey!

Welcome aboard Armel.

Nerve racking? Maybe a little. But the prices are so much smaller than they are in the Bay Area. My first deal was a SFR in Round Rock, Texas, a little more than a year ago. It didn't need much work. It's in a B+ neighborhood, not far from Apple, Dell, etc. Cash flow isn't great but it has some decent appreciation potential. I figured that in the worst case I would sell it later at a small loss - after all, it's a nice house, and people always need a place to live.

At the time I wasn't intending to buy more properties. Then I found Bigger Pockets, watched a couple of Brandon Turner webinars...and I was hooked. :)