All Forum Posts by: Ben S

Update: Motivated seller is willing to let the property go at $110k. Any suggestions are always welcome, thanks

I forgot to add, the address is actually showing as 16 Cherry Street, but here is the Zillow link.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/16-Cherry-St-Por...

Thanks again

Hello guys,

A friend of mine is trying to sell their family's home located in Portland, ME, but currently facing some issues with staging and selling the property. It's currently listed on the MLS for $129,000, and the seller is motivated.

It appears the property's outside condition is okay, minus having to tow a few of the junk cars that are in the yard and some lawn maintenance. The seller is debating whether or not it is a good idea to spend more money in the home to improve it's marketability to sell, or to try lowering the price?

I'm unfamiliar with the market myself, however just shooting this out there for some suggestions and advise. I hope some people local to the ME market can chime in!

The address:  27 Cherry St., Portland, ME 04102

Thanks again BP!

Was just reading this article regarding a condo community's HOA dissolving, and the owners - owning roughly 90% of the complex - decides to sell out the community since they cannot afford it. This ends up screwing over the remaining 10% of the condo owners in which they still owe mortgages on, but are squatting in their own homes!

http://consumerist.com/2012/06/condos-sold-without-owners-permission-for-13-their-value.html

Not sure if this is something investors see or have heard before?

Hi,

I just wanted to back up the previous posters on investing in the better class neighborhoods because of a few things I plan to apply for myself too - also veterans correct me if I'm wrong for any of these!

1) For buy and hold, it appears that one's goal will be to own more than just a few of these - so it seems like it would save yourself the headache of dealing with the more strenuous tenants/maintenance in the lower end properties vs. the higher end properties. Some people don't mind this, but generally speaking it just seems better to have more peace of mind when it comes to your day to day life and not putting up with things you can avoid!

2) Aforementioned - appreciation is one big factor that many people tend to take into account when investing in real estate - the lower end properties do not tend to hold much of an appreciation rate compared to their higher end counterparts (given the locations are ideal for both class of property). Not to mention more of your cash flow will be going right back into these rentals as a lot of the lower end rentals are older than the newer, more expensive properties, requiring more repair (also given the quality of tenant!)

3) Mortgage fixed rates are at an all-time low, so why not take advantage of getting the most of leveraging yourself with these cheaper loans? Also refinancing on properties in the 100k range versus the 50k range is more probable as well as less hassle to the banks - another headache saved.

It seems there are more reasons to invest in these types of properties over the older properties the more you read and search the forums on this type of topic - not to mention one basic aspect of investing is to stay within your comfort zone of risk - and based off of previous threads and experience from the more seasoned investors it appears there is less risk to invest in newer and/or better properties!

It just seems to make sense that if you're going to take advantage of leveraging - to leverage as much as possible without spreading yourself too thin; take the most out of the cheap loans, especially for those who have not yet passed the FHA/FNMA residential 4 loan limit - this way you get the most out of your '4 investment property' limit before moving onto commercial/creative financing no?

This also adds to better refi down the road and tax depreciation if I'm not mistaken? (every little thing counts)

Welcome Francisco!

Just wanted to comment that you'll learn a lot from this site - just take a few hours to go through the different topics and not only will you learn, but also you will network with some very like-minded individuals on the site! I'm still a little on the new end myself, but am being more proactive in communicating on these forums (although sitting back and reading endless posts and learning is much more efficient at times to me!)

Good luck!

I would also say both - Diversification is always a good thing considering today's market volatility.

I'm currently only investing in stocks via my employer's 401k match, and taking my additional disposable income as savings toward real estate.

On the other hand, if you feel like only one option is available to you, then I would choose the investment you feel more comfortable with, at least until you familiarize yourself with both markets!

Welcome Jeremiah! I think you'll find these forums to be a goldmine for knowledge; there are so many experienced investors on this site that I'm sure will be more than happy to assist you and give you their thoughts.

Good luck!

Hello BP,

Although I've been browsing the forums for years, it's been only recently that I've taken the initiative to start posting more.

As I'm approaching the start of my buy & hold investing journey, I'd like to meet some other local investors on the way.

I'm sure I'll run into you via RE meetings, but wanted to also find locals who also post on these forums.

Thanks for looking!