All Forum Posts by: Bennett Pinkley

That's very much what I was thinking, too. I'm a firm believer that there are many deals to be had because at first glance most investors are looking for something more straightforward, like "I like this house because all the walls are open and I can see what's wrong and what it'll cost me".

are there any issues I should be concerned with in having a 6 year tenant other than the tenant looking to move out soon? issues involving how to make repairs?

In my area, about an hour outside the city, there is a small property on the MLS recently reduced to 40k from 60k. at 40k the numbers seem to work well sans cost of repairs. it's been on the market for over 200 days. The price markdown happened on march 12, 2019.

I've asked the realtor if there are any known defects and he responded, "yes there are many". That is very vague.

in your experience, what are some things that could potentially go wrong with this with the assumption that the tenant has lived there for 6 years? What I'm thinking is there may not have been repairs done that were necessary due to tenant not wanting to be disturbed?

The outside of the house looks well maintained and cared for, not in obvious distress. perhaps there are foundation issues, but it's block and beam so I'm not entirely sure how difficult that is to fix. it has window units but lists as having central air, possibly it's broken? biggest unseen expenses I can anticipate might be floor joists, electrical, plumbing (it's got public sewer and water), and perhaps just general full cosmetic replacement if the tenant moves out. No tenant, no matter how good could leave the place without some disrepair in 6 years.

Tl;dr 40k house on market 200 days, wondering why an investor hasn't picked it up if the simple act of getting it is already positive cash flow. 

thank you so much for the replies. that definitely answers my question. i just don't see it discussed so I was curious if it wasn't plausible. General answer is, it can be but you will have a tough time financing.

If you have a tenant for the first year and receive conventional financing because they're more willing to do so, would it be easier to then turn it to an Airbnb after your tenant moves out?

Does Airbnb fit into the BRRRR model? if not, why not? I'd like to know if it's feasible to calculate certain assumed vacancy rates for an airbnb to estimate monthly cash flow

how can I protect myself when buying small plots of land, let's say for no more than 5k, without a realtor? what would be the best way to handle the paperwork?

it turns out that this property is considered an estate and some of the adopted kids are specials needs who can't exactly communicate with ease and it's causing issues. Realtor said she's probably received upwards of 700 inquiries about the property and someone has already offered full asking but they are talking with their attorney today.

very possible, the only DIY that's obvious is a bridge connecting the main house to the apartment. I have attempted several times to contact the realtor and she has responded with one very short email and nothing since then. she's very hard to get in touch with/ nonresponsive. The sellers are a couple's kids who inherited it last year after the father's death and the realtor specifically said "cash only" due to known defects and hasn't responded to my request of what those defects are nor to set up a tour. so I'd probably be looking at a hard money loan and I've been doing my research and learning about the pitfalls and such. 

I believe that no one has jumped on it because it's not an obvious fix and flip and it's not exactly a duplex for renting both. the main house is very large. i plan to occupy the main house myself for convenience to job and extra living space. it's also located on the outskirts of houston, about 40 minutes from downtown.

Hi BiggerPockets,

brand new to real estate, recently discovered this site. Lost my job and it's put things in a different light, such as why am I taking financial advice from people around me who are struggling to pay their own bills?

I've found a property close to my old job that I'm going to return to, saving me a 30 minute commute time. also because I previously quit my job that I'm returning to, I have a nice savings that I withdrew from my retirement (7k).

It's a 7 bedroom, 2.5 bath, with additional separated 3 bed, 1 bath aparment behind, all sitting on 12k lot with 3500sq ft living space between them. as far as I know it's been built in 1950, but I'm unclear right now what has been updated and permitted correctly. (there's a diy bridge connecting the house to the apartment which will most likely be removed.

Within the small neighborhood, only a few streets away have been nearly 20 homes sold in the last 6 months, and only two sold under 200k, most 220+, all of them single story, most 3 bed 2 bath, several are new construction.

my short term goal is to own and rent the apartment and live in the main house for the rent to cover expenses, no positive cashflow necessary, but appreciated.

the house is in need of extensive repair, it's on block foundation, but not in a flood plain and did not flood in hurricane harvey, (I'm in houston). obvious potentials due to original construction being in 1950 is asbestos, rewiring entire house/upgrade, redoing all plumbing, replacing most windows, hopefully not a complete install, and it has no central hvac. I'm considering going with ductless, potentially to save money I can deal with window units in main house and put nice ductless in the apartment. 

Ask price is 85k, been on the market for 345 days, started at 85k, they raised price then lowered again. If I can expect an ARV of at least 220k due to most similar comps being half total sq ft and same lot size, if I can get the property for 75k, or even 85, and get HML for 140k total, (try for 150k) put 70k into it and refi for the total 150k I've put into it after I have a tenant in place (150k house is not out of my price range of house to actually buy with my income, but I don't have a down payment or savings really) I'd have at least 70k in equity for potential HELOC for future investments or if something were to break, but almost everything would be brand new.

I'm wondering if there's anything I've forgotten or anything I should think about or general advice. I'm still doing my research on investing and won't make a move until I actually have that job back. I'm not going to jump in haphazardly, and want a solid plan.