All Forum Posts by: Brian Himes

Interested in this exact thing myself. Just squared out of my last fix and flip single family and thinking of building a 4-6plex in North East Texas. Looking forward to responses. 

   Had the same problem once. First Make sure the house is a good deal in a good area. Needs to be a safe place where they would be comfortable with you living (even though that’s not the plan). Also how much work does the house need? Big things to look for is roof, Plumbing, Electrical and foundation these can turn a 17500 house into a 60K house. Maybe find a friend in construction to tour the house with you and give their opinion. You definitely need a second opinion as both you and your parents will be biased. You will want to do a deal, and they wont want you to.

   When I was buying the house i now live in after moving out of my parents house I had the same problem. I told everyone I was going to move into it although I was fully committed to making it a rental. Maybe tell everyone that if all else fails you will live there, this might make them feel better about it.

   Finally and most you said the house is in Foreclosure at 17,500 maybe you can get it less. Try a low ball offer and see what they counter with. I got my investment house for 15K when they were asking 21K for it. Hope it works out for you.

@Zach Quick Yeah my rehab numbers weren’t really more than a guess based off past jobs. I intend to do most everything by myself with a few helpers so the biggest cost will mainly be materials, but yeah Im sure your probably right about the cost.

Thanks for the breakdown @Joel Florek that puts some perspective on it. I was already considering how to make the property more liveable as it basically is just an old motel. I will definitely be considering it more seriously though. And I really agree with you on 2 bed being ideal. That was my major hangup since ive seen very few with this type of property. Based on financials I can see I need to get them way down in price for my comfort level.

   I have found a deal to possibly proceed on. Its a 10 unit apartment building with some issues. current asking price is 125K however im thinking they will take less. Im thinking given the size and state of the building each unit will take 5k to fix on average. Fixed up and in my area rent could run 400ish. I have experience with re-habbing homes so i'm not afraid of the work however ive never done multi fam so I want to have  everything checked out to make sure this deal isnt just me being obsessive and too quick to pull the trigger.

Also any specific advise on gathering investors for rehabs like this?

The Cons

Unit is made up of 1 bdrm and studio appts only, is this even worth it? Has anyone had sucess with these types of multifamily properties?

Obviously will need repairs (pic posted) Whats some common headaches in multifamily?

rent roll and and current numbers are not reliable.

Very possibly all tenants will have to be evicted.

Sorry for the non specifics as i said its my first multifamily

Just to follow up Marcia makes a good point about the water situation. We have had some major water situations come up on our floors and its never been an issue with the snap together planks. They are really good water proof floors

This can greatly depend. We have used the Smartcore Vinyl Plank (the snap together kind) in a few of our houses with excellent results. As for the sound issue Im not sure because we only have single story residences but I would assume it would be louder than carpet. Maybe look into getting a good underlay to muffle some of the sound. Just a tip to save some money though it may not work in your case (sound). We don’t buy expensive underlay for our Vinyl projects we get the felt roofing paper from any lumber yard and use it as our barrier and never had any issues. Total cost is a nickel per sq foot.

 As for install there’s some pros and cons. We found that using a scoring knife just doesn’t cut it despite what they advertise, and show on Youtube. A full table saw is needed to get your cuts consistent and fast, Also its very difficult if not impossible to ever change out a plank if something happens to it. On the other hand install is very very simple once you get the groove going and the floor is very durable (we have never needed to replace any so far after 2 years.

So to break down my opinion (Theres way smarter people than me on here) 

Snap Together Vinyl Plank with underlay might be good for your sound situation, However if your tenants are able to destroy it, (ie: Defective High Heels or Scratching the floor) its 2X the money gone since the planks are super hard to replace. If it was me I would use it for high end rentals and use the cheaper stuff for lower end.                                                                            

Its quite a distance but the best bang for your buck might be down here in Texas. Definitely a good place for BRRR deals as housing prices are much cheaper than most places nationally, while rents are on par with the average. I have a deal right now thats a 3%er (it too was a rehab and my first one but there are so many around its ridiculous) Texas too is a very business and taxes friendly state. Let me know if your interested and ill send you some possibilities.

Sorry For Delay was out of town. The copper handles were very nasty yes, but shined up they look like a new penny. As for financials house is to be kept as a rental (for now) rent is 750 per month.

Sounds like a interesting investment. The value really depends on the area, Dallas has some real hotspots that will definitely be good investments. Keep us posted