All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I hate to bump a sorta-kinda-old thread.. 

There are a few condos around here in nice areas which are about $89k. I can do 20% down and live with a mortgage of $498/month. This means I'd lose ~$490/month on the mortgage, but the condo may appreciate and I'd be paying it off.

I could, on the other hand, get a $250k property like I talked about above, do 3.5% down, and pay ~$1,638 on the mortgage. One side would rent for $1,100, and even though the 50% rule is just a rule of thumb, for safety I assume $550/month of the rent would go to expenses. This means I'd have $550 income, and a $1638 mortage, so I'd lose $1,088 per month. Of course I'm paying off a 250k house instead of an 89k condo, but the condo is in a much nicer area.

This is a lot more difficult of a decision than I expected. Here's what mystifies me, though. Let's say I had a lot more money than I do. I put 20% down on a duplex, and I dont live in either side, lets just say I live rent free some other way. I would then receive $2,200 total in rent revenue, and assuming half is for expenses, I would receive $1,100 in revenue per month. I'm still paying $1,224 per month on the mortgage.. Losing money. I understand appreciation, equity, etc all comes into the equation, but either way, it's negative cashflow.

If the numbers I'm giving here are actually a good representation of my area and the market, would you say it's just sort of a bad place to try investing? I feel like I'm missing some piece of the puzzle

I recently purchased Multi-Family Million by David Lindahl just to start learning some basic info. I feel like I'm just being sold something (keeps mentioning his successful students, how awesome it is to be his student, benefits, his website, etc). And I feel like the information is very common sense and basic. 

Do you guys have any good recommendations for a total beginner who's interested in multi family properties?

I just feel like if I buy a house, with the goal to make money, and I wind up losing money.. What is the point? I think if I want to actually drop my current career and get into REI, I have practically no choice but to move an hour north. The market in bradenton/sarasota has hardly any tri/fourplexes i can afford, and the duplexes all rent for about the same. is it really possible for a market to just not work out like this

I understand I'd be paying off the house, but i'd be breaking even or losing money. That doesnt seem very helpful for expanding in the future. I would like to eventually get into this full time, but I'm starting to become more concerned with if it's even possible where I'm living. Why waste my time on properties that are hardly worth while. I was hoping some could chime in and let me know if the properties I talked about were worse than most? Duplexes worth $250k, each unit rents for $1.2k. In my completely inexperienced opinion, that seems pretty bad.

Just starting to learn about REI. I was originally wanting to buy a 3 - 4 unit multi family and live in one unit, while renting out the other 2 - 3. My market is Bradenton/Sarasota FL, and a 3 - 4 unit home runs $500 - $750k, not something I can afford. If I went up to Clearwater it's more doable, but I dont really want to move there.

So, I decided maybe I could just get a duplex. I'm finding that in order to be in a neighborhood which is actually safe, I'm going to be looking at homes in the $200k+ price range. The average around here for a $250k duplex is $1,200 per month in rent per unit. At 4% down on a $250k property, I'd be paying about $1000/mo on the mortgage. According the to 50% rule, $600 of the rent revenue would go to expenses, and $600 would be actual income (right?). This means I'd be losing money.

So I'm considering, maybe I could just rent both units out, and stick to living in my current $650/mo roachy apartment. At least then I would have some kind of positive cashflow. Is there some part of this that I am missing, or is the market here just pretty bad for what I'm looking to do? (Or maybe I'm currently just too broke). Just from quick browsing on loopnet and redfin, it looks like this would be so much more doable in the clearwater/st. pete area, but I would hate to live there. I've always disliked the area, so I want to stick to bradenton/sarasota. 

I see. I suppose I should at least give it a shot, but I still have a lot more to learn. I'm just trying to use my time as wisely as possible. It will probobably be a while until I can even afford a multi family home. I'm noticing that multi family homes in Florida are either affordable (for me) and in a terrible neighborhood, or $600k+ and right on the beach. Makes it a bit more difficult. It's hard to find a place that I can afford and is also in a nice neighborhood.

I apologize if my title sounds rude. I know a lot of us are on here because we are new and want to learn (me included). However, I think this question can only be answered properly by those who have actually done a successful or unsuccessful deal:

Wholesaling seems very enticing for me, because it requires very minimal costs. Earnest money and maybe $150 for an LLC, and the most I have to invest anyway is about $3,000. However, I have heard from many people that wholsaling is one of the hardest niches in real estate to get into. I have heard that you have to have the same knowledge has a rehabber, a landlord, and a real estate agent. You not only have to be able to find deals, but you have to be able to accurately measure the rehab costs and then be able to market the property. On top of that, you have to also be able to get a better price than rehabbers and land lords. This is all learnable and definitely possible, yes, but is it actually realistic for someone just getting into real estate investing?

Do you guys think my time would be better spent saving up cash and house hacking a multi-family to get at least some kind of experience? I currently rent an apartment (as in I pay to live in it, not the other way around), I've never even purchased a home for myself, let alone made an effort to invest. This is all new to me, and so far people with experience have told me all of the above. What's your opinion? I really would like to hear from those that have done a real wholesale deal, not those who are planning on it. I hope that doesnt come off as rude at all.