All Forum Posts by: Brandon Wagner

Cumberland comes with a lot of headaches generally.  Usually there is a reason a place has extremely low prices for housing.  Like you said population is declining, which is the most important factor when picking a market.

That being said, if you have a lot of time, and hustle you can make something work there but it's often a lot of headache.  My friend owned many units there and used to do property Management there.  He said no more and sold his properties.

I'd recommend checking out some homes a little more west of NOVA.  Winchester/Front Royal area is still relatively cheap and lots of older homes that could use some love. Plus it's closer to where you live. 

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

I always recommend getting started closer to home as well. You'll probably find yourself wanting to check up on the property from time to time since it's your first one.  

Here is a potential option for you.  Not too far out from DC. (1 hour) It's coming on the market soon. Multiple units so you can help hedge your risk.  Putting down 200K or so on this will cashflow you for sure. Somewhere around $1,000 per month conservatively.

https://www.zillow.com/homedet...

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

Hey Cody, I sense a very inspirational story in your future.  Keep up the great work and positive attitude.  

I always recommend people start with house hacking if possible.  You have good income so you will qualify nicely for a loan. 

1) I'd recommend starting with something smaller for your first deal. Not only will it build your reputation, but it also allows you to test your ability/willingness to be a real estate investor.

2) Larger projects like that are based on the income of the property not so much the income of the owner(s) For something that large though you will need to find some partners with experience in the area.   Not a deal breaker though.  I recommend networking on BP and in real estate meetup groups in the area.

3) 30 year loans are always possible from the bank for residential/small multi family units.  There aren't many around the DC area that are affordable though. I'd look into a larger house, that you can rent out say the upstairs and live in the basement or vice versa.  Will give you enough room for you and your daughter, and it'll help you get your feet wet as an investor.

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

@Nisrine Shehadeh 

Leveraging your 300K into more homes and leveraging the debt will earn you more wealth in the long run.  I'd recommend option B with a slight modification.  Do 125K down on 2 properties, and keep 50K or so in reserves for whatever comes up.  Your cashflow desires will dictate the market and the purchase price for you.  I'd try to get as close to NOVA as possible where you can still make those numbers work. 

Market options for you.

Some opportunity in those price points still in Manassas. Or further out in Front Royal/Winchester area.  I just put a place under contract in Winchester myself. I am bullish on these areas, as prices become more unaffordable in NOVA area people will continue to move further out to more affordable areas.  

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

Do you have any more detail on what you need them for?

The best part about investing is you can take the emotion out of your decision.  Just run the numbers in a calculator/excel sheet and the answer will become obvious.  

Assuming the basement rental is legal, I'm going to say it'll be very hard to beat that option.  

lets say it's a 50K investment (higher end of your budget) You make $1800 per month.  Yearly that is $21,600.  That's a $21,600/50,000 = 43.2% return on investment. In todays current interest rate environment, there is about a .1% chance you'll find something that gives you that significant of a return.  

You also will be able to save money, since the basement will pay for your mortgage. Getting you closer to buying your second property sooner.  Also managing your first rental in your basement will be 10X easier than managing a rental in another building.

It's a no brainer to me.  let us know which one you decide!

I always recommend to purchase your own primary residence before you get an investment property.  Perks include

1) Lower down payments needed (3%-5%)

2) Better interest rates (roughly 1% less on primary vs investment property)

3) Get to learn how to be a landlord and gain that experience in your own house, vs across state lines.

Generally in expensive markets, it's okay to not be cash flow positive, as long as you are saving money.   For example if your rent you pay is $2,000 now.  You just want to get below that in your house hack.  So if you have a $5,000 mortgage, you rent out 3 rooms for $1200 each to save you $3600 on your mortgage.  So your real payment is $1400 per month.  That doesn't make you money each month, but it saves you $600 each month. 

On top of that you get the extra benefits of appreciation, rent increases, tax benefits, loan paydown, etc.

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

There are still cash flowing properties in more tertiary markets around the DMV area.  They are becoming harder to get, but you can still find them.  Most of them are about 1.5 - 2.5 hours away from DC.  Happy to discuss in more detail if you'd like.  

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)

Build a list of buyers first.   BP is a great place to find investors and Fix and flippers.  Figure out what they are looking for in an investment, and then go find that.  Simply put, you're looking for homes that are 50%-60% of their after repair value, or a great deal.

Find a list of people you can call.  distressed owners.  Software helps with this. Remine or Mojo are good ones to try. 

Note: This profession is great because it involves very little capital to get started, but it is arguably the hardest career in real estate.  it involves being told no 1000 times for 1 yes.  Keep up your motivation though, and you'll get there.  Best of luck

I have a great GC I can refer you to. He's in the Northern VA area. Do you have a property in need of work now, or are you looking to build your team?

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LICENSED REALTOR Virginia® (#0225264736)