All Forum Posts by: Chris Penny

My house in Union City (East Bay) has 3 beds/2 baths of 1340sqf + garage on a land of 6000. Recently I've been thinking about building an in-law unit of around 600-700sqf with private entrance and put it for rent. The last time I asked (around 6 months ago), a constructor told me it's about $100 - $120/sqf to build, so roughly 80K for the unit. With the construction price getting higher and higher, I'm not sure how much it could be now. Anyway, based on my research, I could rent out the unit for at least $1500, quite good rent-to-value ratio. What do you think about the pros and cons of this approach? 

Another question I have is if I just rent out the unit, how depreciation is calculated? What about I buy another house and put my whole current house for rent, do I get depreciation as my house is now considered as a full rental property?

Thanks

Thanks all for your suggestion. I'm in fact looking into safe areas with good schools, and here in the Bay Area you can almost describe those aspects by zip codes. Btw, what criteria do you consider when rating a school district as good?

@Debbie Gilliam can you point me to the good school districts around OKC?

@Thomas Graham do you mind sharing the areas you are investing?

@Howard Morris Great information from you! I have visited Edmond and Yukon and while I like Edmond very much, definitely, it's not easy to get a good rent-to-price ratio there. I also like Yukon and thought about buying an SFR there but I'm a little concern about the rental market in the suburbs. Plus I see a lot of new home constructions there so a bit worry about the market is saturated. To me, Edmond is like all A so I hope to find some B or B- around.

For all locals and experienced investors in Oklahoma, can you quickly list out the good zip codes in Oklahoma City area? By "good" I mean A or B neighborhood, of course, each of you might have different definition of A and B but I would love to hear from you all. I appreciate your help!

This is a great topic and it seems a lot of people (including myself) still confuse about the pros/cons of opening an LLC. I remember listening to BP podcast (somewhere around shows 60) where Brandon asked the guest if he shelters each of his property under a separated LLC, and the guest answered that he put 2-3 properties under 1 LLC. I'm totally lost!

Can someone point me to a good source and/or book that can teach newbies like me about pros/cons of opening LLC(s), especially for real estate?

@Eli Davis that is great to hear. Do you mind sharing the contact information of your brokerage? I am still searching for property management. Thanks

Hello all, 

I am thinking of investing in a duplex in Edmond, OK, 3 beds 2 baths each (buy and hold). The duplex is fairly new and in a good neighborhood with good schools. I have visited Edmond and quite in love with the area, I'm just not sure about the rental market. I am wondering if it's easy to rent out the duplex and how much can I get for each side? I know I can check websites like rentometer for rental rate, however, I would love to hear directly from people in this forum. So if you are property management, or have properties in Edmond, or local to Edmond (and surrounding area) can you please help me with those questions?

Thank you

Glad I found this thread. I am looking into a duplex in North Tuxedo St., between 9th and 10th. From the Trulia map it looks like in the middle of a war zone. The numbers look great though. Any comment regarding this area is greatly appreciated. Thanks

@Christopher Phillips That is exactly what I heard from one of the BP Podcast, I don't remember exactly but the guest was able to pull up a loan like that by shopping around. 

@Caleb Heimsoth Do you have contact of this lender?

Thank you J. Martin for the information!

@John Matthews It's not that I can't afford 25% but I would prefer to put only 15% or less as the numbers look better, and I can use the unused cash to invest in another property.