All Forum Posts by: Chris Thomas

First off, thanks for taking the time to read this post and provide advice. I'll try to be as detailed as possible. 

Sadly, our mother passed away recently. She lived in Irondale, AL in the neighborhood my brother and I grew up in, and in the same house.

She didn't have a lot of wealth and the only reason we can see to open her estate and deal with the probate process is if there's any real wealth to be made from selling the house. 

I currently believe that she owes more on the home than what it's worth due to its condition. But that's where the uncertainty comes in.  

Redfin lists an estimate for the home at $187k which is quite a lot more than what is owed on the house. That of course assumes its in good condition. 

Details on the House: 
3Beds 2Baths 2,052 Sq. Ft.$91 / Sq. Ft. 

Built: 1975. Sits on a 0.65 acre lot.
(Its within walking distance of several schools, Jefferson Christian Academy, Irondale Middle School and Shades Valley High School.)

From what I understand, the foundation is fine but the rest of the house would need a lot of work. Porch, carport, carpet, landscaping..etc would need repair or complete updating. 

My brother and I don't want to put a bunch of work into this place and continue to pay a $650.00ish mortgage for an unknown amount of time unless it's pretty clear that it would be worth it in the long run financially. 

If we could only sell it for close to what is owed on it then it would probably be a wash with the cost of mortgage payments and probate process. However, if it could be sold for a decent margin then it would probably be in our best interest to not let it get foreclosed on and try to sell. 

Another option is to try and invest some money into it to fix it up and update it. And then try to sell it at market price. 

Its a lot to think about while also dealing with everything else...so I'm hoping you good people can help out. 

I appreciate any advice you can give. I'll post a picture of the house and can provide more details if needed. 

Thank you! 

Chris Thomas

PS - It's even harder because I live in Richmond, CA.  

I have not yet, unfortunately. 

Thanks, Jared! Chris and I have already been talking a bit. Just doing some due diligence before moving forward. Hoping to hear from some folks who have gone through the whole process with them. 

I'm shopping around for a good company to work with on my first investment/purchase. I came across Bay Equity Home Loans and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them?  Thank you!

Thank you so much for the info! It's great to hear that you've had a good experience. I'm sure I'll have more questions in the coming months and will definitely take you up on the offer! Thanks again! 

Thank you for the info/advice! 

Curious. If your search area for real estate is fairly large (let's say 2 hr drive radius), what's the best way to find an agent? Will agents in the area be able to and/or have good knowledge of that search area? Or do you need to find separate agents for different areas? 

Thanks,

CT

I haven't yet purchased anything through them. I've had some phone calls with them but I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger. I've also talked a little with @Philip Hy, and it seems he's a little further along. They are still high on my list though. I'll update this thread if/when I move forward. 

Thank you all for the great advice!! It really helps.  A little background and to answer some of your questions: 

Goals @Bram Spiero

Short Term - 

1. Purchase first rental property (Probably out of state or a few hours away - I live in SF where I can't afford properties). I'm thinking Alabama...I'm from there so I have some boots on the ground and the tax right off on trips back would be nice. 

Mid-Term - 

1. Build Portfolio to the point that I can afford real estate closer to where I live now so I can be more hands on. 

2. Build Portfolio to match current income with passive income. 

Long-Term - (or as quick as I can make it happen)

1. Continue building portfolio to quit corporate live and focus on real estate. 

@John Patton Yup! Oporto - Madrid.  Not the worst area in the world from what I remember but it has been 16 years since I've spent more than a week or two at a time in Bama. 

Asking is $79,500 for 3 Duplexes all with long term tenants that want apparently want to stay. 

Listing says Gross income is $21,600 with Expenses of $6792. 

Assuming I did this correctly, here's how that works out via the BB calculator: 

Monthly Income: $1800

Monthly Expenses: $1464.59 (this includes the MLS stated $6792 above plus vacancy, repairs, CapEx, Prop Management, insurance (of course, I'm not sure if they were including insurance in the stated amount for expenses or not)).

With that; monthly cashflow comes to $335.41. With 20% down, that's 14.43% cash on cash ROI.

Now, of course, this looks to be in a C- to D area...I think. Not even sure how much renovation would increase the value of these properties...I don't think higher paying tenants would move to this area. 

Also, not sure how I feel about having this type of area be my first deal....but the numbers seem to work out pretty good. 

Thoughts? 

Chris