All Forum Posts by: CJ Sanders

I recently spoke with an investor from Lebanon, IN, which is about 30 min north of Indianapolis, who was selling off his real estate portfolio. He has 3 multi-family units and 7 single family units. I quickly crunched the numbers that he gave me and I believe they're worth looking into further, but I'm not familiar with the area. I'm looking for any information on the area, along with recommendations for property management companies and contractors.

So I just recently ran across three apartment buildings in a low income area not too far from where I live. I did a quick number crunch and it looks like it would have pretty good cash flow. Im pretty new to the investment world, so if someone wouldn't mind checking my numbers and tell me if I'm missing something, I would really appreciate it. #1 - Asking price is 335k 7- units renting around 575/month Property tax is 5000 Ball parking insurance at 100/month #2 - asking 285k 7- units at 575 Property tax is 4000 Insurance at 100 #3 - asking 275k 6- units at 575 Property tax is 4000 Insurance at 100 $11,500 gross income - $4800 P&I (895k @ 5%) $1085 for taxes $300 insurance $575 maintenance (5%) $1150 vacancy loss (10%) $920 property management (8%) =$2670 Cash Flow/ month

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. I definitely think they're worth taking a closer look at. I would probably start out managing them myself just to get a taste, but then eventually outsource to a property management company. As far as renovating goes, I agree, I would need to crunch the numbers on the ROI. I just didn't know if updating and raising rents would drive people away. Being as its a low income area, I would still have to keep the rent affordable.

So I just recently ran across three apartment buildings in a low income area not too far from where I live. First off, for those of you that have or have had low income apartments, what are some of the issues you faced with them? They are pretty dated but are currently renting between 500-575 a month. They could stand to have the kitchens and baths updated along with paint and flooring, but is it worth it to dump a bunch of money in updating a low income area? Even at the current asking prices, figuring for a higher than normal vacancy loss, I think they would have great cash flow. I just don't know what kind of headaches are involved with low income areas. Any input is appreciated. -CJ

I'm looking for a little insight on the Indianapolis market. I live in Illinois, just east of St. Louis, and the areas around me, that I think are worthy of investing in, have property taxes that are so high it's hard to make the numbers work for good cash flow. I've been reading up on Indianapolis, and it seems like there is plenty of opportunities for decent cash flow. I'd like to start off with properties under $100k that I can buy, fix up, and rent out. They will be long term investments, but I still want to have decent cash flow out of them. My question is, where are good areas to buy? I'm not familiar with the area, and I don't want to waste my time looking at houses in bad neighborhoods. Can someone, who is familiar with the area, give me an idea of good areas to start looking in, or areas to stay away from? And also, if you have rental property there, have you had good luck with it? Is Indianapolis even worth looking at? Thanks in advance, CJ

I'm looking for a little insight on the Indianapolis market. I live in Illinois, just east of St. Louis, and the areas around me, that I think are worthy of investing in, have property taxes that are so high it's hard to make the numbers work for good cash flow. I've been reading up on Indianapolis, and it seems like there is plenty of opportunities for decent cash flow. I'd like to start off with properties under $100k that I can buy, fix up, and rent out. They will be long term investments, but I still want to have decent cash flow out of them. My question is, where are good areas to buy? I'm not familiar with the area, and I don't want to waste my time looking at houses in bad neighborhoods. Can someone, who is familiar with the area, give me an idea of good areas to start looking in, or areas to stay away from? And also, if you have rental property there, have you had good luck with it? Is Indianapolis even worth looking at? Thanks in advance, CJ

Hey everyone! My name is CJ Sanders. I've been eager to get my feet wet in the real estate game for a few years, but just haven't been in the position to do so, until now, that is! I'm still not going to just jump into something, but I've been reading everything I can get my hands on and researching local markets, waiting to make my move. I work full time and do some rehabbing on the side. I bought my first house back in 08 when I was 19, and have had a fascination with real estate ever since. My plan is to start small with a couple single family rental properties and eventually move up to multi-unit properties. If all goes well, I'd like to walk away from my full time job within the next ten years and concentrate on real estate full time. I've been listening to the Bigger Pockets podcasts for the last couple weeks and really enjoy hearing all of the different perspectives. I look forward to being a part of the Bigger Pockets community. -CJ