All Forum Posts by: Ian C.

Under contract for my first duplex. Subject to home inspection, bank inspection and financing. Hoping for smooth sailing but I know a lot can happen so trying not to count chickens before they hatch. However, wanted to know experiences of investors in the timing of their rental advertising. I want to get tenants in ASAP for this tenant-ready, but presently unoccupied, two-unit -- so I have income coming in the same month as I have expenses coming in. When is the right time to begin posting advertisements, craigslist, etc?

Michael,

Certainly looks like it will cash flow - just depends on what your "required" per month/per unit cash flow is. I happen to like $200/month/unit when I am analyzing deals. Right around 20k/unit in total purchase expense is another sweet spot, and your deal looks to be in that range, which should bode well. One other thing, you may want to bump up the money on the down payment as that is just 25% of the mortgage, you may need 2.5% of the property expense in addition to the down payment amount for things like closing costs and pre-paids. But maybe you already factored that in! Good luck with the purchase!

Albany, Rochester, Buffalo.

Hello Everyone,
New to REI. Been researching for some time. Goal is kids college fund. Looking at upstate NY buy and holds in 50-100K range, doubles to 4 units. Hoping to make my first purchase(s) in June of this year and build a small portfolio in 18 months. Excellent credit, 15% DTI ratio and about 30K to work with liquid. Have learned a lot from BP forums so far and have not reached the tip of the iceberg. Would love to hear from successful buy and hold investors who utilized conventional financing, etc.