All Forum Posts by: Yinan Q.

@Eddie Lawal, to make the best choice, I think first you need to ask yourself this question:

Which is more important to you, positive cash flow or cash in hand to invest?

If cash flow is what you need, refinance the 100k mortgage to a 30-yr. This is reduce your monthly payment quite a bit and increase your cash flow.

If you want to have some cash so that you can invest elsewhere, do a 30-yr cash out refi and take the equity out.

Just my 0.02

@Jason Clark, congratulations on your purchase! I am glad you landed your first real deal.

From what you said it sounds like you are going to hold it long term. I am sure you've done your homework on the numbers but are you looking for cash flow or appreciation or maybe both? 

@Michael Bangsal, welcome!. make sure you check out the podcasts, tons of good information there.

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing your finished product.

I have looking at a house on a large piece of land that I am thinking to sub-divide and build new homes on. I researched on this topic on BP for a while and there are a few questions I couldn't find answers for. 

So the land is about 1.2 ac and zoned R-4. The land is adjacent to lands zoned R-6 and R-8 on three sides. The existing house takes about 1/3 of the land to meet the setback requirements. Here are my questions:

• Since it's zoned R-4, theoretically I can subdivide the lot and build 3 three houses. Do the new lots have to be relatively equally sized or they can be any sizes as long as the setbacks and land coverage ratios are satisfied.
• When calculating the land coverage ratio, is road and public area (walkways, playground, etc.) included? Or it's strictly the lot the house sit on?
• How difficult (or easy) it is to get it re-zoned? Since this particular lot is next to R-6 and R-8 zoning, maybe it makes re-zoning a little easier?

I am planning to talk to the City's planning department and I want to be as prepared as possible. Any advice you can give will be appreciated.

@Tim Porsche, you've got a lot good advice from other BPers. I would just add one point. To me it also depends on the natural of the rehab. 

I'd be my own GC if all it needs is a coat of paint and new carpet, maybe a new roof. Anything more than that I'd hire a GC.

@Marcus Wallace, they say real estate is local, they also say all investors are different. So whether is it a good deal or not really depend on where you are and what you want.

It's probably a good deal if all other houses that demand a $1,400 monthly rent are selling for 160k or higher. You said the FMV is about 160k so 20% discount is a pretty good deal and there are several ways you can make money out of it. You can either buy and hold or just flip it and make a few thousands.

It should be fairly easily to figure out your returns with different exist strategies. Then you can tell if it is a good deal for you or not. For me, I will jump to it all day long.

 Agree with you 100 percent. Buy low and sell high you will never lose, that's true for stock, real estate, or anything. The real questions is how to tell when is a good time to enter and when to exit. That's why think you need a deep pocket to invest on appreciation. That deep pocket will make sure you survive the unforeseeable downturn. Those who are not prepared for that get wiped out during the downturn, like the one who had to sell in 2010.

 I'd say timing is everything for this case. Just think about what happened to the previous seller if he/she bought in 2005 and sold in 2010. He/she probably didn't have to sell if he/she had a deeper pocket.

@Joseph Daugert, any many have pointed out, zillow is not always accurate but it gives you the ballpark. 

Another way to use zillow is to look at the "for rent" listings in the area you are interested in and see what the listing for rent prices for different types of properties. I also use craigslist the same way.