All Forum Posts by: Curtis Bowery

@Jaysen Medhurst, that was one flag I saw and I talked with him about it; he is a builder and needs to free up these houses to make room for other construction. He has a good relationship with the tenants and knows that he would have to send them packing if he sold for retail. He would hope I can keep renting to them if I buy. 

I am new to the business. I have an opportunity to buy two 10 year old rental houses for $110,000 each. They both appraised for $145,000. They were constructed with 30 year roofs and are solid homes. The renters in them now are currently paying $700/mo and have lived in each since built (the same extended family occupies each one). The insurance will be $740/yr and taxes $550 on each. Market rent in our area for these is $900...

Question: Is this a good investment? Depending on the market, I don't plan to keep them longer than 6 years because it will probably be getting time to replace things, and especially if it is not renting for 1%. If it is a good investment, how should I set up a mortgage (term and credit/points). Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks @Alex Smith! I am going to tour the house this afternoon. It'll be my first deal, so pretty excited. Hopefully it all comes together...

That's a good point @Luke Carl! 

@Theresa Harris

The market is $950-1100 per month. I thought about raising it to $850 for 6-12 months and then $950 after that term... Then re-evaluating market conditions after the second year.

New investor here in need of advice... I came across a deal on two rental homes that each value for ~$145k and the asking price is $110k on each. The builder completed the homes in '08 and rented them out instead of selling when the market turned south. Both have been lived in by the same renters since new. There rent is currently $650 because it has not gone up in a decade. The homes are ~1230 sq ft, 3 bed 2 bath with a carport. I live in a rural area outside Chattanooga, TN. The current owner is looking to free up his mortgage on them and focus on building other homes which is why he is selling below market value. 

My questions is... how should I go about raising the rent without losing quality tenants? Thanks in advance for any help!