All Forum Posts by: Dennis Cosgrave

From my perspective, California is not a good place to invest in real estate; niether is New York or Illinois. All three of those states have serious financial issues and taxes are only going to go higher which does not bode well for price appreciation in the future. Texas is a good state as is Florida and the Carolinas. I would definitely sell in California ASAP and get out of the state. 

As far as purchasing anything, you need to assess your own skills before deciding on a course of action. Do you own your own home now and are you capable of managing the home on your own? If you have no experience, I would start small. Buy a duplex or a triplex and if your circumstances allow, live in one of the units and rent out the rest. You will learn first hand what it takes to manage property and tenants. 

You have to be careful with metering water to the tenants. In some states, if the water bills are unpaid, not only is the water  shut off but outstanding bills can be added on to your property tax bill. I suspect that you have one of two problems. Either there is a leak in the water line between the water meter and the building or you might have problems with running toilets. Both those potential issues need to be investigated. 

If you have access to that kind of cash, I would buy an apartment building, unless you are new to this. I would then start with a duplex or a triplex until you have some experience. I would definitely not pay cash. I would buy with 20% down.

Managing 10 SFR's is more demanding than you think. You can hire a property manager but if you have no experience how can you determine if the property manager is doing a good job?

You have not provided much detail about the rental. Does your advertising accurately describe the property you are renting? If not, prospective tenants could be disappointed because their expectations have not been met. I might suggest you call a real estate agent and inquire what the rents for comparable properties are in the area. Then you will know for certain if the rent is priced at market value. You might also want to go and look at your competition and see what they are offering and how it compares to your property.