All Forum Posts by: David Elsea

Do you have a link to the BiggerPockets Atlanta Meetup page? Thanks!

Welcome from a fellow ATLian! :)

I've also recently started investing in real estate here in Atlanta. Learning a lot through trial-and-error, and of course the BP site! It's an incredible resource! Looking forward to following your progress. Give a shoutout if you've got any questions!

Hello there!

I've also recently started investing/landlording in Atlanta, myself! I've learned a lot through trial-and-error, and of course the BP site! Give a shoutout if you have any questions!

It sounds like you almost just want to rent out individual rooms - not the entire house - since you'll be living there too. This may actually help, as you'll constantly be on-site to "manage" the property. I would just be sure to include certain guidelines for the "common areas" living room/kitchen/baths - to include things like "quiet hours" or to clean up after oneself (kitchen prep, etc). Of course, since you're technically just renting a room, you may not be able to charge as much. Also, you need to be aware of how the dynamics of the living situation may change if one person moves out and another moves in. Some people may not be too keen on living with strangers (or a constantly changing crowd) - be sure that all bedroom doors have locks on them, for your tenant's piece of mind (and that you have master keys to all, naturally).

Renting out the entire house as a whole, and you living elsewhere (somewhere cheaper, of course) might be a smarter move, so you don't have to piece-meal everything quite so much. But it's up to you and the standard tenant for your area. Are people renting rooms, or full houses?

I would recommend checking out: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/27/tenant-screening/ - the screening stuff is way at the bottom, but the whole article has some VERY useful information!

Standard background/credit checks will be fine. And even though it'll be (presumably) the parents that will pay the rent, I would at least do a criminal background check on the actual tenants, as you don't want any illegal activity going on. Also, I'm not sure how evictions would work (heaven forbid) if parents are paying but students are living there; eg: Parents have signed the lease as the "tenant" but students are the ones living there, not sure of legality/liability issues if that comes up, since lease wouldn't technically be in the student's names. Claims and other issues may be tricky on that count. Just be sure and have wording in the lease to address that specific circumstance/dynamic.

How many students are you looking to rent to? And as Jon references, students may not be interested in leasing through the summer (unless they happen to be taking summer classes) so you have to decide if you want to lock them/their parents in for a full year lease, or potentially have a couple "dead" months between semesters when no one is renting the place out.

The house being under a mortgage shouldn't be an issue. As long as you've got a lease, you can essentially rent out anything! If possible, try and have the rents cover the mortgage cost, but depending on your area it may not be possible. My recommendation is to have a main "contact" person, even if multiple students will be renting the property, who is responsible for providing a single rental check each month (so you don't have to deal with multiple "tenants" and their excuses for why their individual portion of rent is late or separate maintenance issues, etc). Also, being college, kids, I may suggest putting in some clauses to protect against damage, as the property may be used a bit rougher than a family or else have a bigger security deposit to compensate. Hope this helps!

So, here's the deal:

There's a building in my neighborhood that I pass by everyday. It is an 8-plex and has been visibly abandoned (but not run-down) for quite some time. I've always thought what a cash cow it would be to purchase it and rent the units out (Each unit is a 2-story 2/1 townhome, essentially).

Well, lo and behold, I noticed that it's finally for sale!! ...except not entirely. Due to zoning, the single building actually has two addresses. Four units belong to one "side" and four to the other. Only 4 units are being sold (currently) even though one owner owns both sides.

The price is reasonable, even though there will be some minimal drywall repair/paint and replace A/C units that would need to be done to make the units rent-ready.

Question is, is it a good deal or could it just be taking a huge risk for a headache down the road? (I can only afford one side anyway, so it's not like I could just "double" my offer and try to buy both "units").

Pros are that it would cash-flow magnificently. Good layout/space. Nice neighborhood.

Cons I see is that the owner wants someone else to fix up half the property, to improve/raise the value and then sell the other half at an inflated rate (worst-case to a different buyer) or, even if I was able to buy the second half, it would cut into profits for the value I already gave to it; Or that they'll just leave it vacant, making renters wary of living next to an "abandoned" apartment.

It's also listed as a commerical property, so I know taxes/insurance would be higher than on a smaller multi-family. Pro/Con? Who knows.

I am in no rush to move forward on this - I'd need to save up for a down-payment anyway... Just wanted to get some opinions on whether this may be a good idea, or unless I can buy "100%" of a property, I should just pass it by.

Thanks!!

Hello everyone! My name is David Elsea and I am 24 years old. I am still relatively new to the Atlanta area, and purchased my first duplex almost a year ago. (Thanks Mom & Dad for teaching me about savings and having a good credit score so this was possible so young!)

My partner and I are currently living in one side while renting out the other. This helps both to pay down the mortgage, and the money we're saving by not paying the full amount out-of-pocket, we're putting towards a down-payment for our next place.

Our immediate goals are to own/manage a number of smaller unit places (duplex, triplex, four-plex). After we have gathered what we deem to be a "comfortable" cushion of funds and have streamlined the management process, we will either buy a long-term single-family home for ourselves and rest on the properties we have, or make the jump to a 6- or 8-plex to increase our income exponentially, depending on our circumstances at the time.

We both work full-time (which makes renting/renovations interesting, to say the least). After our cashflow matches (at minimum) my current salary, I would quit and manage properties full-time. I do not plan/expect for real-estate to become our sole source of income at any point - only a hefty supplementation. I do not currently have any official real-estate agent licensing or property-management skills. I'm learning everything as I go.