All Forum Posts by: Emily Bolander

@Emily Bolander If you are looking to learn a lot on your first rental, this would be the one. But it will come with a lot of headaches, little doubt. Structural issues may or may not be a big deal. Sagging floors are common - is it because the floor joists are weak or cracked (usually easily fixed with beams and sistering) or is the foundation itself eroding, which can be a big deal. Personally, I would start with something in a neighborhood with better price support and potential appreciation. This one might be a lot of work for a little return, unless you plan to rapidly build your portfolio and get professional management.

Oh, and I doubt if any contractor worth his salt will bother with a walk through for $50, unless s/he is anticipating getting a lot of work for it. And make sure that person understands structural issues and how to address them.

@Emily Bolander the grade of the neighborhood is subjective. You hear that language often bc its gives a relative picture for investors to talk about the property or area (as was helpful in this thread).

Best way to think about this is 

A class- "Id like to live there"

B class- "Im okay to live there. "

C class- "id live there if times were hard. "

D class- "Id never live there." 

E,F, F (whatever you want to call it)- "id rather be dead."

Sounds like you and your husband are hard workers and not scared to get your hands dirty. Take that mindset and go look for this same property but in a C or B class neighborhood. That way you get the cash flow and the appreciation over time. I don't think there is enough cash flow from a $500 per month duplex that would justify the future headaches of this property. 

Best of luck. 

Ellis Hammond

Sounds like a good way to talk em down to 18 grand ! I love deals like this . Get yourself a contractor pay him 50 bucks to walk through the place taking notes and assessing the situation . Use any deferred maintenance as a leverage tool to reduce the price . 20 grand investment to make 1000 a month is a no brainer I don’t care if it depreciates over time or it’s in the hood  or it’s uglier than sin dipped in misery . Some welfare loser on section 8 is crossing his fingers ,hoping everyday he can live in a dump like that ! Landlords that invest in the ghetto make a fortune on deals like this all the time . There’s a fella in my area that bought up deals like this all the time for next to nothing . He has over 300 units in town and is a multimillionaire many times over by doing so 

I completely disagree with @Dennis M.  Not that it may not be a good deal, it's just not a good deal for a newbie.  Stick to B and C class areas where there's a good STABLE rental pool.  For B/H very little of your money will be made on "forced appreciation" (since you're keeping the property).  Your revenue will come from renters.  D class renters are constantly playing the game of "how to get out of paying rent."  I don't know where this is located, but at a minimum, be in a state that favors landlords in rental disputes, otherwise you're just providing someone a free place to live.  

@Emily Bolander

Emily I'd be super super careful with structural related items for someone that has never done it.  You can do it, but you need to be a problem solver have some thick skin, in many cases.

Also, in some cases your hands may be tied from a regulatory perspective.  My advice for people related to structural experience, is get the experience, but get it with a project/property where your rent (financial assumptions) doesn't depend on this project.  Often you can find something that maybe has a value add opportunity to re-do the footers on say a porch, or something to that effect.  Sure the porch is leaning a little, and needs to be corrected, but it's not a life safety issue or going to effect your ability to rent the unit.  

THEN you can get the experience you NEED, but not be 'under the gun'.