All Forum Posts by: Mike Seluk

So what do you do in MA then? I mean, it's the same thing here in FL, and the only thing I can think of is to come to the table with enough cash to make the numbers work...but then you have a bunch wrapped up in it.

But I'm talking about putting ~30k into the equasion, not 100k+.

Hey, that's pretty interesting. I was expecting to hear that it was a ridiculous question, but that does make sense. Thanks.

I know this might be an odd thing to ask, but would it be abnormal to try and get a deal when paying off a mortgage? I figure it IS normal to submit low offers going into the deal, why not on the other end (the difference is WHO is accepting the low offer, I'd think)?

I guess what I'm asking is, are lenders hurting bad enough that they'd cut you a deal just to get the remainder of what you owe in their possesion?

I've never heard of that happening, but I though I'd ask.

I know it's almost the middle of Feb now, but I've been thinking about this and wanted to do something helpful, but realistic.

So for me, it's to attend a local REIA meeting and ask experienced people about the local rental market. I have a lot of questions about the area itself. How much are rents around here? Vacancies/turnover rates? I'd like to see if/how people are still able to make properties cash flow around here, even though things are still expensive.

So when you run into that, do you just move on to the next area, or try to put down enough to make it cash flow? Or is it a waste to tie up that kind of cash?

Where I am, things are still too expensive to make it work in my favor - and the market IS down. I'd have to be able to acquire something for ~40% below market value to get the numbers in the ballpark.

That why I like your replies, Mike - they're very much 'right-to-the-point'!

BTW - I was reading some of your posts in the renters forum and sheesh...there's some crazy stuff you're dealing with! I got nothing but respect for you!

Thanks for the replies everyone.

This is my only place, and it's where I live. I have no roommate or anything, so the only cashflow is the mortgage I pay (I have no other properties at the moment). Is that 'losing' money? I mean, it does go to the bank, but when I sell the place, I get it back. Is it 'just' an opportunity cost?

And Mike - you're right, I don't fully understand cashflow yet, which is why I'm asking the stuff that I'll probably laugh at down the road. But I'd rather do it this way than by just buying something and finding out that I screwed up real bad.

I've been reading on here for some time now, and the thing that opened up my eyes the most was just how much it 'costs' to rent. Seeing how the expenses pile up was like a smack in the head - I NEVER thought that you'd be able to get a place for a price low enough to provide positive cash flow after expenses. And I guess that's one of the tricks to making this work.

I currently live in a condo that costs $800/mo for PITI and HOAs. The rental comps are $750 on the low side, $850 on the high side. It's break-even at best, but being realistic, it's not really going to make me money if I rent it out.

I'm looking to buy another place soon. If I got a place that was, for example, $550/mo to carry (I'm looking at small SFHs, a good DP and no HOAs), I'd be looking at $1350/mo.

If I rented out the condo for $750, I'd be losing $50/mo on that end, but would have reduced my monthly expenses by $200. Overall, I think the situation would be better that where I am now, but am I lying to myself in a way? I mean, losing $50 is losing $50.

Is this really just a dumb question because I might be able to make more renting out the house? I do NOT, right now, know what rents are for SFHs in the area I'm looking into.

That's VERY low from what I hear! I think mine is still rather low, too... My brother in Houston is getting railroaded on his though...I think his are probably twice what mine are.

There are roughly 450 units in my development, and they keep the place looking nice all the time. They do a very good job around here, so I'm *OK* with it. Not OK enough to buy another place in here, but close.

Well, I'm in a condo community that has a guard at the gate 24 hours a day. Monthly fee here is $220/mo, and I got a notice that it would stay there for this year.