All Forum Posts by: Matt M.

Great advice everybody. You dont think disallowing smoking will lower my chances of a tenant? I think it will to a point.. but I think it will keep my list of tenants to a higher "grade" and will hopefully help keep things calm and in good shape.

Also, pets.. I've thought about doing weight limits and 'meet and greets' before I allow pets to move in. I know its tough to find places, let alone NICE places that allow pets, so I think I'm going to try capitalizing on that fact.

I'm really on the wall about this one, because lots of people smoke (eww... absolutely hate it...), and lots of people have pets and refuse to separate from them. And I think not allowing those 2 might narrow my potential tenants. I am pretty positive I will NOT allow smoking, because it stinks, its messy, it makes everything dirty, and its a bear to clean out. And Pets destroy stuff, create liabilities, trash the yard, and can destroy the house.

Some of the properties I'm looking at I've noticed have huge fenced in yards, so that would be a GREAT selling point for tenants... but I dont think I want to deal with cleaning, messes, pooh, and the liability of bites....

Input?

Thanks Al! I've seen your posts around and noticed you tend to give good advice. I dont believe I have seen your blog though, so I am going to check that out right now.

I am feeling very confident of looking for my first property, and am more excited than I've probably ever been about anything.

The main catch of my desire for multi rentals is the fact that IF there is nobody else living there, I make enough to maintain my "monthly rent" to the bank; I have a place to call home where I'M the boss; and i could potentially make money in the future if I have to sell off. The area's I'm looking in c ertainly do have demand; I dont think that will be much of an issue, especially after I mold this place into the apartment I envision.

Good info, appreciated.

Believe me, I spend all day, every day @ work crunching numbers and researching. I've been crunching numbers and researching potential prospects the past 6mos or so. And about 3 of the units that I would classify myself as "highly interested in" are STILL for sale.. hint hint, nudge nudge.

In fact, the numbers I've came up with on an owner occupied 4plex would net me somewhere around an extra $25-30,000/year. Of course, this is after repairs, and a best case scenario of the 3 other units being occupied.

Lynn- those are my thoughts as well, saving that money in the bank if I can get a loan with no/minimal downpayment. I'd much rather have it "incase".

Jon- with the price I can pick these rentals up for, I could live by myself for all eternity in them and not worry about a renter coming in to pay my note. Does that mean I want to? Hell no... I'm doing this to make money, not have a large useless property sitting around. BUT, with that being said, since the monthly principle will be so low on the properties I'm looking at, its terribly easy to break-even, thus being terribly easy to make net income.

What excellent replies! Thanks a ton guys.

so is it wise to try and get the entire property funded by the loan, or is it wise to lose my $30k to downpayment/repairs/etc? If I can find a home for <$100k, I will have a 30yr note paid off in a good 5years with the prices I can bring in on said rentals.

Building in areas of growth.. good advice. I guess that pretty much summarized a short answer for me.

Mark,
Would a VA loan be a better rate/guarantee of money over say, an FHA loan? Will rates be any different, or the possibility of qualifying for a loan be any different between single home/complex? In my research, I've come to understand that qualifying for a multi-unit live-in would be *easier* than a single family home, because the bank knows I'll have income (so long as tenantship can be proven)

I'm not too worried about the hours; I get out of work @ 3:30pm, and have all night and all weekend to work on the home.

I guess what I'm asking is, is there a "cap" to the appreciating costs? IE, if the property costs $60,000 to purchase, is there a "cap" to how much it appreciates or will it keep on appreciating every year?