All Forum Posts by: Greg Lott

I'm a complete newbie and own 0 properties. Currently, my biggest fear is buying a property that doesn't cash flow well and is a problem child. I'll do my best to mitigate this through research, but in the end, it still may happen. The best thing to come out of a situation like that is the overall learning experience. I learn best through failure. As Michael Jordan said, "I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Does anyone have any experience investing in the city of Harrisburg, particularly with multi-family homes? I've seen the rents float around $400-$700/month, and the property prices are low. The ROI looks good, even with slightly higher percentages set aside for vacancy (10%), maintenance (10%), and CapEx (12%), plus property management, which i don't plan to outsource.

What's your experience with the area? If you could start over, would you invest there again? Would you advise a newbie to steer clear or tell them it'd be worth a shot? What's your vacancy rate? Where (or approximately where) is/are your property(ies)?

Thank you all for the helpful advice. I will need to readjust my strategy and criteria slightly to put significantly less weight on built equity compared to CoC return.

Hi all.

I haven't made the plunge into buying my first property yet, however I'm working hard on the analyze phase. I've spent the last two weeks, at least an hour a day, most days probably 2 or 3, looking at properties and tweaking my analyzing spreadsheet to best show me my ROI.

One thing I haven't heard a TON about (I have heard it, but not nearly as often as CoC) is loan paydown/built equity (which I believe are the same thing? Correct me if I'm wrong). I've been finding properties where I get a CoC ROI usually between 6 and 12% in the area, even with somewhat conservative numbers and a 10% contingency tacked on top of my expenses and that didn't excite me tremendously. What I realized though, was that the tenant(s) would be paying down the loan, which would be cash in my pocket if/when I sell the property.

When I add in the loan paydown, my ROI jumps 10, 15, 20, even 25%, and goes up every year. Granted, this money doesn't help me until the property is sold, however I think it's important to include when looking over a property. I even put this number next to a 7% growth in the stock market to see how it would compare and most properties peak in their difference over the stock market around year 12-15 on a 30 year loan.

Do you include the loan paydown? If not, do you consider it and does it help sway your analysis one way or anther? Let me know your thoughts, and if I'm way out in left field here.

@Travis Wylie thanks! I'd love to know more about your property, where it's at, and your experience with it. I'll shoot you a pm if that's ok?

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. It's good to meet some like minded people, especially in my area. I look forward to interacting with you all as I move forward with my first and future properties. 

Hey everybody! I just recently got interested in real estate investing and have been binge watching bp videos and podcasts on youtube every chance I get. I'm looking for multi-unit buildings all over central PA. I'm currently looking at a triplex in Harrisburg itself. If you also invest in Harrisburg, I'd love to hear about your experience. I'd love to network.