All Forum Posts by: Harrison Lopes

@Jake Drappi

Currently I'm in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia where you can still pick up some solid duplexes in mid to high $100k. I'd call it a C area so you'll have to be willing to put in the work (property and tenant) to turn in a profit.

$80k - $200k is the range I'm comfortable with based off my current budget, therefore that's what I'm looking for in Jax. There are a few duplexes in the MLS in north Springfield and near Moncrier, but after driving around there today, I'm not convinced they are good plays at this moment. Will have to do more research and dig deeper. If you have any insight, please do share!

@Mark Fries, I certainly will. The goal is to purchase a property in Jax by the end of the quarter (hopefully sooner!).

Back when I first got started with an SFH house hack, I rented out the other rooms to both genders with no issues just because it was mixed. Like some have said on here, it's more about actual qualities: cleanliness, pays on time, excessive use of common space vs I stay in my room mostly, introverts vs extroverts, does someone like to cook a lot (they better clean too!), social habits, etc. etc.

I got a feel for these things during our walk throughs, interviews, and social media research. I had amazing male tenants who went on to be lifelong friends and I've had amazing female tenants who turned out to be more like sisters (we had some really fun chats comparing notes about our respective dating lives at the time). I also had disaster tenants of both genders too. I also roomed with an individual who had a different sexual orientation than me with no issues.

Short story, I found the actual qualities/vibe of the individual to be more important than their genders.

Either way, best of luck brother!

After some preliminary market analysis, Jacksonville seems to hit the sweet spot for me on several metrics. I'm a Miami-based residential (and hopefully soon, commercial) real estate investor and would love to transition to Jacksonville. I typically buy B-- to C class properties with the intention of improving them with moderate rehab + rent increases. In my current market I buy SFH and duplexes for around $80k - $200k.

Are there any Jax neighborhoods that sound similar to what I described above? I've researched and am planning a couple visits to Jacksonville next month but would love some boots on the ground insight beforehand. I'd also appreciate any insight on how you screen Jax-based property management companies, general contractors, and realtors. Anything unique to Jax I should be aware of when it comes to building a team there?

@Dave Foster, thanks for the heads up on the PA taxes. I wasn't aware that PA didn't recognize 1031 exchanges!

Hi BP Community,

I'm interested in folks' input on whether the below is a good idea and if they have had experience doing what I'm thinking about.

First some background...I purchased a condo shell for $25K (cash) a few years back. We did a full renovation and legally converted it to a duplex and it has been cash flowing nicely since. While the money coming in is good, I feel a little stuck...as if I have plateaued with my RE portfolio and now might be the time sell it and use the proceeds to invest in a bigger property with more than two units (potentially bigger cashflow).

This idea hit me when I was browsing Trulia and realized that my property value was around $105k. Other comparables also were valued around that price. Therefore, since I paid all cash for my property, selling it could potentially net me proceeds of, let's say, $75K. Which I could then use with a 1031 exchange to invest in a property with many more units. Basically using the sale of my duplex to upgrade my unit total.

Therefore my questions are a) Those this sound like a good idea, b) if so, where do I even begin when it comes to looking for multi-unit properties for sale, c) are there forums on BP that have already gone in depth regarding this strategy and what it takes to manage a multi-unit (more than two) building?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Take care!

@Max T. 

That's roughly correct. Most of the work was done by either myself, family, or close friends who were contractors (i.e. discount).

Great point Kenneth! I purchased the property in 2014 for $25,000. Throw in another $2,000 for closing costs and $25,000 for renovations it was pretty much a shell, and needed work to get it from SFR to duplex; by work I mean reno, licensing, permitting, etc.).

If it's fair, I am going to take this month's cash flow and multiply by 12. Earlier in the year we completed an eviction so while, in reality my CoC won't be great this year, I want to see what things will look like from here on out, now that I have two solid tenants.

Therefore my predicted annual rental income (June 2020 - June 2021) would be $5,579.52. 

CoCOI: 5,579.52/$52,000 = 10.7%

Of course, that's if this month roughly holds for the next 11 months. No longer a home run (10% = base hit, 12% = home run) but hey I'll take it.

@Kenneth Garrett, what do you think?

@Kenneth Garrett what do you think?

Hello BP Community,

Brandon Turner often says on his webinars that +$100/unit is a base hit, +$200/unit is a home run, and +$300/unit is a grand slam. I love that rule of thumb so much, I actually have it posted on my wall! I was also curious to see how one of my properties compared to this rule of thumb/analogy.

In 2014, I purchased a duplex for cash and renovated it. I've been renting both units out pretty steady and am sharing last month's numbers below. Based off Brandon's rule of thumb, I'm hitting well over a home run...almost a grand slam (perhaps a 2-run homer?). My instinct is this might be too good to be true...but perhaps I've lucked out and done a solid job on this property... 

If any of you are up for it, I'd like for you to check out my numbers and let me know if you believe I am making errors via underestimating some expenses or if I'm missing any expenses.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

Unit #1

Rental Income: $950.00

Mgmt Fee: ($66.50)

Electricity: TENANT PAYS

Unit #2

Rental Income: $675.00

Mgmt Fee: ($47.25)

Electricity: ($21.72)

Combined Expenses

Gas: ($70.46)

Water: (98.15)

Property Tax: (78.42)

Insurance: (100.83)

Save for Income Tax: ($260.21) [I take the profit up to this point, and multiply it by -.25. Yes, super conservative, but I rather have a surplus at the end of the year :)]

Save for Capital Exp: ($150.00) [Ballpark figure using Brandon's The Book on Rental Property Investing, Chapter 5)

Save for Repairs: ($162.50) [10% of income]

Save for Vacancy: ($104) [Income multiplied by -.064, the vacancy rate of the city]

CASHFLOW: $464.96 = $232.48/unit

So there you have it thanks for taking the time to read a long post. Am I truly in home run/grand slam territory? Am i missing an expense or underestimating some of my "save for" items?

Sincerely,

Harrison

Thanks John!