All Forum Posts by: Huy Le

@Robb Stubenvoll not only does it add value and help your tenant(s) feel safer, but it also helps bring down the cost of insurance down by a bit!

Hi Robb, I personally have the Ring system installed at my house and I have to say that it's pretty nice and I would recommend it. You can have it professionally monitored (which I decided to opt out of) if you'd like. The nice thing about the Ring system is that you can customize it; you can buy more Ring security devices (for windows, doors, cameras, etc.) and link it all into on big system. You can also change the sensitivity of the doorbell, it's pretty neat. I would recommend getting your system at Costco. Good luck!

@Alyssa Strom can you/Bruce make the event public? Because I went to the link and I see a "This Content Isn't Available Right Now" on the main page. I'm assuming it's because it's being shared with a small private group. please advise. thanks!

@Dan H. there's a funny story behind it, we actually bought the house with cash. this was how I was introduced to REI actually. we purchased the house and started collecting rent in full (minus TI & PM cost). return wise, after TI & PM cost it's about 7% return, so not exactly the ideal 8% return; but our tenants pay rent on time every month and they're wonderful and really nice people. our PM is wonderful, if you (or anyone) in the Houston area is interested, I can pass along her info. And you're right, it wasn't analyzed AT ALL. Rent doesn't meet the 1% rule, but the 1% rule (or any other % rule) is a rule of thumb. i'd rather take a 7% with good responsible tenants than 9+% with terrible tenants.

This is an obvious advice, but do your research!

My mom and I bought an investment property in Houston, TX and we're currently renting it out and it's doing great! We found an amazing PM and she takes care of EVERYTHING. She even shopped around for an insurance company for us (idk if that's normal or not). the House is a SFH with 3bds/2bths and rent is 1350/month which we bought for 155k. honestly, the cash flow is good and the risk is very low (minus the covid shenanigan that's been going on)

I own and live in a house in Minneapolis, MN that's also 3bds/2bths and if I were to rent it out, I'd say rent would be around 1350/month too, but the house was 50k more expensive than the one in Houston. and my house is considered to be in a bad area.

it's all up to you & your method of investment. for example, if I want to continue buying and renting out then I would focus in TX but if I want to flip/BRRRR then I would focus locally in MN.

long story short, focus on your method, check your budget, then choose you market/location.

@Sisiley Bao I agree with what @Armin Nazarinia said above about driving around. Before I bought my first property, I would drive around the neighborhood at night (sounds creepy, but hear me out) and see if you'd be comfortable walking around your neighborhood at night. Everyone's definition of "safe" is very different, so go out there and see what you and your husband are comfortable with.

1. someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but you can only have 1 FHA loan at a time. There are other types of loans you can get for your property here.

2. Again, drive around to see what you're comfortable with. all of those cities you listed are great, but if you're considering MPLS, then look at the different neighborhoods. It's like 10 different cities in Minneapolis.

good luck and welcome to Minnesota!!! :)

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $205,000
Cash invested: $41,000

1,500 SF 1922 Dutch Colonial SF house; 3BD & 2BTH. Currently living here with my partner and our three pets; we're not renting the other 2 rooms right now due to Covid, but hoping to find tenants soon to help offset mortgage payments. There's not much to fix around the house, but we'll find small projects here and there to work on to keep the house up to date. Planning on buying another house next year to move to, and rent out the one we're currently in.

How did you finance this deal?

I've been working 2 jobs for the past 3 years, saved every single dollar and made and invested all of it into this property.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Nick was wonderful to work with; I would definitely recommend him to all first time home buyers (https://www.nickarcher.com/)

Oh, I didn't know that. That was super helpful, thank you!

Sorry to hear that man. But $1600-$1700/month on your property?? Exactly which C-class neighborhood is this in? My house is in North Minneapolis, and I think I'd be lucky to rent out this place for anything more than $1,300/month.

I'd say so. it's two houses down from where I live and it's a recent flip; so everything is up to code and good to go. better than the house I'm in actually. i've taken up a side hustle, so hopefully I'll get there sooner!!! thanks for the advice.