All Forum Posts by: Ali Ahmed

@David Stumpf @Bjorn Ahlblad @John Warren Thanks for all your inputs. I got started on the renovation project and the popcorn ceiling was removed today. Plan is to get the work done in a week and start marketing the last week of August. Hoping we get tenants immediately.

My tenant vacated on Aug 1st and I am getting bids to do repairs/ upgrades. Currently there is carpet which i plan to change to tile and the bid came in at 3k. There are other miscellaneous repairs that are long due and needed (including painting) that amount to 4k. And there are some good to have items like granite counter tops, remove popcorn ceiling etc. Total renovation cost would go up to 10k if I were to do all of them but the rent increase I would see from previous rent collected is anywhere from 200 to 250 a month. Now, is there a formula to calculate how much one needs to spend vs rate of return in rents? I can definitely modify my list to replace carpet instead of doing tiles and exclude granite counter tops to maybe get 150 more in rent. Thoughts?

@Dulce Beltran Definitely a depreciating asset but only you know if it is the right decision to make. Everyone has their own things that they splurge on - travel, casinos, designer wear,etc. I have heard quite a few people who achieved FI early wished they slowed down and enjoyed a little. It might take a few extra years but atleast you enjoy life while achieving your long term goals. To me a Tesla is totally worth it and I may sound biased as I am an ev car lover. If you charge at home and have solar, you dont need to worry about the charge times as you wont be using the supercharger network unless you drive a lot everyday.

@Arif Siddiqi totally random, but I think I met you at a get together couple years ago. Good to meet you again on biggerpockets.

Originally posted by @Marisa R.:

You can do OK in Detroit, but you will need good property management, stick to SFH in the right neighbourhood.
My first one in this market 12 months ago cost me

$32,000

Rent $800 per month

Good neighbourhood, perhaps a C, but its probably worth closer to $50,000 today, according to Zillow? could be more as the market is moving

As always do your own homework, markets within markets of course

 Hi, What zipcodes would you recommend in Detroit? Also do you have a recommendation for a good property management company expirenced with Section 8?

Thanks for all your inputs.

@Dan WeberThe ROI numbers are definitely better with the franchise however time invested would be a lot more than real estate.

@Anthony Wick  and @Frank Wong I didn't know it would need that much time to start and set up a franchise. Clearly I am not ready to do this as I don't want to give up my day job yet.

@Account Closed Thats very helpful to know. May I ask what franchise you owned?

I have some funds saved up and ready to invest but confused about which path to take this time. Real estate investing has been great and once set up it is mostly passive and I am able to work my day job. However, I would like to try something new this time and invest in a franchise. I know it would involve more time that the former but it would be something that I always wanted to do. I plan to keep my day job but work is flexible so I can be involved in the franchise as needed. Have you been on the same boat and went the franchise way? If yes, do you regret your decision?

Originally posted by @Chad Hale:

@Ali Ahmed

How many units are you servicing?  How many machines do you need to lease?  Can you terminate the lease early for any reasons?  

Can they provide any hard data on the increased income when shifting to a credit/coin system?  Will they guarantee an increase?  Seems like you are taking more of the risk.

Which vendor are you working with?

I am leasing 2 units (1 washer & Dryer) from CSC Service works. I need to check with them about terminating the lease early. They did not provide any data about the increase in revenue for witching to coin/card based system.

@Chad Hale I am leasing 2 units (1 washer & Dryer) from CSC Service works. I need to check with them about terminating the lease early. They did not provide any data about the increase in revenue for witching to coin/card based system.

Hello folks, I am in the verge of signing a 4 year contract with my laundry service provider. Currently it is lease free and getting 80% commission from monthly earnings. I want to upgrade from a coin laundry system to coin/ credit card style machine. The company is offering a lightly used washer dryer with this facility and wants me to shift to a different plan. With the newly refurbished machines, they want the first $12.75 from each machine as rent and then a commission of 70% is sent to me. It does take a hit on my current earnings but they state that the earnings usually goes up when they have a credit card option. Do you have any idea in this area and if this seems like reasonable contract to get into for a 4 year term? Thanks in advance.