All Forum Posts by: David Lyons

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $325,000
Cash invested: $22,000

This is a 4/3 in 25 miles north of Atlanta. I generate $2,000 a month by renting out just two bedrooms on Airbnb, without sharing any common areas with guests.

There are definitely tax experts who do that.   And most CPA's aren't savvy enough in tax strategies specific to Real Estate to be able to do that.  Find a tax strategist and/or CPA who specializes in Real Estate and specifically tax strategy for their clients. 

@Joshua Jones that's an absurd price for a bathroom.  I just finished a complete basement remodel.   I added a kitchen from scratch (had to install a new electrical sub-panel), kitchen cabinets, water line and drain for the sink, a couple walls, a couple closets, new floor, paint, some new fixtures and a bathroom remodel and it came out to $35k total.  

I didn't use a general contractor.   I subbed the electrical and plumbing out to reputable contractors.  I had another skilled handyman (Specializes in tile, but does other stuff as well) do the rest.

A simple bathroom for a rental property should cost you around $5k-$7k in SE or MW.  Maybe a little more if it's bigger than 100 sq ft or your doing high end finishes for a flip.

Did he give you breakdown of the quote? You should ask for a breakdown by line item for labor & material.  Anything that seems high, look up online what it should cost.  Or get a quote from a sub-contractor - Thumbtack is a great resource to find them. 

@Caleb Heimsoth credit score is 720 (didn’t  see it officially until I got a second quote yesterday). Is that low? 

I was quoted 4.75% and 3 points on a $127,500 loan (25% down on $170k purchase) Trying to figure out if that's competitive or not. 

My credit score is good-great, in the 680 - 720 range. I have no debt.  I won't say my income but will say I qualified for up to $220k price on an investment property and $350k on a personal residence. So at $170k purhcase pirce, my debt-to-income on this property is very healthy.

The interest rate seems pretty good for an investment property but I was surprised by the 3 points.  Is that normal.

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What questions should I ask a buyers agent when “interviewing” them?

Have any recommendations for investor friendly agents in Atlanta?

@Ashish Acharya Super helpful advice. What are some of the apps that automatically link receipts to QB transactions?  

@Dan Mahoney Thanks for the insight.  Question for you.. are all areas eligible for section 8 housing?  For example does Atlanta Housing provide section 8 vouchers for homes in Hapeville?  Is it specific to the county or within Atlanta city limits?  

@Rick Baggenstoss Thanks for the insight.  Yes, I definitely hear you on tedious inspection process.  I read 'The Section 8 Bible' and it has a lot of strategies to hack this process, which you can sum up as eliminating everything that is not needed to pass an inspection before a tenant breaks it, which can in turn cost you money and to fail an inspection. 

I am attracted to section 8 because of the guaranteed payment, particularly in low income areas that fit my purchase price budget where good tenants may be hard to find and in the event of a downturn the risk seems much lower.  Any thoughts on if that is a reasonable point of view?