All Forum Posts by: Jacob Maes

Hey Sanjeev! I would agree with what the others are saying, for properties like what you're looking for, the midwest isn't terrible. Cash flow will be strong but appreciation might not be the greatest. I would Google the U.S. census for areas you're interested in to see what the increase in population has been as that will help tell you if people are moving there and you can try to scoop up some property before other investors do. 

As long as the numbers work even with HOA dues, it's a deal. I would also second that you should check what they HOA allows. A lot of times they won't really allow short term rentals. When I was looking, they required the shortest stay to be a month so wasn't a good fit for AirBnB type of stays. I would check that out! Best of luck!

I would check how you're comping your property. The comp you showed is 200 sq ft bigger with a big backyard. That would definitely influence price. 

I'm sure this post has been created a million times but I'm just curious. For all new investors, if you could give one piece of advice, what would would you advise? Maybe something you wish you knew that you learned the hard way when you started. 

What has been your greatest strategy to really scale your investment portfolio? I'm reaching out to those of you with a large portfolio that you grew very quickly (took less than 5 years) to the point where your residual income from those properties is enough to retire (in this case I'll say greater than $6500 per month in positive cash flow). I think a lot of us would really like to know how to scale quickly and looking for some different strategies. 

Most beginners will a lot of times wing it and learn as they go, but if you're looking to create a budget that's much better. Once you get a budget put together I would also recommend creating a timeline for when the project will be done so that you know if you're on budget as well as on schedule. 

A lot of times if someone has been a tenant for a while the landlord doesn't increase rent to market value. I see this all the time where market rent is x but the tenant is paying well below that number. Since you are looking to buy, it wouldn't hurt to have an agent help you find those numbers as they can look on the MLS. The agent on the buying side is paid from the seller, so hiring an agent to help doesn't cost you anything.

I'm curious what peoples biggest barrier to entry was/is to getting into investing in RE and what you did to overcome that issue? 

There are a few different ways to determine rehab. You could potentially bring a contractor you trust, tell them what you envision, and have them give you a rehab estimate. Typically here in Dallas, when we need to get a rough idea we will multiply the square footage by 25 if it's mainly cosmetic, and if there is a lot of majors that need work, we will multiply it by 35-40 a square foot. If you're looking too do a super high end flip you would put more but being East Tennessee I would stick with 25 or the 35-40 a square foot if you're needing a rough idea. 

If you're looking to buy and hold, I don't really see a reason not to buy. If you were looking to flip it might be a little different but since you're going to hold just buy. Sure, you might pay a little over what you could pay in a down market but if the property is in a good area with solid rent, just buy.