All Forum Posts by: James Syed

@Marci Stein Your time is worth something. Hire a dependable property manager or buy something near by.

You won't be able to keep up with day to day management, repair & maintenance work being 4 hours away.

Hope it helps.

@Brendan O. Why do you have to put 20% down for single family? You could buy single family fha as well, right?

@Ana Adler Thanks for responding.

Based on your response, multifamily (2-4 units) is better for you because your cash flow will be better. There are some expenses like trash, insurance, lawn care, which are pretty much fixed (very small change) therefore when you buy more units, let's say 4 units, your cash flow will be much better than a SFR.

Most investors shoot for $100 per unit when investing multifamily. Of course it depends where you are.

I have been to San Antonio once in 2011. I really liked this town. I had a chanced to look at 4-5 fourplexes there, but didn't find any great deals unfortunately. I currently own 2 duplexes and 2 single family rentals.

Good luck and keep asking questions and learning that's what I did too.

James

@Robert Kriedermann My simple response will be to contact a good real estate attorney and take care of this matter. I agree with @Jon Holdman how could this person touch ESCROW MONEY? Escrow means funds can't be touched until closing.

It' a lot of money. I wouldn't take it easy. Again contact a good real estate attorney.

Hope it helps.

@Ana Adler Welcome to BP, Ana.

If cash flow (buy & hold) is your goal, 2-4 units is a clear winner. You will make more money in a long run.

If flip (fix & flip) is your goal, SFR might be better for you as there are more buyers in general for SFR.

If you could mention what type of investing you are looking for, you will probably get better answers / responses.

Hope it helps.

@Suzie Remilien Welcome to BP.

You will learn a lot here. Trust me. It's a great website. I thought I knew a lot, but after I joined here, sky was the limit.

@Matt Devincenzo Thank you Matt for pointing out the flip side as well. Because most owner occupied buyers will be paying more for it (most likely) since they would be looking at as their primary residence not as income only.

@Jeff Jenkins Unfortunately there is no silver bullet when it comes to real estate investing. Otherwise we all would be billionaires.

You must dig down for numbers (due diligence) before buying real estate. Rule of thumbs are just guidelines.

Hope it helps.

@Hector Trevino I just downloaded your file.

Your numbers look very good especially GRM of 4 I mean that's great for most areas. Having said that, I saw 0 closing cost. Even if it's a seller financing, someone has to pay for closing cost.

Again, it's a good purchase.

Hope it helps you. Good Luck.

@Kenneth Rogers For valuation purposes, consider both units for rental income. Pay rent as your mortgage as long as you occupy one unit and when you want to sell, you will reap the harvest.

Hope it helps.