All Forum Posts by: Jim D.

It sounds like you are most nervous about knowing whether or not you are getting the right price. If that's the case, perhaps you could take all the specs and photos of the house to a couple realtors you trust and ask them if you can pay them $50 or something for an hour of their advice. I've never tried this, but I bet they'd be willing to offer an unbiased opinion for an hourly fee. (Just make it clear before you meet that you're not interested at all in being represented--otherwise they'll just want to bring you on as a client.) Just an idea.

Good luck!

Loving the thread. You guys are awesome. Keep it up!

I purchased an estate sale home last year, and after closing one of the neighbors informed me that while cleaning out the disaster inside the house, the brothers found two separate $10,000 stacks of hidden cash. You can bet I made a thorough investigation of the attic, vents, etc. but haven't struck gold yet.

I think it's a positive. There may be some percentage of renters who will avoid it if they're spooked, but I bet there's a higher percentage of renters who would really like it due to the extra space and less noise.

I don't think you need to draw the line and say you won't buy houses older than a certain age. Just need to be realistic and increase your repair budget appropriately based on the condition and age. Cast iron drain system or galvanized plumbing can cost a lot of money and headache, as well as all the other things mentioned above. Hire a very experienced inspector and ask them to be very thorough.

 If the numbers still make sense after increasing that budget generously, then go for it. Often these really old homes are in the parts of town that appreciate the most.

I've had mixed experience with this. Some units seem to be fine every 6 months. On the other hand, one of my houses has an HVAC unit that is sized a little too big for the house, and if I don't change the filter every two months it doesn't get enough airflow and the entire unit freezes up. 

I think unless you have a unique unit, every 2-3 months should be just fine. But going longer than that can cause some damage in some cases.

Is anyone here actively buying rentals to hold in the Salt Lake valley right now? I'm looking around and having a difficult time seeing anything that will cashflow at today's prices. Given the market fundamentals in the valley, I feel fairly confident that we'll have good steady appreciation in the future, but I'm not comfortable investing in anything that's going to have a negative cashflow.

If you are buying rentals right now in Salt Lake, how are you handling this?

10% down on a rental with no PMI? That almost sounds too good to be true--I'll have to give them a call and get the details.

Since HELOCs are just held in-house at the bank (they're not sold on the secondary market like first mortgages are), the rules really just depend on which bank you're working with. The most aggressive lender I could find in my city would go up to 80% LTV on investment properties, but I have never asked them about owner-occupied multi-units.

Take the 2-3 hours required to call every single credit union or bank in your area. It's tedious, but since every bank is different with HELOCs it's the only way to find out who has the best deal.

I always budget for 8%, but my SFR's in Salt Lake City have actually averaged just over 1% vacancy rate. I keep my rents just slightly below market in order to get several applicants, which usually allows me to choose the best ones. Then they stay for a long time since I keep the houses in great shape and they can't find a better deal elsewhere.

In my experience, this strategy ends up netting me more. But everywhere is different.

I don't own any MF, but my biggest perceived pain point is higher turnover and lower quality tenants compared to the tenants I get in single family homes.