All Forum Posts by: James Ma

It just always depends what your other opportunities are that you would be looking at. With your numbers even doing a renovation, 10% CoC is not bad at all and you will still be getting mortgage paydown + potential appreciation (which it sounds like could be promising if there's not a lot of inventory like this in your area).

All you have to say to avoid lawsuits is "sorry unfortunately we have decided to not move forward with offering a tenancy agreement" and then dont reply if they press you for a reason

I've followed the same process and its been great. I dont buy new buildings but in the 8 year old range so its discounted and anticipate some costs for maintenance in the next 4+ years as roofs and things need to be replaced.

I'm sure numbers wise it could be better if I were to buy a property and rehab etc. or go for long distance investments but also carries more risks since I don't have strong trades contacts I trust and there is a huge wait list in my market, and long distance or foreign investments add additional layers of complexity for financing, taxes, management and maintenance of the property. 

At the end of the day, if you understand the other investment vehicles available and you're making investments that you're comfortable with that's what matters. Some people don't want to maximize ROI at the sake of volatility, dealing with more headaches and uncertainty and thats understandable. Just like with stocks, there is no one size fit all strategy and you have to pick a style that works for you.

There are scenarios where this is true - in a hot market, the seller want to maximize their profits. So if you're offering all cash at listing price but they are getting into multiples over asking but requiring financing then they are just going to keep accepting the higher offers.

If your all cash offer is close to the highest bid then perhaps the seller would consider it but if you're not close it won't make a difference.

Depends what I think of her posts haha but semi serious. If she's the type who is pulling crazy stunts and pranks maybe less inclined to rent to the person as they may host a ton of social media parties at your place but they're going to make good bank so their income is typically pretty secure if she is a big star

I've heard limiting commissions is pretty common when the value of the property is higher. Ie. a 1.5M home is not much diff in work than selling a 1.1M home. As your home lessens in value, it becomes a bit more grindy so to speak if you're trying to bargain out of saving a thousand bucks on your sale. If you can find a good realtor though who you know will fight to get you extra money, they're worth every dollar to pay full commission as I know their negotiation skills will far outweigh the commission.

If you're properly maintaining your property and not ignoring tenants, I think most legal cases are a non issue. Most the cases that I hear about are where there are clear violations in health standards and eviction disputes are pretty straightforward that you should be able to go to small claims and discuss w/o a lawyer

Hiring a PM company though will protect you if you're concerned

Most people always speak from personal experience instead of an impartial one. Always important to keep in mind that what works or didn't work for someone, is where they are going to be giving their advice from. Or sometimes they're just trying to promote themselves

@Samuel Czachor When analyzing the deal I added upkeep and repairs as an expense for sure. I always try to err on the conservative side when running numbers. Even a new property will still need new appliances every so often and that needs to be budgeted for. I'd use about $75/mo as "maintenance expense" which basically will go into a pool for emergencies/maintenance for my properties. The HOA fees cover any exterior costs like roofing so I only have to be prepared to cover issues inside the suite - although there usually are special levies every year that they charge a few hundred bucks for to upgrade/maintain various issues in the complex. If you're needing to cover external maintenance then you'll definitely want to add more in your maintenance expense estimates