All Forum Posts by: Jases Brown

@John Teachout, this is the mindset I am taking here. Basically, they saw it and were willing to move in and asked if they would be allowed to paint and a couple other small improvements. Nothing structural, electrical or plumbing.

I guess the idea is that if we did not touch the house ourselves, we were going to get $700 for it anyway. Maybe I shouldn’t be framing the question as reduced rent but I am not fully appreciating the increased rent because we are not doing the work.

We just purchased a house that needs renovation. Mostly cosmetic. While showing another house of ours, one of the couples expressed interest in seeing this one that we are about to start working on. Once they saw it the idea came up of them living there and doing the cosmetic work in exchange for paying less rent. We paid 60,000 for the house and we’re going to ask 850 a month after renovations. This deal would put the rent at 700 a month with them completing any cosmetic work they wanted to. Essentially we would be renting the house to them as is. Any painting or flooring work they chose to do would be on their dime at their discretion. Have any of you had an arrangement like this and if so what advice would you have before entering into an agreement like this?

Thank you for your input.  Anything I should or could do before bidding?

Any advice would help.

I am looking at a property that is coming up for auction through auction.com.  It is bank owned (I have verified with my county tax office) and appears to be vacant though the auction site says it is not.  I have driven by it, and the power meter is pulled and there does not seem to be anyone around.  

I really just want to make sure I don't jump into anything here that is over my head.  What are the pitfalls I should be looking out for?  I am a new real estate investor so please do not assume ANYTHING would be common knowledge.

Thank you very much for that input. 

RIght now we have a grand total 1 rental property that we bought a few months ago.  At what point do you guys start putting properties into corporations?  What do you base your decision to do it on?

BTW, we do plan on adding 2 or 3 properties over the next 5 years to buy and hold.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Bowie.

Purchase price: $45,000
Cash invested: $12,000

This is a 2BR/1.5Bath house on a corner lot. 940SqFt.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My wife and I were looking for an entry level house that wouldn't break us if it didn't work out.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

One of my IT clients is a real estate investor. He is starting to liquidate his inventory. He was asking $52k for a home that would be worth $60k fixed up. We offered him $45K and he accepted.

How did you finance this deal?

7 year bank loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

Cosmetic renovation inside. Paint, flooring and new vanities.

What was the outcome?

I have a tenant paying $700/month.