All Forum Posts by: Jason Baldwin

Originally posted by @Susan Maneck:

I have one out-of-state property and it is a condo in South Lake Tahoe. I chose it because I was planning to use it as my vacation/retirement home. Since then, my mother's health has declined and I am spending more and more time in Tahoe. She recently bought her own house and it is more convenient to  live with her, so the condo is now a full-time rental. I own nine properties in my current home state of Mississippi. 

 How long did it take for you to accumulate 9 properties and what were the challenges you faced getting there? 

@Phillip Bicker Thanks for the feedback. One reason we're looking to do long distance rentals is due to the crazy pricing here in Colorado. The exact same house (and friend of mine) in the neighborhood actually sold for $385,000 so I'm being conservative in the numbers.

I'm wondering if the 70k is better spent in a different market on two 4 plexes. I'm talking with an agent on another property right now in Texas which is selling for $160,000 and has 6 doors each bringing in $500. So it puts me around the same numbers you mentioned in Colo Springs but for 1/3 the cost. Granted, the vacancy rate would be significantly higher.

How long have you been doing business in Castle Rock specifically? Curious how you feel about the Castlewood Ranch neighborhood and that "future high school site" that's nearby. 

Thanks

@Neil Goradia ah very good idea regarding the brokers course. I've felt I'd need to do that anyway to be serious about RE investing, and this just adds one more benefit if I sell. The house is in a great neighborhood and in 2 years appreciated 60k. That's not too bad, but I dont see it going up much more. I know Colorado is a hot spot, but a 2,000 sqft home with 4 bed 3 bath can only go so high. Even using California standards. My house is located in the town of Castle Rock 35 minutes south of Denver. I appreciate your feedback!

@Eric Michaels oh no. Not at all. Its just one more tool to get a feel. Seeing broken down cars in yards with no tires, graffiti on walls, general condition of surrounding properties, etc... It helps if you're not there, but NOT a complete picture.

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

Originally posted by @Jason Baldwin:

@Jay Hinrichs when performing long distance real estate investing, is it just advised to remain out of C and D areas? As @John M. mentioned I would also hate to lose out on potential opportunities, especially in a competitive market. 

@Jim K. I appreciate what you said regarding hiring someone to walk the area as well. Google streets can only do so much. 

I've been in a very technical IT role for 12 years and I'm trying to blend technology with my RE portfolio/strategy. 

 Ok lets run the math.

you have a D class you buy for all in 40 or 50k.. if you can get a loan on it.. lets say you put 15k down and your going to make 10% coc or maybe 15%  so that 1500 to 2k a year positive cash flow..  now you make 7%  on a better asset  say a 100k home you put 25k down on .. that 1800 a year positive.. you going to risk a wipe out for 200.00 dollar a year and all the aggravation and stress that low end tenants bring you.. ????  its a locals game plain and simple they buy cheaper than you can they rehab cheaper than you can they self manage you cant.. etc etc.. 

Also not to mention your 100k home actually has a chance at real appreciation were D class only appreciate by the greater fool theory.. IE out of area people pay way to much.

 Thank you. This puts a lot of things into perspective and I hope it helps several new investors out there. Especially ones looking to do long distance. What the books tell you vs reality seem to be a bit different. 

@Jay Hinrichs when performing long distance real estate investing, is it just advised to remain out of C and D areas? As @John M. I appreciate what you said regarding hiring someone to walk the area as well. Google streets can only do so much. 

I've been in a very technical IT role for 12 years and I'm trying to blend technology with my RE portfolio/strategy. 

@Tyson Lee From one new BP member to another. Asking questions is what this site is for, so please do not hesitate to ask these types of questions. The responses from other folks have already helped me in my current property evaluation. 

One thing that stood out is the discrepancies in rent roll vs what they're telling you. The rent roll (to my knowledge) is supposed to be cold hard facts. If they're not providing that, you may want to get bank statements, or existing contracts to verify what they're saying is true. If their rental agreements indicate that the property owner will pay for certain utilities, then you can at least understand the rent roll a bit more.

P.S. Happy to see a fellow Coloradan!

@Michael Masters That is a good point as well. So in your case, stats should also be considered conservative. 

Has anyone else used city-data to do their neighborhood research? it seems to have good information if the number can be considered accurate.

@Dennis M. That's a great point Dennis. The common thread I'm picking up here is you really cannot count on the numbers reported by these sites, rather, you'll need to know the neighborhood for yourself. I wont lie, I am interested in doing out of state investing, but it sounds like that will require quite a bit more research when it comes to getting a feel for the area you're buying in. Any specific advice you can provide specifically for long distance investing? Thanks.

@John M. Thank you John. That is what I was thinking. The stats from the website didnt line up with the local reviews and google street view.