All Forum Posts by: Jeff N.

We live in Northern VA, and have a rental property in MD. We would like to buy another VA property for a rental in the next few months. The goal is to have it in my area which is a very good job area with a lot of high traffic of people coming in from outside areas for work. The issue is the cost of homes here is extremely expensive. For example a $400K townhome will rent for about $2200 which is just over 1/2% The idea of the 1% rule in this area just seems impossible. I can justify things by telling myself the tenant is paying down the mortgage and in the long run, it will pay off. but cash flow will be low. After maintenance and repairs, its most likely close to a break even.
The idea of buying homes 1-2 hours away for the sake of being cheaper doesn't sit well with me. I hate the idea of dealing with them, and also the fact that 5-10-15 years from now, it may or may not be a good area... Any home I buy in my area I feel will have great long term returns.

Does anyone on here deal with expensive area rental properties? Is there any set rules you like to follow to make sure the deals work for you. Even if its a low cash flow setup? This area is expensive for a reason, and IMO long term, it will be a very good investment. It just isn't an ideal quick ROI.

If anyone here buys rentals in expensive areas, I'd love to hear what you look for in a rental property.   Or is it simply, you gotta pay to play and it is what it is to own rentals in this area.

Thanks For the feedback.    They are Military,  yes if they get orders they could break a lease,  however their lease is over in April 2019 and would be a month to month.    I guess they could have signed another year lease, and planned on breaking it without telling me.

My biggest concern isn't so much having the house go on the market in November, it is that it is going to need work after they leave.  New flooring being the big one.  however I will make it clear that I want to get in there before their lease is over and have everything lined up so the day they leave, I can have a guys in there doing the work.  If they can knock all work out within a week,  the house will hit the market early November,  if I hit any delays it could push into Thanksgiving after that its all down hill IMO until Late Jan.

Title pretty much says it all.

The rental is near Ft Meade in Maryland.   My tenants are currently military.   the lease is ending the end of April.  The Tenants just reached out letting me know they would like to extend the lease until the end of October.     When they leave, I will most likely have new carpets, and flooring installed, as with the basics touched up.   So there will be 1-2 weeks of down time before trying to fill the home again.   That would put us at mid November.

I know some people are really big with having spring time leases,  however fall rentals seem to have less inventory which could allow for a bigger demand on my unit.   My tenants also said, with military, they feel I'll have a big pool of people due to the base regardless of time.

What is everyone's thoughts on when the best and worst time to start a lease?    Does it being near a base really help?  

Currently in Ashburn.  

Thanks for the replies.   Since posting my question, I have since signed up for the online class with moseley, and also talked with some people at different brokers.   I was able to get some insight into property management,  the places I talked to allow you to do it with them,  they get a kick back but they provide you with everything needed.   

I plan on interviewing all the local brokers,  it sounds like they will take anyone and everyone,  people who don't produce simply quit.      

Out side of the obvious questions of desk fee, and split,  what would you recommend I ask during the interviews.  

I'm reaching out for some advice.

Some background, I'm in Northern Virginia, I'm currently working at a restaurant.  I have been there for 18 years and have helped grow the business from $800K up to $1.4M  The owner doesn't need to go in, and I've been at a point for years where I also don't have to go in, its been that way for quite some time.  I still go in, but I'm not tied to the store.  From hiring, firing, payroll, to daily book keeping, I've done it all.  We were trying to buy another restaurant but have run into one bad deal after another.   We are good with money and know when a deal isn't right.  It's better to wish you were in a deal vs wish you were out!   With that being said, I've had real estate related ideas in the back of my head for quite some time now.   In fact we already have a rental and plan on buying another home soon which will end up being turned into another rental. After the last restaurant deal died.  I've been thinking long and hard about shifting my effort to selling homes and or managing rentals.  

I'm 34, married, and have 2 kids, we've always kept our spending in line where we can live off one income. as is, if I start anything, I do not need to make a single dime to make ends meet. In order to manage properties in VA I need to get my realtor licenses. However, if I get my realtor licenses, I think it would be silly not to also sell homes.

With that being said,  do you feel it would be better if I were to get into real estate and focus on selling homes, or managing properties and not both?  Maybe start with selling homes and once that gets a little bit of traction work on picking up managing a handful of properties on the side?  

I'm super thankful that I'm in a position where I don't need to be making money out of the gate and can ease into things.  I'm also thankful that we do have money saved which was meant for another restaurant so if need be I can hit the ground with both feet running with a solid budget behind me.     My main issue is I'm not sure where to start!     I'm also not sure if I were to get a job working under a broker if they would even allow their agents to manage properties on the side.   Maybe a conflict of interest 

Lastly,  if I were to sell homes,  what is the best way to find a company/broker that is a good fit for me?  Do I interview them? lol

Thanks for any feedback.

Just bought a copy of the bigger pockets savvy real estate investor book.

Google keeps pointing me to 

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Landlords-Tax-Deductio...

Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide

What book/s do you guys like?  Also, anything else related to being a landlord that has helped you book wise?

Unrelated to rentals but we use Bay Area Deposal for a restaurant.   Any issues we've had with them have always been taken care of ASAP.  Good people and a Maryland company out of Calvert.   

Not sure if they do what you need but i recommend you call and ask.    

good idea.