All Forum Posts by: Julie Kent

Hey Brian, your website does not work for me?

Address: 16115 Tanglewood Drive Urbandale, Iowa

Highlights:
5 bedrooms (4 upper, 1 in basement)
3.5 bathrooms (2 upper both with double sinks, half on the main floor, 1 in basement)
Master bedroom with HUGE walk-in closet and master bath (separate shower, soaking tub, and toilet room.)
Eat-in kitchen with stainless steel appliances and island
W/D in-unit on main floor
Separate dining area
Finished basement with built-in's
Large backyard with deck (not fenced)
Irrigation system available
3 car garage

Great location in Urbandale; Waukee school district. Close to trails, schools, restaurants, and shopping.

Has been utilized as a rental property for the past 3 years at $2,200/month.

Hi!  This should be fixed now.  Apologize for the inconvenience.  :)

I can't answer your question regarding what the book was specifically referring to, but I personally think of my salary as gross.  If someone were to ask me how much I make in a year, I'd give them the gross number.  That said, I use a budget that is based on net salary after all deductions since is truly how much I have to work with on a month to month basis.  

Hey all, 

I'm a newbie to Bigger Pockets and would love to get the community's advice.  I fell into real estate investing accidentally - I have two rental properties that I originally purchased to live in myself, and then when I wanted to move I couldn't sell so I turned them into rentals.  Here's a fairly concise overview of my properties: 

68th St: 3 bed/1.5 bath; Current Zestimate is $154K (purchased for $122K); mortgage balance is $70K; net $367/month cash flow; 12-month lease tenant will expire 4/1/2018

Tanglewood Dr: 5 bed/3.5 bath; Current Zestimate is $411K (purchased for $292K); mortgage balance is $220K; net $540/month cash flow; 6-month lease tenant will expire 11/30/2016

53rd St: 2 bed/1 bath; Current Zestimate: $86K (purchased for $75K); mortgage balance is $54K; net $406; 12 month lease tenant will expire 1/1/2018

Total net is ~$1,300/month 

The 53rd St house I purchased about a year and a half ago.  I've sunk a ton of money into it; my first tenant had to be evicted and trashed the place.  It's needed a wall anchor, a paved driveway (I didn't do my homework on the city rental permit regulations... they require a paved driveway) and new windows.  Bottom line is that if I sold it'd be at a large loss.  

My question is what to do with the 68th St and Tanglewood properties as there is a decent amount of equity in each.  I feel like I have a lot of money tied up that could be put to work if I sold.  I've considered selling the Tanglewood property and utilizing the proceeds to pay off the other two mortgages, or I could sell the Tanglewood and try to buy 2 smaller properties similar to 53rd St that would bring in ~$400/each.  Or possibly a multi-family.  

I'd be curious to hear anyone's thoughts on the best way to manage my portfolio moving forward. 

Thanks,

Julie