All Forum Posts by: John Beck

Park units are on public utilities and the tenants own their own mobile homes (TOH).

Small mobile home park, in Ohio, with 14/14 sites occupied. Numbers show the gross at over $40,000 per year with expenses of less than $10,000/year. Purchase price is $215K.

Not sure which lenders to talk to.

I've been leaning towards the Igloo Smart Lock, because it will work offline. It uses a tech similar to the RSA Smart tokens (for the other nerds and techies here), so it's not reliant on an internet connection at the property.

It looks pricey ($200-400ish) and I don't have one to test yet, but if it does work in my testing, this would be my goto for my out-of-state properties that need rehabbed. This would be ideal for my contractors to get onsite, when I need them too. I would have to send (call, text, email, etc) them a pin code for that day (or even a sequential number of days) access.

https://www.igloohome.co/blog/how-it-works/smart-d...

Update: Found it cheaper at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=igloohome

I have a friend who rents a lot to military people. He told me he has called the base commander a few times, to get these types of problems solved. Not sure if that's true or if it works.

Just re-read the thread and saw that you already tried. Sorry, disregard ;-)

If you want cash flow, I assume that you mean rental income coming in. You should follow the 1% rule, which can be read about here and in many books, but NYC is probably much like the DC area and likely won't happen locally.

(Monthly rental should equal at least 1% of property purchase price). This is only a quick method to tell you if you need to do more research into the property in question, and shouldn't be your only factor in deciding.

Maybe find a duplex and do some "house hacking" so the other person covers your mortgage and you get to live for "free", may work in NYC area.

Many investors are buying in regions outside of the area, where they live.

This help at all? I am new also, but have been reading everything I can get my hands on.

 What about some new light fixtures or ceiling fans instead of the "track lighting". If it was me I'd remove the cabinet behind the commode, I always associate those with lack of bathroom storage.

I know that's nit-picking, other than the the house looks good. I'd say price, but if the comps are there, it may just be a waiting game.

This is spawned from another discussion:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/591...

I really like the input "You didn't buy that house as an investment, so sell it", but to take that a step further; what do you all look for in an investment rental property. I have about $50K equity in my current rental, that everyone recognizes should probably be sold.

I know the 2% rule (rent should be 1-2% of total cost of home purchase), but I would love to know more about what works for you guys. I am really new to the rentals as an investment, instead of the rentals as a necessity to get to a new home.

I'd really love to obtain a multifamily home in the next year, so input on these or single family homes would be solid.

@Michinori Kaneko, the house is in really good shape, paint is good, floors are less than 3 years old (laminate and carpet). Renters are solid payers also. I have about $50K in equity, based on the 2009 appraisal, but that was pre-flooring and work we did while we lived there, so I should get an updated appraisal, prior to any next steps.

@Jay Patel, that house is about 25 mins from National Harbor (DC Area), and 45-1hr from Washington, DC. I am also 10 mins from 2 military bases, and was considering Roommates.com to get military people, to use their housing allowances to rent rooms.

My tenants still have 3 years left on their lease. We are charging market rent for the area, for a 3BR/4.5 Bath house.

I guess an appraisal will be my first move, Maybe I can get the ball rolling with that. I dread using my 401k to make this property produce some cash flow, so thank you, all, for the great input. I will continue to monitor this discussion, for more good ideas. thx again.