All Forum Posts by: Joseph Catalano

I would say no way. She is boarderline on her own but throwing in the expense of two teenage boys, there is no way she can afford the rent. 

I would agree that your market would dictate what works. 

If you don't you will pay the price. It is a necessity. 

@Eric Pena

I agree house are better than condos, not only for better value but condos have issues like condo associations and condo boards and extra fees that cut into cash flow  

I look at it very simple, six rents is much better than one rent.  

small apartment complex will earn you much more than condos or houses

Those of us near Buffalo are in a very similar position.  Buffalo was just named the third poorest city in America just behind Detroit and Cleveland.  The property is cheap but the returns suck, single family home regularly sell for under 5k in some parts of the city. But as the old saying goes "you get what you pay for". The strange thing is in some of the suburban areas there is great investment returns. 

Just think of it this way, if you have to carry a gun to go pick up your rents then you may have made a bad choice. 

LLCs are great but it will depend on the size of the property, ie the number of units. Normally anything under five units will considered single family for loan purposes. Mortgage laws prohibit an LLC from owning more than 25% of a single family home loan. My advice is to find an attorney in your area that has done these types of deals and not someone who just does home closings because any paralegal worth their salt can do a home closing with their eyes shut. You need some one who understands corporate structures and the interaction of real estate financing within the corporate structure.

This seems like an utter no brainer to me, but I am a newbie, I would buy apartments.  Something that would produce a strong longer term source of income no matter what the state of the economy.  A million dollar down payment could buy a decent size complex, most likely one with on site management.