All Forum Posts by: Joseph Shevy

Hi BP,

Just thought I'd share my first success as a real estate investor!

My Fiance and I started looking to purchase a duplex back in January and closed on the property last night! It has been a long and stressful process and it finally happened. Best part about it was that we closed on the 31st, and rent is due today! Ive been contacting the tenants and am trying to arrange meetings for today and this weekend. Also working on meeting the seller to go over a few things with him. The tenants are great, the seller is being super helpful... so far so good! The rental was purchased through an FHA so one set of tenants will have to move out in the next month or two, but all in all.. we are getting things figured out!

I can now officially call myself a real estate investor! that sounds nice...

Joe

Hi BP,

Just a quick post to get some friendly advise on how to go about this situation..

I am closing on my first duplex on the 30th, (3 days), and there are tenants occupying both the top and bottom apartments. As you know, with a FHA loan, the residence must be owner occupied. The tenants leases don't expire until some time in summer.. July-August I think. I would rather live in the top because it rents for less and it would give my fiance and I the opportunity to fix it up a little and when we move out, possibly rent it for more.

Now my question is, How would you go about getting the tenants to move out possibly before their lease ends so you could move in? I could probably just wait for the lease to be up, but Id rather not take up space in my parents house for any longer than I have to.

thanks,

Joe

These comments are fun to read! 

My Fiance and I are only on our first rental property, but I thought I'd share! 

I have been into real estate investing since college and right after when I started to prepare tax returns for people who had them, (I'm an accountant). That was a big point for me as I saw many people taking loads of deductions, still claiming a gain on their return, while holding down a W-2 job. 

Now fast forward to today, I am marrying my high school sweetheart in a few months and now that we are both young, out of college, and working our W-2 jobs, I thought now would be the ideal time to start looking into it. 

It took her a while to come around, but one of the deciding factors was that my accounting degree and her social work degree could only get us so far. Without having to work overtime every week, there wasn't too many ways to jump ahead for us. She also saw how our parents help us so much, and we want to be able to help our kids in the same way some day. Also, she sees that I talk about it non-stop, listen to pod-casts, read, and educate myself everyday during work, break, etc. I think this also helps her believe that we can be successful at this. 

Joe

 Great point. I know a lot of what I'm asking us area specific but I'm trying to learn how others see it. 

You all make great points. I'm glad to see all the feedback from bp. 

I guess a lot if my decision is based on cash flow and what tenants I can attract with certain sfr's in my area.

thanks for all the feedback guys. Feels great getting some different perspectives, especially from seasoned investors. 

Mathew: I am actually starting my real estate investing in a duplex im in the process of closing on. Im getting it through an FHA loan, which means it must be owner occupied, as you know. The property seems like a great buy and has great cash flow potential. So, in a way, I feel like this is the best way for me to start out because, even though its a duplex, im still only managing one tenant-occupied unit. And another great point you made was the maintenance aspect. That is definitely something I really check out in properties. I have a few great connections for inspecting and fixing the "big" maintenance issues.

I guess I'm entertaining the idea of investing in a SFR next because I can put 20-25% down on one before the year is out, for the prices in my area. A nicer duplex, that will cashflow, probably not until next year. So, im just trying to gauge whether I should continue saving and be on the look out for a multifamily or SFR, assuming I can handle half a duplex first.

Joe

 Thanks for the Input, I hadn't thought of it like that 

 That's good to know. If I could get a SF that cash flows for such a low price, I'd say why not?? But I'm mainly worried about finding tenants and whether they can cash flow as well as, say, a duplex. I mean.. If I have to put down 15k to acquire a 60k rental.. (Granted this is the low end) I would have a 45k loan.. Which is very cheap on a 30 yr fixed.. As opposed to a duplex or general multis going for over 100. But, a lot of this is area specific n I know that. 

 Can I ask why u like them as well? Thanks!

 Michael,

No not right in Albany. I actually haven't researched this area all that much.. But about 45 minutes north is where most of my family lives. This is where I plan on doing most of my investing. 

hello everyone,

Have been looking more heavily into single family rentals because some can be picked up for relatively cheap around me. I was thinking of a SFR bring my next investment property for renting out. From your experiences, do you like them or do you tend to stay away from them? Why or why not? Pros vs cons? I'm interested in what you guys think! Thank you.