All Forum Posts by: Joshua B.

 That's in Washtenaw County though.

 I've been surprised at how reasonable prices are in South Lyon compared to the surrounding areas. Seems like a great spot to be buying in with Northville/Plymouth now getting into ridiculous pricing territory.

 We'll see. Has some spots that aren't quite as nice and some that are really nice. All the fast food and fast casual places seem to be building new up there, so hopefully they're on to something. That's the @Keith Jourdan rule of thumb - follow the food.

 Thanks Brad! This one taught me how it really does take a lot of work to find a good deal. Analyzed a lot of properties over the past few months, sent a bunch of letters, followed up on a number of leads, and this was the result. Got spoiled after hitting on a few good ones in a row with a bit of luck, but with the market around here so strong, things seemed to dry up quickly. Happy to have another closing!

Bought an all-brick 2700 sq ft triplex in South Lyon, Michigan on land contract this week. Not a home run, but a solid single with the chance to stretch it into a double if the area appreciates. Current rents are a hair under $2,000/month. Don't wanna disclose the terms, but it beats the 1% rule and has a 5-year balloon with very reasonable monthly payments, so it will cash flow just fine. More of an appreciation play, though, as South Lyon is growing very quickly and I think will continue to do so. Lots of big nice houses being built, and South Lyon has a nice little downtown. Hopefully the surrounding development encourages more of a revitalization downtown. 

Once the balloon term ends, I think I should have a few good options (keep it, cash out refi where I can pull out more than I have into it, or just sell). This is my first deal for 2018 and now puts me at 7 units since starting last year. Hoping to hit 40 units in A/B+ areas by the time I'm 40. 6 more years to go.

 You should definitely take the application, but you're not required to take a Section 8 tenant. In fact, some property managers refuse to manage properties with Section 8 tenants so I'd be careful. 

I inherited a property with Section 8 tenants and it has been a total pain. There's a lot of extra paperwork, extra inspections, and you usually cannot get rents as high as on the open market if you have a good property. I would not recommend unless your property is hard to fill.

 It's a bad idea to buy a house on land contract when there's a mortgage. 

Real life example - you're happily making land contract payments to the home owner for two years and the home owner stops making mortgage payments and instead just pockets your money. Bank forecloses on the house. What then?

@Adam Leese - not sure what part of AA this is in, but unless it's in the heart of campus, I'd sit tight and hold out for a . There are better deals to be had. I saw a 4 plex sell on the west side for the mid $400s. Also, another duplex (further west) just sold for mid $200's.

I think I might go for it, though, if you're planning on living in one of the units. Tough to pass up a house for $350k when you're getting $1400 in rent from the other half, though. What say you, @Sarah Lorenz?

 Can't wait to see pictures of the Ann Arbor flip!

@Denny R. - way to go dude! Glad to see you took the plunge!