All Forum Posts by: Julie Desautels

Hi Everyone!

I am interested in buying a rental property, and after months of reading I am starting to take action!

One tip I've heard was to find your property manager first. Reach out to property managers in the area you want to invest in, and make sure they are good property managers BEFORE you find your property.

So I selected a potential market, have done research on it to get a basic understanding of the rental rates, and got a list of rental property mangers from NARPM. I have sent them all out an email introducing myself, and with a list of 10 basic questions (vacancy rates, their fees, how many properties they manage, etc).

In my reading, it recommended asking for email responses so they don't sidetrack you with a sales pitch and actually answer your questions. It is also easier to compare each manager side by side, and makes it easier for people who still work a full time job (such as myself) to review after business hours.

I have gotten an email back from two out of four property managers asking me to set up a call, even though I noted I work full time and would like an emailed response. Should I push them to answer my questions via email? Is this their first "test" of what sort of property manager they will be? Or should I let it go and call them? Am I being too tough? Or starting off as a pushover?

Thanks!

Hey All!

I am researching buying a SFH rental property. A lot of people talk about this process as buying a house for cheap, renovating it, and renting it out.

While I am willing to learn, the facts are I do not have any renovation/construction experience. I am wondering, have any of you purchased a newly renovated property and rented it out? 

I see some houses for sale that have been renovated, and on the market for over 2 years. It doesn't seem like there is a demand for people to buy these houses in this neighborhood (big military town seems to promote more rentals). I have watched the price on one house go from 60k down to 40k. Do you believe there is an opportunity to purchase and rent a property like this?

Look forward to hearing about your thoughts and experiences!

Thanks!

Julie 

Hi Everyone!

I am new to this, and am starting to research rental properties. When looking around Zillow, I see a trend for some of the houses for sale, which goes as follows:

1. Bought - Generally 2-3 years ago

2. Listed for Rent/Listing Removed - I usually see this pattern four or five times over a year or two.

3. Listed for sale

Even though it seems to be a good rental property, should I take that as a red flag? Someone tried to rent and it appeared unsuccessful. The rent seemed reasonable, maybe even low for the area. Do you trust this pattern analysis to stay away?

Look forward to seeing what the experts think, thanks!

Hi Everyone! 

I am attempting to analyze my first deal, and I am looking for feedback. This home is for sale for 15,000. The rents in the area are 500-600 for 2 bed 1 baths. 

I added in about 10k for repairs. I figured laminate floors throughout (800sq feet) and new paint. I would also want to repaint the cabinets in the kitchen and put some new handles on them to fix them up a bit.

My return still seems pretty low. From what I have read, you are looking for more of a 10% or higher return. With this report, I am looking at about 8%.

Anything I am missing? Any advice?

Thanks in advance, look forward to hearing from ya'll!

View report

*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.