All Forum Posts by: Han Gu

Hi,

I am looking to start investing in rental properties in Orlando, and since I live in NY, I would probably need a property management company.

Given that I am new to this, I have a laundry list of newbie questions.

1. Should I expect (or should I even want) PM to take care of repairs between tenants?

2. If major repair is needed, should I ask PM to solicit quotes from 3rd party vendors so I can make the final decision instead of its own in-house crew?

3. What about the minor repairs? Should it follow the same convention as major repair?

4. What's usually considered major repair, and what's minor? Is it just the dollar amount?

5. If the property I purchase require some light rehab -- new carpet, paint, etc. Should I ask the PM to handle it or should I hire contractors myself to do it?

After reading a good number of threads here, it seems the first step in picking out a PM is always getting references.
If you have had luck getting a good PM, would you share a few tips that you believe, helped you getting that good PM?

Thank you in advance.

Hi all,

Looking to buy my first rental. Currently looking in Orlando area. I live in NY, so this will be remote. I did most of the research on Zillow, so the estimated rental numbers all come from zillow's estimate.

It seems, for properties up to $120k, one can get monthly rents of 1% of property price, so around $1200. Once you get over that $120k line, rents just don't increase proportionally to the price. A $150k property doesn't get rent of $1500, zillow estimates it to be around $1250.

For properties under $120k, rents seem to be more than that 1%.  So for $80k property, I've seen rents of $900.

Is this true in Orlando? Should $120k be where I draw the line in order to get the most bang for my buck? (in terms of rental)

Is there anywhere else in US that's a better place for rental?

All newbie questions. Thanks guys.

Hi all,

Hope you guys don't mind another newbie announcing thread here.

I've been looking for ways to help me truly become financially independent, and I want to use REI to get there.
I am not looking to do anything fancy. Just plain old, buy, hold, rent out, and hopefully generate enough cash flow to get my financial freedom somewhere down the road.

I'm living in New York, but real estate here is way over my budget. I've been researching Orlando due to its population growth, job growth. ( At least according to stats from Forbes' article)

I heard from someone that houses in Orlando get a lot of damage due to its weather and geographic location, and that one shouldn't hold a property for more than 10 years, which is why there's a lot of new builds there.

Living in NY, houses here last forever. It's common to buy house that are built in the 1960s or even earlier.

Is it really true that houses in Orlando lasts that short?

My budget is 150k to start. My hope is to buy properties, get a property management firm to help me manage it, and rent them out. Over time, accumulate enough cash flow from rents to cover all my expenses.

Is that budget and approach still feasible in Orlando?

Thanks again in advance guys.