All Forum Posts by: Dan S.

I appreciate the insight thus far. While I do not intend to set out with the end goal of renting 'only' to an active military member; it crossed my mind to add "ask about our military discount" to our online rental advertisements. The incentive here being a steady income/employment related renter.

Hi there, thank you for checking out my post!

I live in Oklahoma and would like to inquiry on whether or not it's considered legal to offer a military discount to prospective tenants. I would also welcome advice on how specifically to research such a question.

Thank you!

While there's been much to learn through the podcasts, one thing consistently jumps out at me. Just do something! Execution is key, failing is learning and experience is gained through failure. So here we are upon our first opportunity and quite frankly about 3 to 5 years sooner than anticipated.

The magnitude of challenge extends across the board. From the lack of hands on DIY experience, physical tools, rental regulations and requirements, repair/renovation estimation, and just about everything else one can think of.

However, I came upon an opportunity where a friend without any knowledge of my desire to buy and hold, explained current pain with a house that he can't seem to sell. He has since moved from this home but carries a burdensome home equity note. The house has been listed for almost a year and is it much need of repair.

• Asking Price: $43,000
  • Zillow Zestimate: $48,600 (down -$7,600 Last 30 days)
• Year Built: 1948
• Lot: 1.5 acres
• 875 sqft
• 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath
• Detached Garage
• Central Heat & Air: Installed 6 years ago
• Original Electrical and Plumping (With exception of added outlets and breakers for central heat/air)

Through candid casual conversation and before my expressing interest, I learn that the home equity loan owed is $29k. While unconfirmed it is my belief that he may be motivated to part with the home for not much above the amount owed.

I'm really not sure what to include here or how to best elevate the quality of this opportunity. I am concern with the house being 66 years old in respect to our obligation for safe and effective electrical/plumping for tenants. What legal obligations exist for rentals regarding updated infrastructure requirements.

At first blush I ponder the possibility of making this purchase at sub 35k. I've even considering the research of options to somehow assume this note and thus take ownership of the house. At this time I'm not yet sure how to calculate repair cost or ARV. The area supports $650 to $750 rents with similar in size/spec homes. My best stab at online mortgage calculators show mortgage/tax/insurance to be an estimated $300 or so per month.

On the surface without experience this seems like a great deal. Though I know there's more to the picture and I'm not entirely sure how to determine it all with accuracy. I suspect putting in 10k to 15k in repairs but that is an arbitrary guess at this point.

First post, and ramble-filled... I invite the wisdom and insight of others should you feel so inclined!

@Rhett Tullis @Zach Sikes @Paul Timmins  @Devan M. @Nilesh Makhija @Brandon Turner @Dmitriy Fomichenko

I appreciate the welcome and wealth of starting detail. I will be digging deeper into the content you have all suggested. Thank you!

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Dan

Hello, Yet another accidental landlord turned Real Estate Wantrepreneur here! Perhaps that is a bit dramatic, though I feel as such during this stage in our timeline. Over a year ago I found myself about to marry which brought on not only a change in life but also a change in residence. Having roughly twelve years remaining on a fifteen year mortgage, we decided to turn this property into a rental. We successfully closed the first twelve month lease, occupied by tenants that had been previously displaced by a tornado. We are now into a second set of tenants on a new lease and everything remains positive to date. The decision to rent this property was based on several factors. One of those being that I'm passionate about reaching a level of financial independence that affords my family choices. Another being that my wife grew up in a family that owned and managed residential property. She too has the desire to begin this same journey and we're committed to learning more. Presently, we are working to achieve various personal goals which dictate our not taking any further real estate action for approximately two to three years. Hence the wantrepreneur reference as we are spending this time learning what it is we can do to improve our future experiences. Ultimately, we will relocate to a new personal residence and the current home we occupy now will become rental property number two. Our short term goal is to build a portfolio consisting of ten investment properties using a buy and hold strategy. That in itself seems daunting at this stage, though it compounds as we desire to do this without leveraging ourselves heavily. I'm new to the forums, as I hope to continue learning above what the podcasts have already offered. Here we go! -Dan