All Forum Posts by: Lisa Haney

Hello Kaylyn,

Thanks for starting this thread because the comments helped me too. I am in a similar situation like yours. Recently Army retired (medic) and headed back home to Detroit. Will look for a Quad and live in one unit. I want to use my VA loan but I have heard what some of the others are talking about. Getting the VA inspection to be positive seems to always come up and scare people off. I'm in Detroit so I don't know what to expect. My plan is to try to go VA first and see what happens. I can almost guarantee that the house will need some sort of repair so I'm trying to figure out what I can do. I just read that you can't combine a VA loan with a FHA203K. I thought the 203K was repair loan only. Turns out it is loan for house and loan for repairs combined.

Before you start to buy your house with VA loan you should check out what the VA appraiser is going to be looking for. I saw a checklist and it seems to be pretty straightforward. They say it's not a full house inspection but VA is looking for certain things to be correct. Good luck to both of us.

-- Lisa

Cody,

John is right about realtor.com and typing in a multi-family search.  I had the same issue til one day my little grey cells started working and I figured it out.  But I would add be careful about putting 4 bedroom 4 bath as a search because I have seen where a Quad had studios units which are not technically bedrooms.  So if you put 4 BR you may miss it.  I saw a duplex a few weeks ago that was 2 studio units so bedroom were shown as 0.  But you can't go wrong with the bathroom # approach.  You may get some stray single family homes with 4 Bths in your search but you can eliminate them.  

I know what you mean. It's a tricky thing in Detroit. I know I will have to basically case the area driving probably 3 blocks in each direction to see how those houses look compared to the one I want to buy. 

I know this is not a very objective answer but something about it just doesn't feel right. Almost seems like you would be enabling the parent to live off the child instead of it being the other way around. I get it though, if the child has no "shelter" then what does it matter. Still feels kinda oogie to me though. Gotta go with your conscience on this one. I know you'll make the right choice.

Thanks for the article.  I read it and will ensure I do my due diligence to not get ripped off.  I still believe in Detroit though.  I hope that the resurgence of downtown Detroit will begin to creep out into the residential areas that surround downtown.

-- Lisa

Cody Evans,

I'm a little confused as well about the above advice. I'm a newbie like you (have only had 1 rental house before) so maybe I'm missing something. I'm like you and plan on purchasing a 4-plex in Detroit (no money down VA loan or perhaps using FHA and 203K loan). I plan on living in one unit and renting the other 3. I live in Detroit so I have the added benefit of knowing the area and being able to drive right to the street and see the surroundings, location, etc. Gotta be careful in Detroit. Some blocks are burned out but have one or two houses that look nice. You do not want to buy those! I have been checking out quads on zillow, etc. I'm not sure what the above posts are saying though. Isn't it mathematics that a Quad will give you more rent total monthly than a SFH? I think perhaps they are assuming a Quad in Detroit will cost double or quadruple a SFH? But in Detroit you can get a Quad for under $100,000. You may need a few thousand in repairs but this is not California! The bottom fell out of Detroit in '09. We are at the bottom of the RE food chain now.

Based on what you said, you can put $20,000 of your money down and perhaps get a small mortgage and buy a Quad.  Mortgage might be $600 at most.  Rent 4 units at $600 each (low end) and that's $2,400! Deduct all your little expenses and that's still way more than the $800 profit you require monthly.  I would like a response from our more seasoned brothers on this post.  Perhaps I'm being naive here and my figures are all out of whack. I'm definitely here to learn.

Regards,

Lisa

Greg,

What a coincidence that I just saw your post. I just got discharged from the Army and I will be headed home to Detroit for good in a few days. I was planning on searching for an investor group to go to. I've never been to an RE get together before so I look forward to it. I have one rental house in Detroit that has been vacant for almost a year. I will be moving in there temporarily but my plan is to purchase a multifamily (hopefully Quad) using my VA Loan and living in one of the units while renting the others.

I clicked the "Attending Event" button. Was that enough to RSVP?  Or do you require we go through the signupgenius? Thanks for the invite.

Lisa

Hi Kenneth,

One popular suburb of Detroit is the city of Southfield where I lived for a few years in an apartment.  Southfield is north of Detroit, starts at 8 Mile road and ends at 12 Mile Rd.  The farther north you go the better and more expensive the houses and the area looks.  For example the houses near 11 mile road are nicer and more expensive than the ones near 8 mile road. This is probably because once you cross 12 mile road you get into the REALLY nice suburbs of Beverly Hills (yes Michigan has one!), Birmingham, and farther up near 15 mile you get into Bloomfield Hills (million dollar houses on lakes where the super rich and famous live, probably not a good investment spot though).  

The lower part of Southfield is a good investment area I think. It borders north part of Detroit divided by 8Mile road like the song Eminem (a famous Detroit rapper) wrote.  I don't know a single song of his but I've heard he wrote a famous one about 8 Mile road. It is the dividing line between Detroit and Southfield and the line is REAL.  You can tell the difference as soon as you cross 8Mile road into Southfield.  Immediately you see greener grass, cleaner streets, the Southfield police on patrol, not a lot of foot traffic, etc. People that want to leave the Detroit 'hood behind and live in the 'burbs head to Southfield.  Other suburbs are Livonia, Redford, and Oak Park. Hope this helps.

L. Haney (Detroit native)

Hello Detroit! I am new to BP and just found this forum.  I have wanted to interact with BP members who deal with Detroit area specifically.  I am in the Army about to be discharged and I have a house in Detroit that I bought from my Mom 20 years ago.  Me, Mom, sister, brother, you name it have lived there at one time or another but I own it.  Since being in the Army, I've had several tenants, some good some bad.  Hard to be a long distance landlord. I'm starting to get serious about this real estate thing though. The closer I get to retirement age, the more I want passive income. I've been an "accidental" landlord but I've never bought a house specifically for rental purposes so I'm a little nervous about that.  When I bought the house from Mom we had been living there for 10 years so I knew no secret repairs would pop up.  

I am interested in buying and holding SFH or Du-, Tri-, or Quad-plexes in the 48219 zip code area of Detroit which is near the suburbs of Southfield, Livonia, and Redford. My strategy is to focus on these areas since I grew up on that side of Detroit and I know the area. I'm sure there are other areas that are good too but I'm not as familiar with them. Some of Detroit does look like a war zone so an out-of-state investor would have to really know what the whole block looks like instead of just a picture of a house on the block. Some blocks are burned out but have one house standing. That may be the house that someone tries to sell you for $1. Dont' fall for it!

I've been making a list of houses off of realtor.com and zillow that interest me.  I wish I was in Detroit now so I could drive around and check them out.  But I'll be home soon. BP has been extremely helpful.  I think I've listened to all of their podcasts.  I see in this forum that members may be able to recommend contractors and property managers.  I will make sure to check back in with you guys when I need these services. Thanks for all the help and insight into investing.

L. Haney, SGT USA