All Forum Posts by: Luke Swab

 There is a Lansing meet up.  You can find it on www.meetup.com.  It was the last Thursday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at Trippers Bar.  However, we just switched leaders and they want to change the location.  

I just paid 17K for this junky house.  Will it be a success or a failure?  Follow along with me LIVE as I work through my first ever renovation. 

Success???

Or Failure?

Hey Joe,

Think of a graph. Rent starts at zero and moves towards whatever. Next think of the cost of a house. The price also starts at zero and moves up. At one point the two lines cross. This is ON PAPER the best ROI, or return on investment. However, it's not the best deal because of other factors (high vacancy rate, short term tenants, trouble getting rent on time or at all.) So for me, it's worth it to trade a little cash flow for other benefits to get into a class B neighborhood. (longer term renters, easier to get rent on time, less drama, houses are usually in a little better condition.)

That's my strategy.  Cross reference what homes cost, vs what homes are renting for in various locations.

padmapper.com and zillow.com are pretty cool.  

All I know is a lot of people are going to get rich there and a lot of people are going to lose their shirt, but Detroit is coming back.  I see it happening with my own eyes.  

Lansings REIA is the last thursday of every month at Trippers in the Frandor Shopping Center. 6:00 P.M.

Hello @Melissa Jeffries I also am from Lansing and currently invest in the area.  Welcome.

Thanks @Bob E. after more research, that's exactly what I ended up doing.  It's funny how when you really take take and break things down, they aren't as hard as you thought.

I did that. What will happen is a presentation of successful stories. Then they offer you a $100-$300 workshop. I also did that. The work shop is kind of gimmicky and they make you participate in clap chants and other cult like activities. The last day of the work shop they really do give you some good deal work-flows. They have some good information. Sometimes they don't include everything to make the deal sound better. They will not mention certain taxes, property management fees, HOA's etc, but their concepts are pretty good. I think I got my money's out of it, but then, they try to sell you on buying their education for $20,000. Do not do that. They make it sound good, but I think you can learn better for free here and through books and podcasts and asking questions just like you did here. I'm a real person and I'm not charging you anything for my advice.

It's cool you are interested in Real Estate.  It's really hard work, but pretty fun when it works.

@Frank Woodin Any idea where to get that sales contract online?

So I currently have 6 SHF that I rent in Lansing Michigan. There is a distressed house on the street that has been vacant for years that I want to purchase. It's not listed for sale. I looked up the owner and drove to their house 20 minutes away. I said who I was and I would like to buy the house. It's her dad's house who passed away a year ago. The house is full of his stuff. She said she was going to sell it for $17,000 but needed a few months to get the stuff out. At the time I didn't have the money. Now, 3 months later I have the cash to buy and do the renovation. This is a great deal for my neighborhood and I don't want to screw it up. I want to be professional and know what I'm doing when I approach her this week. Can you please walk me through the process and what purchase agreement do I need? This is my first home buying outside of the MLS so I'm green with this more creative house lead.

Thanks,

Luke