All Forum Posts by: Madisyn C.

Wayne brooks, dania beach

Thanks to everyone for the input and advice. I will try to negotiate the length of the financing and see if she is willing to give credit for some repairs I foresee.

I did leave out a big catch... The nearby FLL airport is under construction for expansion and the property will be in a high decibel zone by 2014. Long story short, the FAA is required to soundproof all the surrounding homes and we are about to finalize the paperwork for this. They are estimating 20k plus in upgrades such as hurricane impact windows and doors, brand new energy efficient AC units and duct work (to ensure soundproofing) and insulation. Hard to tell if this could be a good or bad thing. I contacted a lawyer familiar with this case and he said its hard to tell. The improvements will increase value, also the airport could buy us out at a later date (as they've done before in which it turned to commercial property).

It a lot to think about and I will work on the negotiations and let you know how it goes.

No, unfortunately I cannot cover that high of a down payment. I have actually been managing this duplex for the past 2 years for the owner who lives out of town, and actually lived in it a few years back. So I am familiar with the maintenance costs (very minimal) and handling ins, taxes etc.. Tenant #1 has been there long term and I never have any problems with her, and the newer tenant seems promising.

It has just been appraised at 160k. She knows I have been interested in trying to get a rental, and since we have become like family, she offered these terms. I thought it would be the perfect situation for me to get into real estate. I thought the terms were good at nothing down and would virtually pay for itself.

Is there anything else I can do to make this work? Negotiate 30 years? Or pass?

Hi all, I have an opportunity to buy a 2 unit duplex at 160k with nothing down, owner financed at 7% for 20 years.
Yearly combined rent is 25800 (2150/month)
I will be paying water- about 2400 per year (200/month)
insurance and property taxes come to about 6617 (552/month)
monthly mortgage is 1240

I know the cashflow is not nearly at the ideal amount, only coming in at $158 but is appreciation and the terms alone worth it? Im 25, make decent money but after looking at traditional loans for a rental property, they want 25% down which just isn't an option right now. Is this a good opportunity to get into the game?
Any advice is much appreciated.

Hi all, I've been a silent reader here for a little while. A little background- 7 years ago when I was 18 my boyfriend and I got our first apartment in the neighborhood he grew up in. Our landlord had watched him grow up (no relation, just lived nextdoor) and decided to take a chance on renting to two young kids. We were never late on rent, always responsible, etc. and she took a strong liking to me. Fast forward a few years later, she had to move her sick husband to a nursing home in north fl and decided to stay close to him. She had enough trust in me to watch over, maintain and collect rent for her other properties down here. She has also entrusted me with handling her finances, bills, taxes, etc.

She sees that I have an interest real estate and is more than willing to co-sign and put a deposit down on a house to rent out. I think she's excited to show someone who is interested how she use to make her money and wants to see that we're set later on. She's also said she's not interested in making any interest off of it, just pay her back what she'll put down.

We have been looking at properties in the Port Richey area in the 40k-50k range with a 5k deposit. I have some experience now working for her, seeing how tenants can be and the maintenance with rentals, but overall, I think we've been lucky and I haven't had any bad experiences. Now that I will be doing this on my own, with not much savings for disasters, the pessimist in me is thinking of all the things that could go wrong. My boyfriend and I work hard with fulltime jobs but are making just enough to pay the bills. I realize that there are some risks, but should we dive in and do this? I feel like its a good opportunity to get started and I just wanted to hear some advice on this particular situation. Is this an opportunity I should take advantage of, even though my personal finances are not ideal at the moment?