All Forum Posts by: Matthew Maggy

I don't know if Canada has some sort of first-time home buyer type thing where you can put 3.5% down like we have FHA here, but I would recommend something like that on a multi-family property.

I'm of the opinion that if you feel you're ready, go for it. You're never going to be knowledgeable enough to buy real estate if you have to keep learning. I'm a fan of trial by fire.

That being said, Canada is way out of my wheel house, so I'm sorry I can't give more advice.

Absolutely! We can grab a beer after the tour and talk real estate. BTW: Highland Park is not a nice neighborhood. It is not hot for a reason. I have sen a few people doing restoration projects and it is in a national historic district, so it may qualify for state or national tax rehab credits. 

Richmond is a pretty hot market right now, especially in certain neighborhoods (Church Hill, the Fan, Museum District), but if you've got money, know-how, and time, there are a ton of opportunities to fix up broken houses for buying and holding. I'm not sure about flipping after fixing as I'm not in that game I work for a very small GC and from what I've seen flipping to sell does not have huge margins in the hotter neighborhoods (North Church Hill) right now. 

We're closing on a duplex in Highland Park. It's definitely an area where the growth and revitalization if it reaches, will not be there any time soon. It does, however, offer lots of inexpensive, cash flowing properties.

To iterate, I'm a small time rel estate investor, so you definitely want to consult an RE professional before taking this advice to heart lol. 

Welcome to BP. I was moving at the speed of a glacier as well... BP definitely sped me up and made me more confident with this stuff. Welcome to the forums!

@Daniel Harnsberger @adam stanton

Thanks for references guys. I do prefer to do business with someone in the City so I can have some face-to-face time. We'll see what turns up. Appreciate the legal rec.

We've got W2, a profitable LLC side business, and two rental properties. We need an accountant. Any recommendations on one in the Richmond, VA area?

Ah okay. It seemed good, but I wasn't exactly sure about rents in that area, but if I can get $550 marketing as a 1 bedroom, I'm happy. Thank you for the opinion.

My girlfriend and I put an offer in for a duplex in Highland Park Richmond for $10k below asking ($95k to 85k), seller pay closing. 2009 the roof was redone, all new plumbing, electrical, mechanical, the permits are all completed and approved. Vinyl siding. It was on and off the market since 2013 and was originally listed at $107k. Nobody has even made an offer on it. 

Analyses says that we would cash flow $325/month with both units rented for $550. 

It's got an awkward layout of both units, but is in pretty good shape for the age of the home.

What am I missing? It gets renters. I didn't see any issues structurally or anything. Of course, I haven't had inspection yet.  

What am I missing? Is it the neighborhood, the layout of the units?

 So I could just have an appraiser come and verify that tenants moved out? That's a great idea. I'll have to see what my mortgage guy says about that.

My girlfriend and I are looking for a Duplex in Richmond, VA. We're happy to make some repairs, but our main concern is that it has a decent roof. We're looking in the sub-200k category. We want to live in one and rent out the other.