All Forum Posts by: Tom Wilhelm

Great responses, guys. Thanks!

Here's what I've hard so far:
Vacancy rate
ARV to rents ratio
Tax/utility rate trends
School quality
Infrastructure maintenance
Current/future land use plans
Crime rates
Median income
The "drive through at night" test

I think all of these, even the ones i don't fully understand yet, are clear indicator of an community's health. I'm sure there are others as well, so please continue to add to the last.

@joel owens, can you give me when example of how land use planning might play into a decision to invest in an area?

I dont want to get too far ahead, but the next mental steps appear to be:

1. Assess which criteria are "core", i.e. which might be used for initially coming up with possible options, which are important later on for narrowing down your options and which are really optional/nice to haves.

I suppose there is some dependence on strategy here. But hopefully there are a last a few sensible guidelines from which to begin...

2. One I have some criteria, the numbers themselves come into play. For example, a vacancy rate above N% might be a deal breaker, while a vacancy rate a little below that means it's still possible, but far below N% and it's a major plus...

Thanks again and keep the ideas coming...

There seem to be a few "what's the best city?" threads out there recently, but I'd like to dig a little into something related but far more specific/important(?), not to mention one of the next tasks my selected strategy (MF buy/hold) requires: neighborhood selection

I live in eastern MA, which means that finding a nearby neighborhood where I might find good cashflowing deals is rather difficult. In most towns in the Boston area the numbers simply aren't amendable to a buy/hold landloard strategy. Even on first glance this is obvious.

So I'm spreading the net further, not so much that I'm considering an "out of towner" strategy (valid though that may be), but enough that I need to identify a set of solid objective criteria to help me to determine which neighborhood(s) on which to focus. Some criteria I might consider for example: vacancy rate, rent/purchase ratio, area job growth, etc. This isn't about choosing one metro area over another. This about about choosing which specific area of a particular metro area in which to invest.

Beyond that, I'd also like to know if anyone uses any particular tools or formulas to evaluate neighborhoods before starting to look for specific properties.

So:
1. What criteria matter to you in deciding whether a specific street/neighborhood/town are a good investment target?
2. How do you crunch the numbers on those criteria?

Looking forward to responses from fellow landlords...

Thanks!

Would it make a difference to potential investors if Maryann DID have skin in the game? My thinking is that if her goal is to limit her money invested, but the investor wants assurance that they won't be the only one holding the bag, why not split the DP (16k each) and offer 10-15% equity? More hassle than it's worth at that point?

Hello, everyone. I'm Tom.

Was active a couple of years ago, before running a wedding, newborn, new house gauntlet. Back now, ready to apply the hard learned lessons of our first purchase, an owner-occupied two family, to a first strictly investment property.

My motivations and goals are far more clear and concrete now than in the past: Find and purchase rental properties with positive cash flow > Develop passive income streams > Escape from the cubicle farm > Apply hard won time and flexibility to my family.

Wow. Thanks for the experienced advice.

This is in fact the exact direction I've been moving in my research, namely Malden and (more likely) Everett. Some (not all, but definitely some) of the (MLS listed, usually SS or REO) 2 and 3 family houses in those towns are priced in a sane spot relative to the 50% and 2% rules. Which is definitely not the case further west!

I'll have to take a deeper look at Chesea, particularly given how many properties were heavily improved there during the bubble. Maybe even Revere, though that's getting to be farther than I'd like in order to fix a leaky faucet or collect a rent check.

Thanks again for the input.

But maybe you and I are just peabrains...

I was interested in responses to this as well.

Anyone?

There are so many here that say "no appliances" (not even refridgerators!) that I have to ask about this.

Do you all rent exclusively in low income neighborhoods?

Because where I live, dishwasher/disposal and washer/dryer are major selling points for renters. If you don't offer them, you're absolutely going to have longer turnover times and lower rents.

A rental without a fridge would never rent at all.

I ask because much of the advice here claims to be universal truth, when in fact, it's highly situational. If MikeOH was a landlord in MA for example, his attitude and approach would simply not work. Now obviously he's a highly successful property owner, but just because he (or anyone else of course, sorry Mike!) is successful in his niche doesn't mean that approach is universally applicable. Obviously, this is just one renters opinion. YMMV.

I painted houses to put myself through high school and college. But I don't have anything to add. Terri covered it very well.

Buy quality rollers, prep the walls properly, load the roller well, paint methodically, and clean/dry thoroughly afterward.