All Forum Posts by: Nathan Golding

Not having central air is not a huge deal depending what type of rental you are buying.  If it is not high grade rentals no big deal.  Only 1 of my 4 rentals has central air and I get swamped with applicants everytime I have a vacancy.

If the heat source is radiators I would not mind that either.  Electric floor boards heat I would run away from the heat bill is huge.  Even if you have the tenant pay it you will be replacing them every year.

Not certain what you mean that it has no sewage.  Do you mean that it has a septic tank?  If so as long as it's in good shape it would not be a big deal. 

Student loan debt and auto loan debt bubbles have been mentioned frequently on other forums I view.  

Car loans are so long now that it is almost impossible to not be upside down on them.   I could see a lot of cars being repo by a tiny economic hickup causing a flood if cheap slightly used cars which in turn forces layoffs in the auto industry which dominos into other businesses.  

Turning a small hick up into a good size bump in the road. 

I prefer buying inventory for my online business.  I sell original parts to surplus rifles that they no longer make parts for.  The stuff appreciates in value every year by 15% and sometimes can double within a month. 

Followed by silver coins.  

Not a fan of investments that are not a physical asset.

The wife and I just talked about this last night.  We need to collect 1.5 million in rent over the next 30 years after expenses.  Then we would need to sell the the units for 300k at today's market value.  We would need to buy 3 more units in the next 5 years to pull off our timeline.  

That would give us enough to live to 90 years old in luxury.  

Will there be another large dip in the market yes but I doubt it will be anywhere near the levels of the Great Depression.  You might see another 2008 dip at the best/worst depending how you look at it.

The federal government will keep kicking the can down the road of a economic collapse until China/the world quits loaning them money to prop up the economy.  Then we will probably go the route of hyper inflation when we just print money from nothing to pay the bills.  If that happens I am guessing trying to rent out a house/ pay your mortgage will be of little concern compare to other issues.    

Shut the water off where it enters the house.  I have gutted more house/cabins that had a broken pipe that where vacant for a month plus.  Damages are in the 30k range and repairs takes 2 months on average.    

Typically the poor maintained properties are also the ones with rent rates that are from 10 plus years ago.  The two properties that I bought that where rentals previously had rent rates 40% less than what I got after fixing them up (put less than 5k of materials in each).  Seems they cant justify repairs due to low profit.  

My realtor just called yesterday letting me know of a property for sale a block from me.  They rent the whole 3 bedroom house for less than what a complex charges 5 blocks away charges for a 1 bedroom.  

You can go to menards and get their cheapest blinds 3-12 dollars depending on the size.  I put these up in all my rentals now since like you said tenants wreck them.  

https://www.menards.com/main/window-treatments/blinds-shades/vinyl-blinds/intercrown-trade-1-light-filtering-filtering-corded-vinyl-blind-42-length/mb2342-wh/p-1444436054020-c-9236.htm?tid=2950397186662333601&ipos=1

I think the location and what type of house you are buying depends on the repairs/improvements.  Also who your target renters are.

I personally specialize in buying older homes 1900-1970 and get them fixed up to the point where they look nice.  I rent to people that want a B grade rental and have pets.  

I paint the walls but I don' t replace the paneling with drywall.

I rip out bad kitchen cabinets but I replace them with craigslist used ones

I leave in old carpet if it is still in good shape but not a nice color.  Great for people with pets since they trash carpet faster due to accidents.  I tell them up front the replacement cost is next to zero for the original carpet.  

Also a lot of the older homes use real lumber for the floors since plywood did not exist yet.  I paint or stain the wood to get hardwood floors in my home.  Takes less than 40 dollars to do a room and under an hour so scratches and stains don't bother me.  

I avoid 

Garbage disposals.  Constant repair calls on them

Bi-fold doors (half are garbage when a tenant leaves after a year)

Sliding screen doors (tenants wreck these constantly)

I rent my units 25-50 dollars less than market (hard to tell since I have mine in small rural towns).  I have never needed to run a facebook listing for more than 30 hours to get 10 plus people interested in it and rented out.  

Most people replace stove and fridges due to looks not function so I buy those used with great luck.  Washers and dryers are sold used because they are on their last bit of life.