All Forum Posts by: Nathan W.

@Stephanie W.

It is on Patterson Ave SW, a few blocks from downtown

How do you like Roanoke overall as an investment area? I really like the prices there! lol if this one pans out I will probably be back.

This would be a great question to ask your RE attorney. You do have one, right?

Thank you guys for the sanity check. I think a "solid base hit" was the best way to describe this one. I have no illusions it is a grand slam, but I think it is something I can cut my teeth on and I am excited to move forward. I appreciate you double checking my numbers.

@Wendell De Guzman : Good suggestion on the deferred maintenance. My realtor is having an inspector he works closely with perform it so I will be sure that this is addressed. Crime in the area is pretty low, and Roanoke is a fairly low crime area as it is. This property is only a few blocks from the expanding downtown and the street was busy with construction (including H4H home) when I went to see it. I am pretty comfortable with the area for sure.

@Mehran K. : Insurance is a quote from my agent (still shopping around), the water bills were provided by the seller (6 months worth), and the lawn care was provided by the property management company that is currently taking care of it. The RET were verified on the county tax website and by the seller--I guess the taxes are much lower there than where you invest at (another good reason to get out of the DC area!). I think the numbers I used there are pretty solid.

Hey everyone, thanks for the great resource here. I have learned a lot since becoming a member and am about to pull the trigger on my first property. I live in DC so the prices here do not warrant a buy and hold strategy so I expanded my search out to smaller cities in Virginia. I settled on a duplex in Roanoke. Listed at $88k (on the market for 250 or so days), offered $78, seller countered at full list price (umm ok), I threw them a bone at $81.5, and they countered at $82k. Ohhhh k, so I guess I can get it for $82.

The numbers are below

Income:

Unit A Rent: $495

Unit B Rent: $555

Unit B Pet Fee: $10 (wow)

Vacancy Estimate: 8.3% (one month/year)

NRI: $972/month $11,660/year

Expenses:
Management: 10%($97/month)

Leasing Fees: $75 (only for turnover, not renewals)

Repairs/Maintenance: 10% ($97/month)

Taxes: $54/month

HOI: $65/month

Utilities (water): $80/month

Lawn Care (every other week for half the year): $38

NOE: $444/month, $5,324/year

Mortgage (20% down @ 5.125%): $357

NOI: $528/month, $6335/year

Cash Flow: $171/month, $2049/year

Expense Ratio: 45.7%

Cap Rate: 7.7%

Rent/Value Ratio: 1.29%

Cash on Cash Return: 10.9%

Anything that you guys see I may be missing? Are my numbers pretty solid? Cash flow is not the greatest but the rents are under market right now and the tenants have been there for 2+ years so the vacancy rates are good and I should be able to raise rents when they move on (that $10 pet fee was ridiculously low).

Appreciate your thoughts.

I know what I think, but why don't you walk us through your own thought process to maybe help clarify a bit.

Have you already bought it? Or just considering buying it?

If already bought, are you in it for $700k (price+closing costs) or was that just the purchase price?

Welcome to the forums Timothy. I am looking more and more into Baltimore so you are right up where I may end up investing. The prices there are mind blowing compared to down here in NOVA.

+1 (or 2 or 3 or whatever) on the podcasts. I've logged about 50k miles on planes in the past few months and have downloaded and listened to most of the ones that are in line with my investment strategy (buy and hold, landlording, financing deals, etc.). They are a truly invaluable resource and if nothing else make you want to get out there and take action lol

Welcome.

Hey everyone. I just joined last week but have been soaking up whatever I can in the meantime. I am in Alexandria here, near the Arlington/Falls Church border, and I would be interested in local groups, either around my area or elsewhere in DC.

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I am overwhlemed right now with the amount of information available on this site. This is truly an awesome place to learn how to get some skin in the game. I look forward to interacting with all of you in the future!

Nate

Hey everyone. New member here in the Northern Virginia area. I live in Alexandria but spent the last 5 years in Arlington. My family back home where I grew up in Southwest Virginia always associated Arlington only with Arlington National Cemetery, so I always got funny looks whenever I told them I lived in Arlington. It was amusing (maybe you had to have been there).

Anyways, my fiancee and I purchased our first home back in May 2013; a 2 bedroom condo near Bailey's Crossroads in Alexandria. We are loving being homeowners so far and I have recently been reading up on investment properties.

The strategy I am most interested in pursuing is buy and hold, generating modest but positive cash flow while appreciation does its thing. We would eventually like to move to a townhouse or single family home, but are happy where we are in the meantime.

I look forward to becoming a more active part of this awesome community and want to thank everyone so far for the guidance, especially the site's tutorial for the newbs. Great stuff.

If anyone in the NOVA/DC area is interested in connecting, I am more than willing.

Thanks all

Nate