All Forum Posts by: Nathan Hall

@Ned Carey as for area it's fine for the town. I'm not banking on appreciation for a few years. Property prices have been suppressed in my area for a while, though I could argue they're lower than they should be.

@Ned Carey that's the conclusion I'm at as well, honestly. It's in good shape for the shape of the building, rents are a bit low but I'm not immediately locked in to any tenant but one. It's not a great deal, but for context I just offloaded a 226k mortgage that was "making" me $350 a month on a sale and I think this triplex had potential, IF we manage it well, at 140k- minus the 25% for twice as much. As I said inspection is Monday so if there are any big ticket concerns that will be addressed.

Is there any inherent benefit to a triplex over a single family or duplex? I think there probably is.

I have a 3 unit, 1,968 sq foot unit under contract for 140,000. Fully tenanted, and rents are 1,800 total a month (2 month to month, one locked in on a lease at a low 525). 25% down obviously makes the deal that much more palatable. Self-managing, only extraneous extra expense is water/sewer/trash at $225 a month, mortgage will be around $816 a month (estimate).

It's a historic property (built 1798) and comes with an extra city lot that isn't big enough to do much with that I can think of.

Would you pull the trigger on this?

@Jason Lee thanks! I did, and do. And I sold to my tenant through a dually-represented agent, so I saved a bit on realtor commissions.

I don't think that this is going to be what skyrockets us to wealth or anything, but it is going to further our financial goals. I'll be eliminating summer bad debt and purchasing a very promising foreclosure with the proceeds that I think will cashflow for around $1000+ a month. I'm excited. RE is a lot of fun, and makes you think a lot, which I enjoy.

Thank you for the reply!

@Matt Wahidi what's the worst thing that can happen? You try and fail. Then you get to try again, if you fail.

Don't let it become something bigger than it is, in your head. Find a proof of concept that, if it fails, you're ok and learn from it. You'll be that much stronger.

I bought it via VA loan in 2008 for 149.9k, 5bd/3.5 ba, 1978 sq ft, zip 20111

Refinanced twice to pay bills/bad spending/money managent habits to current 225k (cashflowed for the past 2 years @350 a month to get it to this point), refit kitchen and bathrooms and opened up living space in 2013 after an inheritance (30k), new AC/furnace in 2012 (8k), on site storage shed installed 2014 (6k), all those expenses paid out of pocket before I started getting smarter about stuff.

I'm walking away with 75k. I can think of a lot of things I could have done better but what did I miss, moving forward?

Thanks for reading!

@Dan Jacobs I'm in Martinsburg as well and have had what I consider to be successes. I'm by no means rich or ready to retire yet, but I've increased my passive income significantly since moving to the area. I'd be more than happy to speak or email with you about it if you're interested, just drop me a message. I'm currently contracted on my fourth property in the city over the past two years, so would be happy to walk you through my process/thinking. There are certainly opportunities here, so long as you understand what you are buying and that this isn't NoVA (to me, that is a good thing).

@Grayson Gist if you're having a crisis of conscience over something, normally that means there is a right answer and a wrong answer. The right answer will cost you something you perceive as a tangible loss or setback but will give you peaceful resolution, while the wrong answer might be more expedient but will always leave you wondering what if. That's just been my experience in life. I'd like to say that I've always made the right choice but I don't want to add 'liar' to my list of mistakes. :) Good luck!

@Lincoln Selk this is a really good idea, now I feel dumb about my advice. :)

@Ray Johnson I'm not sure if anyone has ever told you this but you don't come across well, it at least didn't in this post.