All Forum Posts by: Nicholas L.

@Ian Henderson

hi. i don't want to come off as negative, but i am just going to be direct, in order to try to help you protect the funds you've accumulated. out of state BRRRR is very, very difficult. you're trying to find a property that's the right level of distressed, you're up against local investors who are going to snap up all the best properties before you can even look at them, and then you're entirely reliant on your team. and, BRRRR isn't a cash flow strategy. if you BRRRR successfully you're boosting the ARV, and likely to break even or even be negative when you're done.

the bottom line is, for LTRs right now, we all want cash flow, but in the short term, there isn't any to be had at today's rates.  any analysis that shows you "cash flowing" $187 in month 1 on any property anywhere is just not reflective of reality and how buying a property, closing on it, stabilizing it, getting it ready to rent, and renting it out works. 

there are costs at every stage of the process and in the "cheaper" markets those costs are actually disproportionally higher compared to the purchase prices of the properties.  no matter where you buy you're still going to have to pay thousands of dollars in closing costs, you're likely going to have to spruce it up to rent it out, you're going to have to pay the first month's rent to lease it, and then, the furnace or the dishwasher is going to immediately break.

finally, you threw out a bunch of types of investments... and i don't think we can tell you what you're interested in.

as always i'll ask - can you house hack locally?  not everyone's situation permits it, but it's a powerful way to get started.  and if you can't house hack, i'd still try to stay on your side of the country and not buy a random property thousands of miles away that other people will make money on and you will lose money on.

here are some situations where folks chased cash flow.  see what you think.  happy to help further

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1242392-rough...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/1231840-sell...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/840134-memph...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...

@Angela Davis

so there really isn't cash flow anywhere right now, even in lower cost markets, with interest rates so high.  and, chasing "cash flow" can have negative consequences:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1242392-rough...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/1231840-sell...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/840134-memph...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...

I know New York is a tough market, but can you pick a place within an hour or two of you, if where you live is too expensive?  this lets you be hands on - you're not thousands of miles away if something goes wrong, or someone is not responding.  that way you can build a network in person, see properties in person, manage your team in person, etc.

hope this helps

@Angela Davis

where are you located?

and what size multifamily?

@Leobardo Padilla

hello. i would recommend against doing this unless you are going to personally go to Dayton to look at properties, build a team, meet your service providers, etc.  

so many CA investors have bought a random property in a supposed "lower cost" market like Dayton and gotten absolutely crushed by deferred maintenance, expensive repairs, rough tenant turnovers, vacancy, etc. 

you'll need to differentiate yourself somehow and my opinion is that you can do this by being in person.

i'd also consider house hacking if you're not already.  that is a powerful strategy to build equity and in the long term equity is wealth.

hope this helps - here is some reading material for you

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1242392-rough...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/1231840-sell...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/840134-memph...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...

@Evelyn V.

this can be a tricky area - I'd continue to consult your attorney.

@Sarah Biggs

can you start with a house hack?

@William Miller

hello. thanks for the transparency.  if you wouldn't mind what are the specifics on the TX property?

also, i noticed you said "BRRRR deals that cash flow." in my experience a well done BRRRR won't cash flow - it's an equity play only at this time. thoughts?

@Juan Lopez

will you go in person, repeatedly, as often as is needed, to any or all of these markets, in order to select and build your team?  and not just buy a random property that others will make money off of, and not you?  if not, this is a spectacularly risky strategy.

Baltimore - a path to never-ending pain

@Mylo Lor

so, you have a lot of overlapping things going on in your post.  i guess i am confused mostly by your first question: "What key things should I look at to know if a property is a good rental investment?"

that is very, very broad. are you asking only in the context of short term rentals? or, do you want something that might work as both an STR and an LTR? what research have you done? how many markets are you looking in? why do you want to invest in STRs? no one is going to present you a gift-wrapped, perfect STR that is just sitting on the MLS waiting for you to buy it.

you got great feedback from @Bryce Jamison - a short term rental is a huge undertaking especially with so much saturation in so many markets.  

maybe you can provide more information to help BP help you.

@Syed Jameel

are you going to be able to go to Detroit in person to get everything set up and then supervise this?  if not, I'd pick a different strategy

good luck