All Forum Posts by: Peter Korty

Hi @Elijah Miller,

I would love to get started in the self storage business. 34 units are only bringing in $1900/month? That's only $56/unit. I've noticed that the self storage places near me are pretty consistently renting at $1/sq ft.

You could potentially build climate controlled units in the office area. Those tend to go for higher rent than non climate controlled units.

I don't think I'd worry about the sale prices of neighboring businesses since businesses sell based on the cap rate instead of comps. To figure that out, you'd have to know the gross income and the total expenses of the business. 

Hi @Michael J Scanlon, 

It wouldn't be a house hack. The online quote that I got from my bank for an investment property is 3.25% with 3.875 points. Their quote for a personal property was 3.25% with 0.25 points. 

The report doesn't seem to show it, so that may be a bug with the calculator, but I always put in at least 3-4% for repairs and maintenance, and 10% for CapEx.

Thanks for the help,

Hi @Tim Donovan,

IMHO, Rentometer isn't the best source for estimating rent rates. It seems to me that it tends to give me an average rent of the entire city instead of a particular neighborhood. I personally use Craigslist to get a general idea of the rental rates in property's vicinity. I can also look at the posting date to determine how long it has been vacant and use that information to determine if the rent is too low or too high. That way my rent is about in the right spot.

I haven't bought my first rental property yet though, so you may take my suggested opinion with grain of salt.

Hi BP Community,

Can you please check my numbers on this deal analysis? https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

I'm not entirely sure that my rent is realistic since looking out the front yard is a nice view of a cemetery and the back yard is an almost vertical hill...

The house was built in 2001 and has been vacant for the past couple of years after the owners died. The family is just now trying to sell it.

Thanks for the help,

I think your closing costs are a little on the low side too. I was told to always estimate the closing costs at 3% of the purchase price. $2500 is only 1% of the purchase price.

@Bobbi Martinez and @David Gates,

Maybe us newbies are overthinking the whole thing? Lets try working on the plan together and perhaps more experienced investors can make sure we're on track. After we have a plan, I think the Mission Statement will come out on its own.

Lets say we have an end goal to meet in Denver at the BP HQ. The overarching question is how do we get there? The first question is what mode of transportation do you plan to use to get there? Would you walk, bike, drive, fly, teleport, or take the train? What does that mode of transportation look like? Is it a pair of Nike shoes, a Schwinn, or a star ship? What direction do we go? Do we go North, East, South, West or something in between? 

Bobbi's goal is to be FI and able to spend time with her family.  How does she get there? Will she invest in SFRs, Multi Family, Notes, etc...? What do the investments look like? Are they fixer-uppers in class D neighborhoods in her local area, turn key properties in class A neighborhoods in other states or something in between?

Once we have the end goal in mind, lets start at the end and break down the process of how to get there into tiny actionable pieces. Then "start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible."

Hi @Dan Kim,

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! I live near Lafayette, but work in Kokomo! What kind of real estate are you planning to invest in and  what is your goal with your real estate investing?

@James ONeal I'm focusing on SFR properties for now. I might move into mulit-family units later, but I think to just get started, a SFR is probably the right route for me. My ultimate goal is to eventually move into self storage.

It surprised me to hear how many guests are introverts too.

@James ONeal It's great to find another REI in the Lafayette Indiana area! I too am a total newbie to REI and also haven't found much activity on BP for the Lafayette area.

@Greg Scott what purchase amount and rent were you forecasting for the property in the link you provided? I also analyzed that deal, and my numbers were saying I could probably rent it for $1000/month, but my max purchase price would have to be about $95k with the tenants paying all the utilities before I could get it to 12%. I probably run my numbers too conservatively though.