All Forum Posts by: Maxwell Lee

 What are you talking about? The sooner I "help" my tenants pay off my mortgage, the sooner they start paying me and not the bank. Why are you trying to trick your own brain??

I'll say it again since you clearly love cash flow: Years 1-15 you cash flow a little less...years 16-30 you cash flow much much more. On top of that, you gain equity much quicker. Hence...full ownership in half the time. 

That still doesn't mean it's always the best option as it entirely depends on your strategy for growth. But people need to understand their choices and not just repeat silly catchphrases. 

The people acting like it's a no-brainer are wrong. And when they say it's your tenants paying the mortgage for you that doesn't make sense in this context. Your tenants are paying you and you are paying off the mortgage. If your mortgage is paid sooner, then all the money your tenants pay stays in your pocket. Of course that is a positive! Your cash flow is smaller for the first 15 years and then much much higher for years 16-30. 

However, the question is whether the higher cash flow in the short term is more beneficial to you in the long run. If you are able to continue leveraging it could be. If you think you would sell in the next 10 years it could be. If you can somehow predict interest rates 15 years from now will be very high then it could be. There's probably many other factors to consider too. It's a good question that is very dependent on your situation. And remember that things don't always go as planned so higher cash flow/lower payments are safer in that regard. 

the closer you are to 8th street the better. Main St between 8th and 3rd is becoming a commercial hotbed as businesses have finally (recently) started flooding in. By the summer there should be two new micro breweries, one new restaurant, a Walgreens express and possibly a grocery store to go along with the restaurant, microbrewery and coffee shops that opened recently. We've been waiting and expecting this for many years and it's finally happening.

That said, prices in this area have already gotten very high...the cheap stuff is mostly a bit farther away. 

 Hmm, like a few other folks have suggested, I do not like to invest in the worst properties/areas and usually like to have at least 3 bedrooms, which makes it tough to suggest sub $40k price points. In Jax near the bottom of the market you probably could have gotten ok properties at that price, but now you're probably looking at $90k for those same homes. I have broken this rule a few times in Indianapolis, where a handful of my 2/1 units were purchased for around $30k, but I grabbed those off market and are in gentrifying neighborhoods I was willing to bet on. 

So with that said, I suppose my answer to you is either look in places like Indy, Memphis and Cleveland where the price points are insanely low but do A LOT of diligence and cross-check all the advice you get from locals and be prepared that things might go wrong. The other option at such a low price point is small towns. I dont know them well but certainly people who do can cash flow well and these low price points are a result of the small market, not a reflection of the quality of the product. 

Flipping a large house on a large lot with a separate garage+living unit that is unlivable. I have had a buyer, since the very beginning, and in fact have had the house rehabbed to a small degree with them in mind. I would really like to sell to them because they are willing to pay a little over market price and without an agent. They REALLY want the house. Listed at $240k. 

The problem is that their lender is not willing to finance the property with an uninhabitable garage. On top of that their insurance costs came in higher than expected and changing lenders would also likely significantly increase their payments as they have a very good relationship and offer with their preferred lender. 

My short-lived solution was to subdivide the lot, sell them the main house and offer them a contract to buy the garage in 6-12 months. This suited the buyer perfectly and allowed them the financial flexibility to make it work. And if something fell through I have no issue building a new house on the back lot which well definitely sell for a decent profit. But the city quickly killed my entire plan, informing me that if I subdivide I must build a new house. The current garage would not qualify as a main dwelling unit. 

Sooo....what can we do?? Is there any way to sell a partial lot with the rest of the lot transferring 6 months later? They only need a little bit of extra time. As for my end...I am willing to be flexible to sell to this buyer, but I need to get at least 50-100k back out of this property soon. TIA!

I 100% agree with what @Gregory L. wrote. Note that I fall on the side of loving Springfield and Murray Hill, but certainly some folks might find them still too early in transition for their own comfort. I would say they are no longer too early in transition to be a risk though...they've passed the tipping point in that regard, but still might be too rough for some people to live in themselves. 

If you need to be on the cheaper side, try Lakeshore (32210) as close to the river as possible or the cheaper fringes of 32246. Good luck to all!

Welcome. This website that you're on has its own analysis you can see here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/biggerpoc...

10) St Louis 9) Tampa 8) Atlanta 7) OKC 6) San Antonio 5) Kansas City 4) Indy 3) Birmingham 2) Detroit 1) Memphis

This uses strict averages for the market and doesn't consider anything like taxes, insurance, maintenance costs, vacancies, landlord laws, etc. 

Other markets that have been viewed as high cashflow include Orlando, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cleveland, Northwest Indiana. There are others but you've got plenty to work with there lol. Good luck!!

Yes I do! Vic is the man! Does a lot of work in the historic neighborhoods...but he's very busy so best to get in touch and see if he can fit into your schedule first. PM me for contact if interested. 

An early welcome to North FL Hadar! I am only in Jax 20% of the time and that weekend will be in TX so I do not imagine I will be in Jax when you are. However, if you enjoy playing touch rugby, our club meets on Wed evenings right by the St Johns Town Center. We've got a handful of Aussies but none from NZ. Sorry, didnt want to miss a chance to invite you out!!

Anyway, I am sure there will be plenty of REI folks who are available to chat you up and show you around.

Thanks @Rob Bergeron. I've been interested in Louisville for awhile now, with particular focus on the IN side since I already invest a lot in the state. I may be due a visit sometime this winter/spring.