All Forum Posts by: Daniel Gabler

 The major thing holding me back currently is just how expensive everything is in my immediate geographic area. 

I really want my first SFH to be within a modest driving distance, an hour or so tops, as I will be the property manager and have a few licensed professionals that I could call if a major problem arises (plumbing, electrical, etc.). As of right now, there seems to be nothing within an hour drive that would have a positive cash-flow after I account for expected expenses (50% of Gross Monthly Rent) AND mortgage payments.

The distance thing is holding me back as I ahve found a few properties that seem attractive, but they are all about a 2-3 hours drive north of me. 

I have not invested in a property yet as I continue to build up my knowledge base (Been about a year of consistent reading of guides, books, this forum etc.) and had a few questions.

1. Besides some of the top-line figures such as purchase price, rent estimates, financing costs, management costs, etc (General Rules of Thumb). What are some of the indicators that you more seasoned pros here look for in neighborhoods? 

School systems? 

Employment Figures? 

Anything besides just the cold-hard figures?

2. How in-depth does everyone get with cash-flow projections. As a newbie, I have built a spreadsheet to estimate monthly cash-flow projections, but it "feels" basic. It includes: 

Total Purchase Price (Down Payment + Renovation Costs)

Projected Gross Monthly Rent (I assume a 1mo/yr vacancy to be conservative)

Projected Net Monthly Rent (50% of Gross)

Debt Servicing Payments (Principal and Interest Columns)

Monthly Net Income (Proj. Net Monthly Rent - Debt Service Payment)

After-Tax Monthly Net Income

Am I missing anything in the big picture?

Hello All,

First time poster, but have been lurking for a few months. Over the last year or so I have slowly read about REI. I have read a few different guides and short books and am starting to feel more confidant in the lingo, the numbers, handy rules, etc.

I have been saving up some money outside of our retirement accounts, it is currently invested in public markets, with the plan of one day purchasing a Residential Single or Multi Family Home. 

In an ideal world, I really want the first property to be local (Within an hour drive or so), because I want to learn as much as possible about property management. The problem however, is that we live in a pretty high COLA area and I am struggling to find any properties that come close to anything described as attractive i.e. sub 1% rule, above 9 for GRM. Every time I seem to d a calculation based on what I think are fair purchase/rent prices, I struggle to find positive cash-flow properties once I account for debt servicing and expected expenses (50% of Gross Rents).

I was wondering if anyone has ever made their first REI in an out of state property, or at the very least, a 2-3 plus hour drive away property? I would like to avoid hiring a property manager for a SFH, but if it's not local I do not see many other options.

Ultimately, this could be an indicator that it is not the right time to be investing in my geographic area, but I am new to this and wanted to hear others thoughts.

Thanks.