All Forum Posts by: Ralph Stowe

The advice I'm hearing is only protect if you have something TO protect. If you're just starting out and have very little, you're almost judgment proof. However, you stated you own 2 homes, those are substantial assets that someone could pursue if they won a judgment against you. I would first make sure you're well insured on both in case anything arises, but it may be time to consider an LLC now that you're gaining some ground in Real Estate.

Which numbers are you having trouble finding? For ARV, you can click the "Sold" feature on Zillow to see what sold in that area and for how much (Try to stay within 1/2 mile and within 6 months sale date) For estimated rents, check rentometer. Until you become an expert at rehab costs, one investor told me a "quick and dirty" way is estimate $20-45 per square foot depending on condition (20 - light cosmetic stuff, some flooring etc.. 45 - trashed - full gut.) It's not exact by any means buy should put you in the ball park. For other numbers, local realtors or property managers should have that information.

"If your dreams don't scare you a little bit, they aren't big enough" - someone with a lot more money than myself

The house isn't very big so to paint the exterior would not be very much.. if it did exceed $1000, I would prefer to do it myself.  The drywall on most of the inside looked pretty good so again, painting wouldn't require too much.  The foundation just needed some touch up in the photo where they are doing some siding repair. The cabinets may not even be that much. Unless we bumped out the wall to the laundry room and moved the washer dry upstairs. The house already had granite countertops.. well top.  its 1/2 a galley kitchen as is.  I left a $9000 contingency in case anything ends up being more. Anything other than major projects, I would just fix myself. 

This is as good as the reviews for the 5 lb bag of sugarless gummy bears..

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*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

I stumbled across this.  Its in an "eh" area that is having some success.  3 other comps of the same size sold for $210k , a 4 bedroom sold for $230k.  The only downside is this place ha a tiny kitchen and really narrow staircase. You could bump out the wall to the laundry room to give the kitchen more space but then the washer dryer have to go upstairs (narrow staircase) but there ARE hookups upstairs.  If your offer of $135k is accepted, you could make $25k..  it has hardwood floors in most rooms to be refinished.. and some siding work on the front (see pic)  the rest is livable.. just old and run down. 

Emily, I'm hearing overall advice that "Scary houses attract scary people". Of course your chances are better to find something in an area where people want to live and send their kids but that doesn't mean there are no deals there. some areas improve over time. We have seen parts of town here go from "Ghetto" to "Up and Coming" in 10-15 years. There are also "Opportunity zones" where your governor wants to revitalize certain areas and developers can get federal tax breaks if they improve in those areas. Maybe you can find a map and see which areas have been selected for this.

There is the "down and dirty" 50% rule that assumes 50% of rent collected will go towards maintenance, repairs, property management, insurance, lawn care etc..  but its not true in all markets.

On my first investment home, they wouldn't give me a building permit unless the ground was putting out 8 gallons per minute. I think I got an exception because other houses nearby were "Flowing" within county spec and it was a particularly rainy year so they let me start building and then later we drilled the well. It all worked out in the end. The county first started out with 4 lines of septic drain lines but made me expand to 6 lines. (It was a big house with 3 1/2 baths).

That could be a difficult market because I imagine the owner received a check from their insurance Co., which leaves them the option to rebuild or to move elsewhere. I don't think ownership changes hands unless they abandon the property. Also, if the wood is burnt through more than a certain percentage, the city/county will condemn the building and not allow it to be rebuilt.  It has to be torn down.  If you find one with mild smoke damage though, that could potentially work out.