All Forum Posts by: Randall George

Thanks for your input Dave. I think there will be steady demand as well since it is centrally located and somewhat close to UNM, CNM, jobs, etc. My goal is to owner occupy for now and hold long term. I haven't considered an exit strategy, but seeing as I shouldn't have a problem renting units out, it should be low risk. I would still be able to cover expenses with vacancies as well (hoping to keep vacancy minimal). 

The fourplex is located in the northeast heights of Albuquerque near Carlisle and Comanche. The units are currently rented for $525/ month. I'm thinking rental rates would not increase after updates are done given the location of the fourplex and what others in the area are being rented for. Owner pays Water/ sewage and trash removal, while tenants pay electric and gas. If all four units are rented I should have an NOI of about $400/month, although I would plan on being an owner occupant so subtract $525 from monthly income while I live there. Based on my understanding the units just need to be "rentable" especially being in a class "C" neighborhood so I may be overestimating interior updates.

Upon searching for my first fourplex and investment property in Albuquerque, NM, I came across one worth consideration. The problem I have is i'm not sure if the fourplex would be worth my time and money to renovate the interior of all four units. 

The fourplex was listed as a "turn-key" rental operation, but I am having other thoughts on this. The unit I was shown looked decent, but needs a kitchen renovation and all the flooring in the 750 sq. ft. unit needed to be replaced. Long story short, i'm looking at $5,000 in renovations for each unit with a grand total of about $20,000 for all four units. The property is listed at $169,000 which matches other similar fourplexes in the area that have recently sold. The units are rentable for the most part besides the kitchens that are original from 1978 and disgusting carpets that need to be replaced.

I would like to know if the fourplex is worth my time and money to renovate. Will interior renovations reflect on its value given it is in a "Class C" neighborhood? I would like to see the property valued closer to $200,000, but i'm not sure if updates alone would make this possible. 

On an unrelated note, the current tenants are on month to month leases. Is this better in a "Class C" neighborhood?

I apologize for the late response, but I appreciate your input Bill. The owner leased the property right before we started the deal, however I was not informed both units were leased until I was ready to make an offer (this should clarify the scenario). This was not yet under contract, as the contact was subject to the ability of the owner get one of the tenants to move out. During the writing of the contract, I decided to offer an extra $1500 in the total purchase price of the property since the deal was already not in my favor. I figured the higher offer would give the owner the incentive to "buy-out" the lease of one of the tenants, which he told us he was willing to do. The offer of $1500 did not work to get either of the tenants to break their lease. As a last resort I offered to match the owner's offer up to $2500 (stretching my budget). I really did not want to do this because I was already losing money at is was by offering the seller asking price for the property. Unfortunately, the "buy-out" offer of $5000 (my offer and the owner's combined) was not enough to entice either one of the tenants to move out. At this point I had no choice but to move on as owner occupancy in this duplex was not going to be viable. Looking back at the deal, i'm glad they did not accept my offer, mostly due to the fact I would have wasted a lot of my money that could have been invested elsewhere. 

My plan is to continue the search for an owner occupancy multi-family property. If I can't find one in the area, I will continue saving to use a conventional loan to purchase an investment property in a couple years. I would at least like to get one property under my belt before I leave the military, but it may not be realistic at this point.

Hello, I recently made an offer on a duplex that I intended to owner-occupy as I would be using a VA loan. I later found out during the middle of the deal that the owner signed a 1 year lease agreement for each of the two units. The question I have is can I still use the VA loan using a waiver saying I will occupy the property within a year. The VA requires occupancy within 60, which is considered to be a reasonable amount of time, but I would be moving in long after this, but within a year. Is this possible under an occupancy waiver?

Hello Nathaniel,

Have you had any luck in wholesaling in the past 5 months since this forum was created?