All Forum Posts by: Rob Randle

So I am acquiring my first property to buy and hold.  If everything goes on schedule the unit should be rent ready in mid-December.  I have been a prospective tenant that seems to be a good one.  They want to lease the property starting on January 1st.

Is there a fee that I should charge them for December in order to hold the unit for them?  How do I go about this?

So I just had a home inspection on my first investment property that I will be purchasing. Issues were found, some more severe than others.  This property is mostly in good condition and the inspector thought that repairs were normal and nothing too serious.  The kitchen floor needs to be looked at, possible HVAC issue, and everything else was just handyman type work.

Whats my plan of attack when negotiating with the seller?

I want them to fix it all, is it normal to go in with this mindset? How does this usually play out?

 it is interesting how everyone has a different opinion.  no consensus here!

eg-shell seems to be the more popular choice

So I've looked at the previous threads on interior paint and I am trying to figure out what level sheen would be the best solution for walls (living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom).

I believe that flat paint for walls is the cheapest option because it is easy to touch up will in the end produce less labor costs when paying painters etc.  I will also look nicer when freshly painted and help hide imperfections in the walls. If I plan to use a flat paint I would still have to use a different paint in the bathrooms with an eg-shell shine.  In my opinion there is a reason why 90% of apartment complexes use flat paint.  However, most of us don't have maintenance crews standing around waiting for something to paint.  This paint is likely ideal when units turn-over quickly.

Eg-shell seems to the advantage when it comes to cleaning the walls and using the same paint throughout the whole property.  Eg-shell would likely cut down on material costs because you don't have to worry about putting it in bathrooms and kitchens.  However, the look would be slightly less appealing and whole walls would have to be painted when "touching up".  This also means that walls will be more durable and they can look good for a longer period of time.

So with running a small operation of a few higher-end rentals and trying to increase the longevity of the tenants, what would be the best option?

Please feel free to share your methods and/or colors that you use!

A current property that I am looking at has an enclosed kitchen.  The unit is in good condition otherwise and does not justify full rehab.  Lets say median two bedroom rents in the area are $1200 with an open concept kitchen, how much of a detriment would this be to rent?  I also plan on rehabbing the floors and kitchen counter tops.

What would you guys do with this kitchen?  How would you factor this in to the deal?

So I am looking at some properties that need minor renovations, around 10K.  Basically I am looking for the best way to get a loan for this type of renovation.

For example, looking at a 85k property that needs 10k worth of work.

Questions:

1. Will I need to get a separate loan for the 10K of renovation? Or will the mortgage company add on the 10k and make the loan total 95k.

2. I have read that I can refinance after the work is complete.  So say I buy for 85k, find private money for the 10k in renovation.  I then can refinance and get a loan from the mortgage company for 95K?

3. What is the best way to approach this situation for a new investor?

thank you for the support, yes its around a 25k down-payment. About a quarter of what I am worth. I am interested to hear about the CAP rate issue that a previous poster has mentioned.

In the example that I provided what is my net operating income? List price for the property is 125k.

What you say makes sense but I haven't how cap rate factors in yet.

Hey guys, been lurking for a bit and decided to make an account.

I am looking at a possible deal on a condo in a higher end neighborhood. Let me say that I have a relationship with the HOA and maintenance association that runs the neighborhood. It is a very stable HOA that has not had any recent assessments and have only raised the HOA fee a max of $10 in recent years. The condo is located in an area that has great schools and is a hot-spot for workers who commute to Philadelphia, PA.

Reasons why I am interested in this property:

1. Renting in a well to do area will decrease vacancy rates. Cheap place to live in high end area.
2. Maintence costs (besides HOA) will be lower because of quality tenants.
2. I can get close to top rent in the area.
3. Tenants will be easier to manage (will be managing myself while working full time job).
4. First deal and I have to put down 20% (FHA out of the question). There is not a SFH that I can buy in this high end area so cheaply.
5. Appreciation is likely, condo sold for 40k more than list price in 2006.

Okay so lets skip past the justification and get into the numbers.

Median Rent - Mortgage&Insurance - Taxes - HOA - Vacancy(5%) - Maintenance(5%)

1300 - 570 - 235 - 205 - 65 - 65 = +160

I know I can get this rent by posting fake ad on CL.

I'm looking for peoples thoughts on this deal.  I feel like I need some verification to go through and put an offer on this property.  I know its not the best deal ever but I think its a solid one with more upside than downside.  Thanks!