All Forum Posts by: Ricardo S.

I closed on this property back in August 2019. This post was long overdue so here you go;

Last year I was determined to get my first property so after doing some research and calling over 35 banks and mortgage companies finally I found a mortgage company that was willing to work with me and my credit score. The thing is FHA min credit requirement is 580 but most lenders have an overlay requirement of at least 620 for 3.5% down. But the company I found through a mortgage broker, my agent referred me to charged me 1 point to get the loan. I hope this information helps someone. Bad credit means you pay extra in life. Keep in mind I was 26 with zero debt making 75k a year. My credit score was due to 3 charge offs back in 2015. At the time of writing this all three were disputed and removed from my credit report after using a credit repair company. Now onto the deal:

Duplex in West Philadelphia:

Price $319,000 

offered $325,000 with 5% seller assist. It was accepted.

Unit 1: 6bed/3baths 

rent by the room house hack: Room Tenants paid First, Last and security deposit to move in (3x rent) month to month

room A $700

room B $400

room C $400

room D $550

room E I stay here

room F $550

All utilities included in rent:  [ Electric, GAS, Water/Sewer, Trash, Wifi, Monthly Cleaning Service for common areas] average $550 per month so far.

Unit 2: 4bed/2 bath

$1400 per month. Tenant pays own utilities except: water/sewer & trash. First and security deposit to move in ( 2x rent) 1 yr lease

Gross rents: $4,000 

Mortgage payment: $2180.65 

Monthly Expenses:  $550

Reserves $150 

Net Cashflow: $1,119.35

Rent payments are collected using Cozy. I will move out soon and rent room E for $350 per month.

P.S I closed on August 30th 2019. The house was fully rented by October 24th 2019.

The 1st of the month is my new favorite day :)

I live in Brooklyn and also own a Multi-

Family in Philadelphia. Its way cheaper than Jersey with better cash flow.

@Mary Schr

If I were you I would sell it and move on.

What investors do in nyc is buy that house you purchased. Then demolish it and build a 7-10 unit apartment building in its place for true cashflow.

@Matthew Defore

I currently rent by the room in PA, I rent 5 bedrooms this is what I do;

I charge one flat fee for rent. This includes all utilities including wifi and monthly cleaning service for common areas.

I installed a smart thermostat as well.

I bought kitchen appliances and utensils all from amazon as well as trash bins and laundry baskets.

Only furniture I bought was a dining room table and couch from IKEA. Thats about it.

I have a whiteboard in the kitchen and laundry room for reservations.

I letter each bedroom and place letters inside cabinet doors and fridge to dedicate space for everyone.

All bedrooms have their own locks which I keep a copy of and a lock box with another set of keys incase someone locks themselves out their room by accident. I change password on the lockbox after each occurrence.

I also charge first , last and security deposit for each room. My cheapest room is $400 a month and my most expensive is $700 per month. To give you perspective.

I don’t look at credit scores but they have to pass the background check and have a reliable income. As for compatibility. I’ve never real had any issues. I rent to a 23yr old girl all the way to a 58 year old man

Be sure to set and enforce the rules for quiet hours!

@Daniel Jewell

Congrats man,

Question: how many bedrooms and how much will they rent for?

Actually the hottest places to buy right now are the Caribbean that are located on the coasts close to the beach. The USD goes a long way in these countries and tourism as well as international investments in their infrastructure is on the rise. A good example is Jamaica.

What I did when trying to rent out my property was each week I selected a day I was free and each tenant That was interested in seeing the property I told them to come on that specific day. Then if they asked for another day I would say thats my only available day this week sorry. Then the ball is in their court find the time to come see the place. I would have about 9-12 groups of people show up throughout the day. Sometimes all at once since most people leave work at 5PM and the ones that flaked I rescheduled for a day during the following week I was available and I did this each week for about 4 weeks to get all my units rented.

Also when someone shows up to see your place and see 3 other groups of people there that also want to see the same place you start to create a lil old fashioned term called “supply and demand” or Atleast the perception of it.

@Nicho Pruett

Good deals in Philadelphia go under contract within days of being on the market.

If you are serious, you need to move quickly in terms of setting up viewings and make sure you have your financing already in place to submit an offer when you see a good deal show up on the mls.

Your realtor needs to be on the same page as well.

@JJ Buckner

How many beds and baths does your property have if you don’t mind me asking?

Save up for your next deal. After a year has passed refinance your FHA loan into a conventional loan. Then buy your second deal with another FHA Loan.