All Forum Posts by: Rivy S.

Nick, I've been really happy with my properties in Indy.  One of my duplexes is pulling in about 12% Coc after extremely conservative reserves (10% capex, 10% maintenance, 8% vacancy).  The main key is the PM/turnkey provider.  I use FS houses, and highly recommend.  Their staff is courteous, responsive, and efficient. I believe the PM is more important than the market to some extent.  

is your 40-60k meant to be all in, or  the down payment on a conventionally financed purchase? 

@Johnny Situ Ok, that makes sense. If I used those percentages my cashflow would be similar to yours.  However, I withhold 8% vacancy, 10% capex and 10% maintenance.  My management is also 10%.  (1 month of vacancy per year is 8.3%, not 5%)

Do you find that 5% is sufficient to cover your maintenance expenses? I find that even 10% generally gets used up, with landscaping, plumber/electrician calls, turnover costs and general miscellaneous expenses. 

@Johnny Situ Lots of similarities! I'm also a senior software engineer, and I'm also 33. My portfolio is 8 units (3 duplexes and one SFH that's a wrap). I just had baby number 5 though :)

Can you give more specifics on the financials of your rentals? 250-350 per door is awesome, I'm netting closer to 150 per door, after conservative reserves.   What kind of reserves are you putting aside for maintenance, cap-ex, and vacancy? 

i just completed my first wrap in Arlington, and it did not go as smoothly as I had hoped.  It sat on the market for almost six months and then sold for a price and terms that were not quite what I was looking for. So before I jump in to the next one Im trying to figure out what to do differently.  I am specifically looking to do wraps so:

1. In which areas of DFW is there demand for owner financed properties? No war zones though,  don't want to have to worry about vandalization during renovations (been there, done that)

2. What price points are popular with these buyers? What terms?

3. Can anyone recommend a realtor who has experience marketing and selling these properties?

4. If anyone has experience with these kinds of deals and has patience for a semi-newbie to pick their brain please PM me!

@Kevin Martin That's awesome! Are they all SFH? What part of the country are they in? What kind of rent ratios are you seeing? Do you self manage, or hire a PM?

@Matt Darling no, the turnkey company was recommended to me by several people, so I reached out and got on their lists, then jumped on this one when they sent it out. 

I've got an out of state turnkey property in the Midwest that's producing roughly 13% Coc (after management and very conservative reserves), and it's appreciated by about  50% in two and a half years.  Then again, I don't if that's scalable, I think I just got very lucky on this one.  

@David VanWinkle I have the exact same situation.  I have to do about 15k in renovations before I can raise rent, but should be able to raise by about 300 per side (duplex).  However I definitely don't want a winter time vacancy, both because of marketplace consideration and also vacancy cost (have to winterize property, make sure pipes are running, pay for heat, etc)  so I'm going to let them stay at the current rate until April or May, and then raise it probably 150 if they stay as is, otherwise they'll leave and I'll do renovation and hopefully have it ready to re-lease in time for the more competitive spring/summer market. 
Do you have to do any work to bring the rents up? Or can it be rented for 3-400 more as is?

@Kevin Charles be very aware of water/sewer/trash rates (which I assume are paid by the landlord), they are absurdly high for my duplex in 44111, and account for roughly 12% of gross rent.  So make sure the numbers work out with that expense.  Also I've only held in this zip code for about 2.5 years, but rents have not gone up at all in that time.  

@Joe Scaparra I'm confused... Why are you assuming that side by side duplexes are one story? I've got 3 duplexes, one top/bottom, two side by side and both the side by side ones are two stories.  So reason 1 and 2 do not apply.  

I happen to agree that side by side is better-- I know I'd rather live in a side by side one, it feels much more like your own space.  I also plan to eventually have them split legally and sell off each half individually, which is another perk of side by sides.