All Forum Posts by: Rodney Sums

@Travis Hughes Thank you.  I don't like white appliances either, think they're ugly and generic but I've been focusing on tenant perspective rather than my own.  The challenge with black vs SS is that there is a price difference, but not a whole lot that I've seen.  The kitchen is kind of small, so I'm trying to compensate.  But I agree with you that it makes sense to spend less if it doesn't garner high enough rent or better tenants.

In my area, 1200+/mo either rents you a nice house or a condo in a chic complex and/or competitive neighborhood.  Still learning, this is my 2nd property

@Brent Causey you should have left the circus-colored ceiling fan, would have scored another 5k. Just kidding, good job man!  I like how you saved on paying out commission, are you an agent or did you read up on listing and selling yourself?

I'm debating whether to go stainless steel appliances with laminate counters, or get the granite counters and do white appliances (white would go better with color scheme of paint job than black)

The property is a two story, 2/1.5 condo 980 sq ft.  about 42 sq ft of counter top space.  4pc appliances.  I put nicer tile floor throughout (except bedrooms and stairs)

I want to do better than white appliances with laminate counters to stand out among neighboring properties

I haven't deemed it sensible to spend the budget on this property to do both granite and SS.  

The zip code of this property is about a square mile and the properties vary widely.  Condo prices range from 60k to 400k, and rents for comparable sizes from 800 to 1100/mo.  Some properties have laminate with basic appliances, some have both granite and SS, some have one or the other.  This neighborhood is interesting because on one side of the street you can have what people here call a "C" or "D" block directly across the street from an "A" block.  Which would you choose and why?  Thanks for your input

@Jay Hinrichs

Good points there, prime examples of money working for the investor rather than working for the money....and luxuries working for the investor as well!

@Mayda Searfoss here's my 2 cents as a new investor as well.  I just rented out my first primary residence, and right now I'm going to house hack a condo here in Phoenix.  The numbers won't be as juicy as experienced investors get but I'm learning and it will cash flow.  I was doing my little nosy  visit during construction and thankfully so because I discovered the day before the contractor was to start setting tile, the supplier gave them the WRONG TILE, and it was ugly tile too. And mind you this was going to be tile throughout, minus the bedrooms.  What a nightmare it would have been for them to set it, me see it, then have to hash out jacking it up to put the right stuff down, the delays, more hold costs, who was gonna pay for it etc.  Being local prevented that disaster, and was a lesson learned.  So my two cents is you might want to try investing local first, so you know what to plan for when investing afar since you can't visit the property every day. 

@Account Closed Can I PM you too?  I've been wanting to get in on Yuma seeing how the Phoenix market has been on fire

@Mindy Jensen Thank you for the article,  I will continue doing it the olden schoolen way with the cashiers check, or we can all meet at the bank and exchange paper money like when buying a car from a private buyer. 

@Jim Brozny Just reading through your post to learn.  I'd like to make sure I understood your situation in case I ever encounter it.  Were you asking, for example if the insurance company says the repair costs 100 bucks, and you negotiate with the contractor to do it for 90, do you get to keep the remaining 10 bucks? 

If I misunderstood I'd like to know what you meant :-)

IF I understood correctly, is everyone saying don't keep the extra or it's fraud?

@Max T. ahh the electrical, that's why he wanted a discount.  Good to know about that staircase, I almost bought a condo that had one but debated about that spiral staircase.  It looks cool but walking up those joints...isn't cool and I can only imagine moving furniture on those things.  I can see why that would be a deal breaker

@Simon Ghandil  cool, interesting to learn from your experience:

1. Touche, there are those that don't qualify for traditional financing due to how they earn

2. I wasn't implying people with bad credit have no money.  I was saying the opposite. I'll clarify by saying, I find it interesting that someone with bad credit but has the cash and income can qualify for your property would select this method of purchasing.  I've heard of it before don't get me wrong.  It strikes me as interesting as someone who rents to own a couch or washer machine.  Ultimately, it sounds like you're more lenient on them qualifying when it comes to credit or POI.

3. Oh ok.

4. No investor would.  Still curious how a property that inexpensive gets refinanced traditionally.  It sounds like the new owner will have to improve it to a value that can be financed

5.  That's good news for you and them.  I suppose they have to either hope this issue doesn't  arise, be prepared to fix it up to be financeable, continue paying you for the term of the contract, or allow you to assume the property

6. I wasn't suggesting they were uninformed as in you're hiding information rather, uninformed about a better way to buy a home....like a better way to buy a couch rather than rent to own it :-)

7.  Hats off to you, you might not want to tell anybody about property #2 or they'll make a realtiy TV show out of it and new competition will show up!

@Max T. Still, you got your initial investment back plus MADE money to learn, it usually costs to get educated.  What I also found interesting is that an investor, not an occupant, was attracted to your property at a price that appears would have been retail.  What do you suspect the reason was?  Buy and hold for them?  Would it have been a good buy and hold for you or you more interested in the fast return on a flip?