All Forum Posts by: Roger Vi

Just checked with county, there are no requests being made to change any of the zoning on the block

Thanks for the reply Bob! I will make sure to check the zoning out.

After digging around for information I found this out about the block today...

- one person has made an offer on the 5 SF homes and it sounds like they are going to rehab them and sell or rent out. This is no guarantee, just what an agent has told me

- this lot has been under contract before (All 5 SF and 2 MF). Right before the economy went down there were plans to build some sort of commercial building (medical offices I believe). the proposed plan never happened and now everything is on the market again.

This 4plex is located in a large populated city. Very close to interstate, less than 500 ft from bus access, and near one of the busiest streets and intersections. Units are always rented in this city as long as they are maintained well.

There are 5 single family homes, a restaurant, a bar, a 6plex, and a 4plex on this block.. The restaurant is a chain and has been open 10+ years. The bar has been open about 2 years. All 5 single family homes are in terrible condition. The worst one has all its windows boarded up. The best looking home has paint peeling off the building and damaged windows. I thought they were all vacant until I saw someone walk out of the best looking one. All the homes have for sale signs up and I looked them up on zillow and it looks like they are pending. Both the multis are also for sale.

This is no where near the best part of town. The area is good area overall and the worst streets are 10X better than the best streets in bad areas. This is one of those worst streets but it is surrounded by businesses that have just been renovated or built. There is a 100,000sq ft office building across the street and the local paper has just moved their HQ there. There are multiple big brand businesses near by.

So what do you think of this scenario? The 4plex is fully occupied but well below market rent. I want to purchase, update each unit, and raise the rents to market price. This is the towns lower income area and I am projecting to still be one of the cheaper normal sized 2bd 1bths around after updating. I am hoping the 5 SF homes and 6plex are bought by people with the intention of making them look presentable. There are plenty of jobs in the area and rental demand will be strong.

Hey all! Been browsing the forums for a few weeks now absorbing some knowledge. I though I'd post a new member intro to see who I can connect with locally...

I'm not a PRO by any means. I bought my first SF home in Jan 2013. I started renting it out and now I am on the market for a duplex/triplex/quadplex. Been searching for months and realized I am not really sure what I'm looking for.

I started being interested in real estate with a "Buy-Hold" strategy in mind. I want to build a solid portfolio of single/multi family rentals so that one day (20+ years from now) I can retire from my job and live off the rental income. I have not looked into many properties with high cash-flows; this is mainly because they are not readily available in my area. Actually, I didn't even know it was possible for a home to meet the "50% rule" until I came across this site.

So I've been searching for homes in my area the past year. I'm planning to use a 20% down owner occupied conventional loan to get myself into my first multi-family. I want to know if there are others in my area with the same situation or have been in this situation. I am mixed right now on whether to put 80K down on a home in this area and hope the equity build up is worth it, or to use the same money to buy something with more cash flow in another area.

Anyways, NICE TO MEET YOU ALL!

Just another thought before i leave this property... It may sound like I'm complaining in this post, but I just want to be sure it is time to leave this property alone. It really is the best I've found after 4 months of searching.

I want to say that cash flow is not my biggest concern as it is with most investors on this site. I plan to hold the property long term and see retirement income from it in 20+ years. With this in mind, I originally started shopping for single families as well as duplexes; I considered anything I could rent out for more than the monthly payment + tax + insurance to be "BREAK EVEN." In my mind, someone is paying my mortgage and I will own the building in the end. I realized there were other expenses to be paid (repairs/management/maintenance), so I started off assuming 10% of the rental income should cover this (set aside $220 out of the $2200 rent income each month for maintenance reserves). I realize this is a super low ratio compared to the 50% rule and other rules-of-thumbs on this site. The way I came up with this number is just based on repairs on my own single family home in the past 15 years and the expenses we have had in the past 2 years of renting it. I realize that home owners treat their homes better than renters, but I've always felt that if you can screen tenants carefully and you buy properties in the "higher-end," many of the misfortunes that landlords face can be avoided (i know im probably crazy for assuming this, i just want someone to confirm it).

Well that is a little insight into my "PRE-BIGGERPOCKETS" train of thought. In the past week I've learned A LOT reading through this forum and site. However, I just do not see myself finding a deal anywhere near the stuff I see on this forum. I see the deals of 100K purchase price with rental incomes of $2200+. It seems that in my market there is nothing under 200K and even the cheapest 200K properties need 60K+ in repairs/upgrades to get anywhere close to $2000 monthly income. I'm getting financed as owner occupant and with my job I am limited to properties nearby.

Wow I'm typing a lot so I'm going to wrap this up...

So recently I found this property at 310K. It was built in less than 10 years ago, is already fully occupied, and has NO major repairs needed in the near future (nothing can be predicted, but the condition of this house is 1000% better than most duplexs in my price range/area ). At first glance, all I noticed was that the rent income is $500 greater than the payment + tax + insurance. Tenant pays utilities and maintains yard. I understand problems will come up, but I will have $6000 a year to pay for this before having to dip into other funds. On top of that, the renters are paying my mortgage.

So I'm asking that someone give me a better reason to leave this property alone other than "there is no cash flow." I have a full time job and the most important thing from this property is to gain retirement income in 20+ years once the property is paid off. I am not looking to rehab any houses and I prefer to deal with tenants to want to live in "nicer" neighborhoods. I consider this neighborhood nicer than any other neighborhood in the area with a duplex. It is also the only duplex on a street with many well maintained single family homes. Unless I get tenants from hell, I do not see any damages that could happen to this property that could wipe out my $6000/year. Again, somebody please prove me wrong.

If you have made it this far you are a great person and I truly appreciate your time.

Thanks for the response Bill. The loan I plan to use is based on me occupying one of the units in the property. I assume this means I'm stuck in my own area near my job. Any advice or suggestions on what I should look for in this scenario?

thank you all for the replies! Looks like I'm back on the search, I will update if anything comes up.

Hey this is my first post! I have been shopping for multi-familys (mostly duplexs) in my area for the past year. Recently, I made an offer on a duplex that I believed to be the best deal in my price range. Then I discovered BiggerPockets and started questioning my "deal."

We are still negotiating, but here is the offer I am sure I can get...

Purchase Price: 310K

2 units, 3 bd 2.5 bth, 1150 sq ft each unit w/ single attached garage.

Unit 1 rents for $995/month, Unit 2 rents for $1245/month ( Looking at comparable rentals, both units should be able to rent out for at least $1100(conservative), $1245 seems high to me. Current leases are through Dec/2014 and tenants want to stay). Anyways, lets assume $2200/month

I plan to do a conventional loan with 20% down. Est cash to close is about $67,000

Monthly Payment: $1250

Tax: $380/month

Insurance: $50/month

$1680 total, $2200 rent income (I know there are other expenses but these are the expenses that I can put a price and frequency on)

It is located 30 minutes from Seattle in a neighborhood I consider very nice for the price. The schools aren't rated very good, but the town is certainly growing. A mall was built in 2005 8 minutes from duplex. 2 years ago they started a major expansion project adding hundreds of shops and restaurants.

Based on other deals I see on this site it seems like this ones a ripoff. It is important for me to find a property with attached garages, in a quiet neighborhood off of busy streets, and with a back/front yard that's not small. This one meets all the criteria and its the only property in my price range that does. Most properties I see in my range either don't have garages, or are built in the early 1900s and need major updating. I've seen a few built in 1960-1980 but they are usually 2 bd/ 1bth and I prefer 3/2. Anything close to this property is either 400K+ or located in towns I consider "too far out there."

Should I be patient and wait for something better to show up? (I have been actively looking the last 6 months and this is the first home I have made an offer on)

Do I need to lower expectations for my price range?

Are prices just too high in my area? Do I need to start looking for something "too far out there?"

Thank you, any input is appreciated.