All Forum Posts by: Shaun R.

@Scott Beatty This property is in Pine Meadows off Joe May Rd.  I'm finding out real quickly that I prefer to contract work out, rather than doing it myself.  Looking forward to getting a renter in this one and looking for the next one.

Some things I should have added in the original post.  The interest rate on my current mortgage is 3.625%.   

If I keep my current residence, I do have the ability to buy my next one using a 5% down conventional mortgage.  

I am investing in buy and hold properties for cash flow.  

I haven't shopped around on refi's, but I asked the lender that I used to purchase my rental property, and she told me that she estimated it would be about $3500 in costs to do a refi and get rid of PMI. Is that worth it to get rid of $150 per month of my payment?

I just closed on a rental property and once I get the renter in place, I've got to make a decision on what to do with the house I'm currently living in.  I have been planning on keeping it as a rental, but now I'm not so sure.  Help me decide which would be smarter.  

I bought the house almost 5 years ago for $180k.  According to comps, prices have gone up and with about $5k in updates I should be able to get $195k.  I currently owe $155k, so after everything I can think of, I should net around $25k if I list with a Realtor.  

My payment is $1118 and the house would rent for $1600/mo.  After I account for maintenance, capex, vacancy, and management (even though I'll be managing it for the near future) I would only cashflow $53/mo.  

When I ran those numbers, holding onto it as a rental didn't seem to be such a good idea.  

Whether I sell this house or rent it, I'm going to buy my next one through the eyes of a real estate investor.  I'll be looking for a good deal that I can force some equity into.  I'm buying as an owner occupant, but will move in 1-2 years and keep the property as a rental.  

So... what's the smarter play here?  I'm leaning more toward selling.

Well, I suppose I'm officially a real estate investor after years of reading and talking about it. I'm partnering with a friend from work on this one, and we closed on Wednesday. The house was an REO listed on the MLS. It's 1510 square feet, 3br/2ba on a nice corner lot in a subdivision. We are working on getting it ready to rent, and I'm guesstimating that we are going to put about $5,000 into it when all is said and done.

I'll post the final numbers when we are done and have a renter, and I'm sure I'll be here asking some questions along the way.

Correct Sarnen Steinbarth I should have waited until I was fully awake this morning to post. I did mean $2.50.

Paul Ronto Does the landlord have the option to pay the processing fee?

I got the answer back yesterday from turbotenant. There is a 2.5% processing fee for the tenant.

John Anderson I actually submitted that question to their website this morning to find out if there is a fee for the tenant.

I'm closing on my first rental property next week and my plan is to put everything above PITI in a reserve account until the balance is $5k. Everything extra after that is going to be saved for the purchase of the next property. I have a job with a pretty decent income, so I don't need the cash flow right now. I'm going to build my portfolio and add $5k to the reserve account until I feel I have enough.

Before I take this on myself... I'm working my way through listening to all of the BP podcasts. I never can remember what each guest's favorite real estate and business books are (other than rich dad, poor dad). I'm about to go back through and start compiling a list of the books from each show. Is it out there already?