All Forum Posts by: Kevin Reid

Has anyone ever dealt with this auction site? They have several listings in my area that are seriously below market value, but few guys seem to bid on the properties and then after the auction closes with the reserve not met it gets reposted. One of the properties I'm interested in is a foreclosure in my neighborhood and has been reposted at least 8 times. Anyone with first hand knowlege? I came upon the site by chance through someone else, but have never seen any advertising.

How does one arrange financing for buying foreclosed/pre-foreclosure properties that are being auctioned? I always assumed you needed cash on hand, but can they be bought with some kind of mortgage?

I would love rental properties, but I'm not sure I can find the financing to buy and do the renovations. The property inland is so cheap that I could get rid of it in a few years for what I paid and not be out much money. The property on the water is something I would hold for a while and either sell, or maybe build a vacation home on for ourselves. 

Wow, ok I see your points, but I agree with Michael's train of thought too. Where I am looking is primarily a retirement type community with lower crime rates, and the renters seem to be mostly baby boomers and such from the people I've spoken with. I don't know which way to go really.

So let me ask, what is a good rent vs purchase ratio for the long term? What I mean is how much would you be comfortable renting a property for from an investment side?

I think for a single family 2/2, if bought for $50-70k (plus renovation costs) I could maybe rent it for $900-1100 a month.

If I buy a duplex with a 2/2 on each side for $100k-120k (plus renovations for each side) I could possible get $700-900 a month per side.

So which is the better bet?

If you were investing in a lower cost rental which way would you go? 

I've been looking around in an area I'm interested in and where it seems I can find cheaper homes for $50-80k that are 2/2 or 3/2 that might need minor work to be rentals. Or more interesting to me is I can get duplexes with a 2/2 on each side for $100-130k. I am interested in the duplex because we might want to use one side as a vacation home in a few years, however the increased carrying costs are a bit worrisome if we find ourselves without a tenant for some time.

So what is the wiser move? What are the pros and cons of each? My thinking is with a duplex even though it is a higher mortgage I have a better chance of having at least half of it rented, but each side will not fetch as much rent. Plus I will essentially have 2 homes to maintain and fix up. Thoughts?

I am thinking about getting into investing, on a small scale. I'm trying to decide between buying existing properties (which I'll make another post on) or on buying land.

So as far as buying lots of land is concerned I am looking for some opinions. I have a location were the land is still relatively cheap for residential 1/4 acre lots. This is a seaside city in Florida that was hit hard by the recession, but is showing signs of life again. The areas to the north and south are getting pretty built up and soon, maybe 5-15 years this area should be a hotspot for growth.

If I buy and hold for the future it will only cost me a few hundred dollars a year for taxes, and I won't have to maintain anything. So I have about $5k or more to work with this summer and I'm trying to figure out if this is the direction I want to go. I can buy lots for cash for 4-7k and own them outright. Or I can buy a lot on the water and finance it for 35k+. The lots on the water that have homes already build are going for $300k up to 500k.

So would you rather have an inland lot owned outright, or a water lot that you mortgaged? 

How much money would one need? Honestly I can come up with about 10% (5-6k) of what I want to spend. Some of the properties I am looking into are around $23-35k, but I would want $10k on top of that for some improvements and to set aside for emergencies.

I'm not planning on going out tomorrow and doing this, but I do want to jump in before the prices start rising faster then they have been around here.

Homepath.com looks like a promising deal, I wonder if there is a catch since the properties seem to be way below market value?

I don't want to flip houses, at least not yet, and borrowing money from family or friends is not an option in my mind, to much drama involved. Thanks for the info.

Does anyone have any other recommendations?

I am new to the game, as in brand new and I do not have a clue where to really start.

I currently own a house that we plan on living in for at least another 15 years or so, but we are very much underwater still, by maybe 40k or so. So borrowing on the equity of my first home is obviously not an option.

I want to buy a cheap house for a long term rental, I plan on holding on to it for a decade or so before considering selling it. When I say cheap, I mean upwards or $50k, but I have many options in the $30-40k area. Naturally these homes will need a little work, mostly cosmetic, but anywhere from $5k to $15k.

So assuming one does not have much cash on hand, but has excellent credit, what are the options out there? How do people with no money get loans to buy and fix up a property? Thank you very much.