All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Taggart

Yup I like the small-mid size multis like 5-50 units. Big enough that you aren't competing with newer investors/house hackers but small enough that you aren't competing with institutional money. You also see those marketed improperly or not managed very well quite often which presents opportunity for value add. 

We have mostly 2-4 unit buildings compared to the larger stuff but that 5-50 range can be a good space to find deals in. 

@Anne Christensen BRRRR can still work here on the equity side of things. Plenty of fixer upper homes that have good margins after rehab. You just won't really have a ton of positive cash flow right off the bat if you are refinancing at 70-80% LTV at today's interest rates.

Multi family you can get both but those are tougher on the equity side of things since they cost more to rehab compared to a single family home. So won't tend to find as many oppotunities that work to maximize equity gained like single family homes.

For single family homes you'll want to stick to neighborhoods under about $225k ARV in order to have rent/price ratios that make sense on the backend for holding as a BRRRR. In most instancdes anything higher than that is more flip territory now with the higher interest rates.

@Tomer Einy generally neighborhoods with an ARV of about 250-350k are your best bet right now. That gives you enough margin to work with and make a profit and have the highest # of people looking in that price range since it's closest to the median price point of home here. Plenty of areas that fall within that price range.

@Ashley Harris I'd go for a 3-4 unit if house hacking. A lot tougher to live for free or close to it anymore with a duplex. My house hacking criteria for the last few I have done has been to buy the most expensive 3-4 unit I could with it still at least breaking even after all expenses as a long term rental. The overall ROI long term is the highest with that strategy when it comes to house hacks in particular.

@Brandon Polcawich I typically go $80-$120/unit each for both capex and maintenance on the older homes. I like to use a flat amount compared to a percentage since rents can vary depending where the property is located. Usually ends up higher than 5% though, closer to 8-10% in most cases. Where it falls in that range will depend on age, size, and current condition of the place and the major capex items.

Inherited tenants can be a blessing or a curse. I've had a mix of both. It really depends if the previous owner screened the tenants and how they managed the building. If they let the tenants run the show or ran a tight ship.

@Sharon McCants Yup around the 100-150k/unit mark can get you into a solid B area here that'll hit the 1% rule in most cases. Some that come to mind but not an exhaustive list in/around the city are Brighton Heights, Bellevue, Avalon, Carnegie, Crafton, Ingram, Beechview, Brookline, Troy Hill, Millvale, Etna, Sharpsburg, West View, Greenfield, Brentwood, Coraopolis, Bridgeville. 

@Sharon McCants If you are working with ~$235k in equity I probably wouldn't be buying 100k homes in Pittsburgh. That's enough that you can use for a down payment on a multifamily in a nice area here. More efficient from a management standpoint and should cash flow just as much. 

@Karolina Powell I always like to look at the end goal and the timline and work backwards from there. At the end of the day the goal should be to make enough to give you an optimum lifestyle but not go overboard and cause yourself more work/hassle if you don't actually need the additional income that comes from it.

Increasing the quality of the area/properties should make it easier management wise and if you don't necessarily need the cash flow now could end up ahead in overall return compared to the lower end areas, especially if you use leverage.

I think it depends on your source of active income as well and how long you want to continue doing that for. Like for me I have a business I enjoy that produces active income I don't see myself stepping out of anytime soon, so I am prioritizing the nicer areas/properties that might not cash flow as much right now but will in the future and provide me with good depreciation to offset active income right now.

Just such a personalized thing that doesn't have a one size fits all approach.  

@Jason H. depends on the area, but I have noticed in the higher rent areas it's taking a bit longer to fill. I've noticed there's just a lot more available active rentals which I think is the main cause. More people probably looking in the cheaper/median priced areas as well with inflation kind of hitting peoples wallets more the last year or two.

I think updating the units and being more aggressive on price is really all you can do since we obviously aren't in control of the economic factors. That and being more proactive on showings/processing applications since applicants have more options to choose from than when rental market was super hot during covid.

@Matt Simpson You can try reaching out to Casey Burkhead see if he can help. He is a broker and I work with him on all of my properties in Pittsburgh. Burkhead Insurance Services is his company if you want to DM me I can send you his contact info also, don't think it'll let me post it on the forums.