All Forum Posts by: Shane M

My current property comps are 1000/mo, but I'm wondering if I spend a little more to make the apartment nicer would it be worth the investment? The unit is a condo that used to be an apartment rented by an apartment community and has had some minor updates but generally the fixtures and colors are circa 1995-2000. Many of these units are rented out consistently as-is without any upgrades. One of the bathrooms in the unit I bought was partially refinished which really only leaves the kitchen and 2nd bathroom to update. I'm looking at some of the cheaper peel and stick flooring and cabinet refinishing kits and appliance paint to give it a totally different look for under a thousand bucks.

Of course this will take my time to complete, but my thinking is that if I can net an extra $200-$400/mo it would be more than worthwhile.

Then again, do renters even care? Are there other factors that would be "make or break" besides the updated fixtures?

You are pretty much right about this Donna, I have found a few deals occassionally but the best ones have had price reductions at least twice. If I had more capital there is a duplex I would scoop up but I'm still working on my first deal

The pros seem to be if you are going to owner occupy (which I am), you can lock up a deal before other investors can get to it. The downside is the prices are still somewhat higher than if you found a motivated seller or REO that has been sitting.

Has anyone had success with Homepath or know any strategies with it?

People are so underwater nowadays, they can hardly sell or short sale their home even if they want to, unless they are out of state owners or they inherited the property it seems "motivated sellers" are far less frequent.

Bank denied my offer, they are doing "highest and best" even though I offered the sale price of an equiv unit 2 doors down that sold last month. Pushing my luck at 68% ARV with my offer, but the asking price is in the 74% ARV area. Of course the highest and best could drive it into idiotic territory. I was looking to fix it up on the cheap and rent it out which makes the asking price a little more attractive, but still this highest and best thing sucks.

@Al Williamson Thanks for the feedback Al, don't worry about giving me too much info, I appreciate it! So you would advise against a condo but in this case the condo is the 2BR/2BA so it's kind of a balance between the extra risk you take on with a condo vs the extra benefit of keeping a tenant happier longer and possibly a lower turnover.

@Brian Levredge Thanks Brian, I'm interpreting what you are saying as rental for apartments are generally higher because of the higher turnover?

Throw a curve ball at you guys, another condo just came on the market 3BR, 3BA in a better area where rentals right next to the complex are going for:

1300 - 1BR, 1BA
1500 - 2BR,2BA

Think I could get 2000/mo for the 3BR, 3BA? Would a conservative estimate be priced at 1700?

I've been looking at padmapper/craigslist and local apartment communities, I'm wondering how much exactly a house would increase your rental revenue if everything else is the same. My market is a college town.

Property 1 - 2BR/2BA with garage Condo - Looking for 1100/mo
vs.
2BR/2BA with car port - 1080/mo

Property 2 - 4BR/1.5BA house - Looking for 1500/mo
vs.
Apartment community - 3BR/1BA - 1100/mo
Apartment community - 2BR/1BA - 900/mo
Apartment community - 1BR/1BA - 720/mo
Individual rooms in shared houses - 400-500/mo

I think in this area the key is it should cashflow even if it is a flip, since you may be stuck holding onto a property for a while, but that's just my opinion.

Houses on the North and West sides, drive way/front of house faces the East side. Wooded area on the South Side.

So basically in the back yard instead of a neighbor on either side they are kitty corner.

There is also a bus stop 150 ft south and a little east of the house.

The house is set back from the road by about 50ft, speed limit of the road is 25 so I was concerned about noise a bit.

4BR, 1.5BA

Walk out basement

I'm looking at renting long term but living in it short term and subletting a room.

Looking into doing this myself, another thing to watch out for are condo associations that are poorly managed, if they don't budget enough for necessary maintenance you could be stuck paying extra dues to cover the costs. Although you should be able to evalutate the state of the condos (roof, landscaping, pavement, etc) as part of your due diligence.