All Forum Posts by: Terre B.

I'm a newbie when it comes to investing, but I worked as a property manager for a slumlord in N. Denver.  We had about 60 "doors" that were a mixture of ancient 1930s - 40s motels that rented weekly, 1960 era trailer houses, etc.  The owner gave us a $100 Home Depot gift card once a month for "maintenance".   One  unit, with two bedrooms, one bedroom was furnished with a stack of 4 box springs, the bottom of which literally had rat freeways chewed through it.  You can imagine the bugs.

The tenants were a wide and varied assortment.  The owner wanted no "screening" just occupants with cash, whereever it came from.  I took over management from him. 

Repeatedly, I was told by the tenants, how wonderful it was to be spoken to as a human, rather than as dirt.  I was well aware, that when I kicked someone out, they were homeless.   

For maintenance, I haunted thrift stores, REstore, freecycle and craigslist.  Freecycle provided me with an unpaid storage unit stacked with hundreds of yards of clean carpet.  I picked up paint free at the recycle paint place.  It wasn't always pretty, but it was fresh and clean.  I found a 4 star hotel that was replacing all their bedding with new, and was thrilled to let me haul it away.  We slowly, managed to make a small difference in the condition of the units, and when one was empty, I'd carpet and paint, and put in decent bedding, and then give it to a long term tenant.  

Its not easy.  It was a full time job, part manager, part social worker, part den mother, part bad ***.  But there was money to be made there.

@Jia Lin

You mentioned that in screening you learned that there were multiple felonies.  I have the thought, that if they failed to disclose that on a rental application (many ask that question) then is it possible to evict them based on falsification of information?  

And I notice from your picture, you are young, and female.  That may have something to do with why these tenants are trying to push you around.  PLEASE be cautious with the whole "meeting them in person" concept. And an in person meeting has no paper trail of what is said.   Do not go alone. Set your phone to record what is said. 

Same here!  Will there be room at the coffee shop for all?  I'd love to listen.

Thank you Bryan.  It wouldn't necessarily "take" me 9 months, that is the end of the term for the lease option, and end of my low rent lease.   I am pretty confident that the market in Denver won'd tank, it's going up 10% per year for the last 5-6, and shows no signs of not continuing that trend. 

I'm leaning toward the quad, myself, but my husband is pushing for the townhouse. I can only do one FHA, with a down payment grant, so I have to choose. Kind of hoping you all can help settle the "domestic dispute" with arguements that will either convince me he is right, or that I can use to convince him he is wrong!

Wow!

The sheer volume of information on bigger pockets is both exciting and overwhelming.  I think I've been reading for days, and barely scratched the surface.  It sorta feels like I fell down Alice's rabbit hole, but in a good way.

Thank you, to Allison, the emails every couple of days with links to blog posts, are terrific.  It points me in the direction of interesting, informative articles that I could easily miss while wandering around here, getting distracted by all the different posts.

I'm new to this. I found bigger pockets by googling trying to find information on buying a quad using an FHA mortgage. I was, originally, looking for some security in the Denver market, where my rent is going up considerably faster than my paycheck, and with a disabled husband, limited means to generate additional income, the future was looking scary. You guys have given me a vision of what may be light at the end of the tunnel.

I have two possible scenarios for my FHA eligibility and I'm torn.

I have a lease option on my current residence, (townhome in Aurora).  I've been told that current market value is $175K.  My lease option is for $155K.  I am considering updating the townhouse, cosmetically, investing some cash (about $5K to play with) and a lot of sweat equity over the next 9 months, to see if I could get the value up closer to $200K, and then buy/sell and have some money for a step up.  Doing the remodeling while renting is a bit of a risk, but I'm currently paying $500 less monthly than I will be after I close so I'm thinking that might be justifiable.  My landlord is good with this. 

The other option, is to jump in with both feet, and see if I can find a triplex or quad, that I can buy, live in one, and use the others to help pay the mortgage. I'm pretty comfortable with not having the nicest, or being in the best neighborhood.  Then, in a year or two, refinance, and buy another.  Buying a quad in the front range is scary for a starting point, so I've looked at Phoenix, where the cost of a 4 plex is considerably less intimidating, but there are negatives.  I really don't want to move, and while my job could be done remotely, my grandkids are here and remote hugs just don't cut it!

I'm open to anything. Ideas, suggestions, tell me I'm crazy to be thinking about this at my age...but my IRA and profit from our home went to pay massive medical bills for a micro preemie granddaughter, so now I find myself at 60 with no retirement, no security.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on a direction?

Im sorry i didnt mean to imply that would be my only step... Simply the first. 

Hello. New to this site, I found this when I was googling "buy a 4-plex with an FHA loan." That pretty much states where I'm at. I've owned homes, managed rental property, made mistakes along the way, but IMO you get nowhere unless you own real estate. I have a disabled husband, and no retirement, so I need a plan for some passive income, in case something happens to me.

I'm in Denver, but I can't invest in Denver.  I can't afford to LIVE in this town.  So I've been looking around, and I'm thinking 4plex in Phoenix.  Some look like they can cash flow enough to compensate for me living in one.  

I'd love to meet a realtor who is familiar with this market, as well as info on using an FHA loan to do so. I