All Forum Posts by: Terri H.

Thanks for your answer, Nicholas.  Things would definitely be tough for a while, but I would like to finance Rental 4 after the work is done, if we get it, and then pay off the loan(s).  Cash flow on it would be about $400/mo.  I wish we could do less on Rental 2, but most of the floors have been destroyed by dogs.  We could save money in the short run by getting carpet instead of LVP.  We can paint it ourselves and probably can get away with just painting the living areas.  We have to decide today if we want to go forward with buying the Rental 4 house or not.  One idea I came up with was to buy the house and get the roof and fascia replaced, then leave it to put all attention on Rental 2 to fix it up and get it rented.  Rental market is good there, and so is the selling market if we get desperate.  Once Rental 2 is occupied, we could then do a pay as we go to renovate Rental 4.  (We have enough cash to replace its roof and to get Rental 2 ready.)  By doing this we could avoid taking any other loans.  I agree on waiting on making the 3rd bedroom on Rental 4 and just do that later after getting feedback from tenants.  The house has a garage anyway, which is not common for the area and the size of house, so that could possibly bump up the rent slightly.  At the end of the day, if my husband isn't comfortable with it, the answer will be no.  We kind of need a break.  I wouldn't even be considering this right now if the house didn't have so much potential + some neat extras such as a city view, garage, two driveways, and a double sized back yard.

Hello! My husband and I have an accepted offer on a foreclosure home that needs a lot of work. The location is really good. The house is small and cute, 1949. According to my estimates, it makes the 70% rule. But what about other factors? Here's what we have:

Rental 1: occupied for $900/mo. No mortgage - tax and ins. about $200/mo.

Rental 2: Vacant and needs $15K of work. Rent will be $1400/mo. Mortgage is $650/mo.

Rental 3: occupied for $900/mo. Mortgage is $500/mo. 

Personal home: Mortgage $1400/mo.

Income from our jobs is about $6000/mo take home. 

I lost my part time job and may qualify for PUA - should know in about a week. 

The house we want to buy is $33000. I'm approved for heloc on personal home to buy it outright. It needs $40K of work. Rent will be $900/mo if we divide a large added on room to allow for a third bedroom. The $40K would come from my husband's personal funds + loans off his insurance policy. 

Once finished, we could finance this house with a conventional loan to pay back the heloc and insurance loans. 

Cash flow when all said and done would be about $350/mo. 

What am I missing? I feel nervous about going forward but at the same time I want to take a chance because of the sweet location. 

I would probably leave the upstairs alone and spend the money on the downstairs, especially if there's anyway to expand the bathroom into a full bathroom. Or even just add a shower to the storage/laundry room. 

I love your idea. 

Be sure to check the lIsting period. If it says Exclusive then it's for owner occupants, not investors. If it's Extended, anyone can bid. 

I grew up in Pine Bluff, but moved to Little Rock in 1990. Pine Bluff definitely has some issues, but there are ongoing efforts to improve the city. One of my favorite houses in PB is going to be auctioned soon. There are cheap houses available there. The cash flow would probably be very good if you're experienced enough to handle it properly (screening tenants, etc.)