All Forum Posts by: Ed L.

Be sure to read up on the 50% rule.

If your rent is slightly more than your mortgage it will eat your lunch over time.

You also need to take all emotion out of the equation... If a property doesn't work out based on the numbers then move on. You will get absolutely nothing out of owning rental property that is not making money.. You have to keep in mind that although you own it, you have no benefit other than financial, and the slight bit of pride in owning property..

Not trying to discourage you. If you find the right property you will have the best of both worlds. Immediate cash flow and long term wealth building.

BTW.. What kind of work do you do making 120K right out of college?? Medical or Oil?

I 2nd that... Rents are just too low in most parts of the country.

There is no way to build a new rental and obtain 2% in my market. It's extremely hard to buy foreclosures that will meet that criteria...

If people had to actually save 15-20% in order to buy a house the rental rates would be much higher IMO... Home Ownership is just tooo cheap

I'm going for a mixture of 1&2. .... Being as I'm a realtor I'm basically doing option 3 also...

My Goal..... Flip 6 and pay cash for 6 rentals. Sell 5-10Million in listings.

I really want mail box money... It's pretty much my goal in life.

Brokering, and flipping involves more uncertainty than I am comfortable with.

I hear the same talk all the time.....

I think most negative talk about owning rental property comes from people who don't spend the time to really see what all goes into landlording/rental investing.

Most people decide to go into the rental business and say. Gross rent- Mortgage-Tax-Insurance= Cash flow. They are then shocked when something breaks, or a tenant leaves the property in poor condition.

I'm planning on ripping out the nasty carpet. Does laminate hold up well to renter traffic??

Scott, Thanks for the response and helping ease my mind.

Offer was accepted!

Looks like I may have my first multifamily unit!

I spoke with the LA and she is supposed to be putting me in touch with the person at the bank who has been handling the lease.

She did say that the tenant has a lease with the bank and is paying 650 per month. "I'm assuming for liability reasons"

She also said the tenant wants to be there for at least another 2 years while her kid is in school. Sounds great to me even at 650!
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Hey Mickey,
I'm right up the road in Hattiesburg! New Orleans is my best market for rural land. I find the Louisiana crowd is much easier to please than the people of Mississippi.

I just submitted a offer on a nice duplex that is in a great location near my office. The site may also have commercial value in the next 10-15 years.

The duplex consist of 2br. 2ba units that are about 1100 sq/ft. each. Built in 1993.

The units should bring 700 monthly each.

It is REO and just came on the market today for 57,000. Cash flow should be pretty decent. Building is in great shape and doesn't need anything in the immediate future based on my walk through.

My biggest concern is there is already a tenant in one of the units. Under normal conditions that would be fine, but with REO it's kinda odd.

The tenant seems to be keeping things very tidy on the outside, but I wasn't able to inspect the inside on the first visit.

The listing agent just doesn't have any info on the tenant other than they are currently paying 650 per month. Not sure to whom?? If they are current??? Who has the deposit?? Is there a current Lease??

Do I need to request a copy of the lease from the bank????

Do I have to honor a lease by the previous owner who defaulted?

Am I liable for the security deposit that the tenant gave to the previous owner??

I'm kinda nervous after reading the professional tenant horror stories...

Inspections are probably the cheapest insurance against catastrophic loss on a house deal.

My Inspector only charges $150. He test and checks everything from crawling under old houses, checking the attic for leaks, testing all the electrical components, etc etc.

I find that's it's great to have another set of eyes look everything over just in case I miss something. There is also no amount of money that would get me to crawl under older homes. Just a personal Phobia of mine!

If you are wholesaling I wouldn't waste the money on a inspection because your investors are going to have their own most likely. That's assuming you are just assigning the conract or doing some kind of dual closing where you never take posession.

Congrats and welcome to the rollercoaster known as Real Estate Investing!

Those easy deals are real blessings. We just finished a land deal a few months ago. 204 Acres that was listed with a agent who knew absolutely nothing about land- Originally listed at 500K- Final Purchase Price was 160K. Divided the property into 5 Parcels and tripled our investment within 8 Months. Rare, but it does happen from time to time. That's the perferct Scenario and a bunch of luck.

Fourtnately it sounds like you have a nack for negotiating, and that will get you very far in the RE world. Remember that Profit is made when you buy. If you buy right, selling is easy.