Hey BiggerPockets Community,
My name is Mark and I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself to the community. There was a gentleman who recently introduced himself with a very lengthy introduction and I enjoyed reading the whole thing. I hope you don't mind if I do the same.
I have been interested to some degree in real estate investing since about 2006, when I graduated college (B.B.A. in Marketing from UMass Amherst) and became someone else's tenant paying $900/month for a one bedroom apartment about 30 minutes south of Boston. Boy, would I liked to have been on the other side of that table! Well, soon, hopefully I can be.
After living south of Boston for a couple of years, working in sales management for a Fortune 100 company, I decided it was time for a change - a career change, a geographical change, and an overall lifestyle change. I moved to Kentucky, where I currently live. I finished my M.B.A. in 2012. I now work in financial services and have been for almost five years. Things are going fairly well and I'm looking to finally pull the trigger and get started in real estate investing no later than next summer (2014).
I am interested in buying/holding rental properties. I hope to be able to acquire 10 units in 10 years, likely picking up a duplex every two years. Later, I may upgrade to apartment buildings, commercial, who knows?
My two main concerns about real estate investing are:
1.) I am not handy AT ALL. I can barely change a light bulb.
2.) I am very particular about everything. I'm trying to already condition myself not to freak out over small things tenants may do that aren't to my liking.
I think these two things, as well as not having as much cash as I would like, have held me back.
My initial strategy is to buy either a new construction duplex (which costs more, but the rents, and hopefully quality of tenants, are higher) OR to buy a less expensive single family home that's not too old.
The one potential deal that I can get out of my head are these brand new, all-brick duplexes (2br/2ba, 1300 sq ft. Each) for $190,000 total, bringing in $800/month each side. So, $1,600/mo gross rents for $190,000. Location is good, right off main road. Area is okay, although there are other brand new apartments (competition, where they can rent for $100/mo less), and it's in a college town (although this area is a little further away, so it's not "too collegey"). It's definitely expensive, but I'm thinking that since they're brand new, this should save me a lot on any maintenance costs for the first several years. I figure this is obviously reflected in the asking price. I'd like to think I could get one of these duplexes in the $180,000s. I think the last one sold for $185,000. For that, though, I could probably pick up several smaller houses out here. I've talked to some smaller community bank lenders and 85% LTV is the best I can find for an investment property, but it's on a 5/1 ARM. I'd rather get a fixed, if possible, but as I said, right now cash is tight. I need to stop dumping funds into retirement accounts (hazard of what I do), and start accumulating cash for rentals.
It's time to get serious. It's time to set goals. It's time to get started. I'm looking forward to continuing to learn from everyone here and hopefully to provide value to other members as I gain more experience. Any thoughts, comments, or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
