All Forum Posts by: Wesley Childers

@Michael Slockers 

Actually I have been leaning a lot towards doing a house hack. Currently I make around 50k a year at my W-2 job. I am saving money and would like to purchase a duplex in my home town. This would allow me to rent one side and cover the mortgage and have money left over. This way I could get an FHA loan on the duplex, and start building up my renters experience so I can get more loans later.

The one down side to this. There are only a hand full of duplexes in my home town and out of those only one is currently for sale. To add to the problems the owner is asking about 20-30k over current value. It has set on the market for over 2 years because of this. I don't know if this person is actually willing to sale, or if they listed the property for some other unknown reason. I am in the process of trying to get an actual valuation on the property so I can make a reasonable offer and see what happens.

Thanks for the link. I sent a request to join the Tulsa REIA. If accepted I'll try to make a few meetings a year.

I live in the very NE corner of Oklahoma. Miami, OK to be exact. I'm about 40 minuets away from Joplin Missouri, and an hour and a half away from Tulsa. So far I've read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and I am currently reading Brandon's book "The book on rental property investing." I also have a book on flipping houses that I am going to read next. I listen to the bigger pockets podcast while I'm working. So I feel like I'm doing pretty much everything I can to learn before jumping into my first deal. I would really like to connect with someone who is already in the business who is willing to give out advice, and if there is anything I can do to help that person out I would be willing to help for the knowledge I would gain. Perhaps you would like to start investing in the Joplin, or Miami market? I could go view the property for you and take pictures and try to find obvious defects that the pictures do not show? Just an idea. Also I would like to know if there are any meet's for Tulsa real estate investors. If not perhaps anyone reading this would be willing to connect and start one?

Hello. I am a complete newbie so this is just an assumption. Zillow is basing that on averages. So based on that I would assume that when they did the survey on July 2019 there were more cheaper houses up for rent than when they did the survey in 2017. Also there could be other factors causing that. Perhaps during 2017 there was a population boom causing higher demand for rentals meaning all of the cheaper properties were taken, and possibly land lords raising their prices to reflect the supply and demand. But like I said. I am a complete newbie so that is all an assumption. Also if anyone out there is willing to share any advice or knowledge I'd love to connect. I live in Miami, OK. And I'm planning on starting investing in the Joplin, MO area within the next year. Then eventually I hope to expand into the Tulsa Metro area within 5 years.

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@Alyssa Dyer I do hope to move into a market like OKC or Tulsa within a few years. But right now I am still in the research while saving phase. I'm hoping to make my first purchase sometime next year. I should have around 20k saved up for this by this time next year. So my price to entry is a bit below 80k. But I've been looking at realty websites for Joplin and it looks like there are some good deals there. For instance. I found a house listed at 45k. I believe the ARV should be around 100k. I am basing this on near by listings that sold within the last few years ranging from 80k up to 110k. This house has also been on the market for over 100 days. So I believe the seller would accept an offer lower than 45k. The rehab will be pricey though. But it should be possible for 20k or less.

@Justin Foster. Actually yes Joplin is the closest actual city to me. Also it is in a small population boom. In the last 10 years there has been a lot of economic development spurred on from the 2011 tornado. I have actually looked at several properties in Joplin over the weekend and done my best practice analysis to see if that market looks better. I honestly believe it is. I found one house listed at $45,000. It has been on the market for over 100 days so I believe I could offer $40,000 or lower. There are similar sized houses a block or two away that sold within the last couple of years for over 100k. So the potential is there. I just need to save up more money and continue doing research in the meantime.

I just wanted to introduce myself. I am Wesley and I'm from a small town called Miami (My-am-uh), Oklahoma. I have always wanted to get into real estate and more specifically rentals. I want to build up a rental portfolio that can provide me with the income I'll need to retire somewhere between the age of 50-60. I am 32 right now so I still have a few years to build.

Recently I read rich dad poor dad. This has motivated me to stop setting on the couch and saying "I'm going to invest one day." So now I'm buying books and reading them to better prepare myself. Currently I'm reading: The Book on Rental Property Investing, by Brandon Turner. I feel like there is a lot of useful information in this book and its going to take me 2 or 3 pass through's to understand everything well enough. 

One thing that has me worried is the housing market in my town is very bad. Property values don't appreciate much if at all. The town is very poor with no positive outlook for future jobs. In fact from 1990 to current day the overall population of the town has gone down. 13,400 to 13,200. I feel like maybe getting into the real estate market in my home town might not be such a good idea. So one question this brings up is Missouri. Miami Oklahoma is in the very NE corner of the state. So this means I'm only about 30-40 minutes away from Joplin Missouri. This city is growing at a decent rate. Went from about 45,000 in 2000 up to about 55,000 today. So is it a good idea to start my journey in real estate investing in a different state even if it is only 30-40 minutes away? How will taxes affect the cash flow potential? Maybe these are questions better left for someone who is more advanced, but its the main question on my mind right now.

So far the general consensus is that I should look at a better area. There are 2 cities within driving distance that have decent markets. I might start looking at those. However 1 of the 2 cities is actually in a different state. Should that affect weather or not I buy there considering I am a newbie? I don't know how taxes in a different state would affect my cash flow.

The main problem with the city I live in is there is no growth at all. The population has hovered around 13,300 for the last 10-15 years. It goes up and down but stays relatively consistent.  There just are not any new jobs that open up here. Companies don't move to this area despite a low tax rate and low worker wages. In fact I just looked up the census data. in 1990 the population was 13,478. In 2017 the estimated population is 13,212.

I live in a unique area. It is very poor. Average rent is around $600 a month for a 3br home. With that being said it is not uncommon to find homes for under $40,000. Most of the time they have some minor cosmetic problems, and are a bit out dated. However with the clientele you would be renting to in this area, you wouldn't necessarily want a brand new updated home for a rental property. Property values in my city are not good. The average household income is around $30,000 a year. This brings me to my questions. 

I am just getting started. I am in the process of saving up for my first investment property (prefer starting in rentals, but I'm open to anything really.) Should I focus on buying cheap homes in my city where I'm likely going to end up with tenants that wont take care of the home? Or should I try looking in a different city nearby where homes are more valuable and can attract better tenants? Or would buying and flipping be a viable option in this poor market? One bright side is labor is cheap. Hiring contractors in this city is much cheaper than most other cities. I just don't know if rehabbing homes would create equity in this market.