If I buy a thousand shares of XYZ trading at $2, hey if it runs up to $3 then I just made $500 bucks.

man you guys make me feel bad and cheap...loc, 20 bucks???

In other words if i bought a hundred dollar card for 50 bucks and i spent it... if i were ever audited how would they look upon the gift card as payment method?

The buyer usually pays for such a serviceand it benefits both parties more than the 15 or so bucks they charge a month.Get help locally!

Depends on how long you plan on holding a property too, but if you are looking at a hundred bucks a door, that's nothing IMO.

saw a bank owned single fam home recently. 3bd 2bath 1500+ sq ft. in a highly desirable and developed area in Dallas. one of the best school districts. home is old, 1991 built, but everything was in solid shape, no foundation issues or otherwise. will get it inspected as well.numbers as follows:list price. 160ktaxes: 6k (500 a month)insurance: 85 bucks/moHOA: $300 a yearrent: $1,500 based on compseven at full price i should be breaking even (no cash flow) but equity buy down through monthly tenant payment of mortgage.

I know a few investors who made millions in California by buying and holding, not chasing the quick buck.

It looks like you know how to get a bang for your buck...interesting approach with the contractor.

How important the A/C is will depend on where your rental property is located and how hot the temps get there and how many months the hot weather lasts.I would just include replacing the filters as a bonus to the tenant.Filters say they last 3 months but really it is not true.This is especially if you have a smoker or a tenant with pets.What happens is air filters should be replaced if the cheap ones about every month to 2 months max.Expensive ones you can go up to 2 months.If you wait 3 as more dirt is attached to the filter it restricts air flow and won't pull in as much dirt.When this happens less air will flow through the vents and the tenant will turn the unit down more and the resistance will make the motor work harder and wear out faster.I was having this happen in my house.A/C unit is 9 years old.When it gets in the high 90's here the A/C unit was getting in the 80's.Has an A/C guy come out.I had the old analog mercury switch A/C thermostat which is off by as much as 5 to 6 degrees sometimes the guy told me.I use the Filtrete Ultra Allergen because we have 5 cats and was replacing filter every 3 months (cost about 17 bucks a filter).The A/C guy explained about air flow and that I need to replace filter every month.The high end filter will catch more particles he said and when you keep them replaced they are fine every month.If you wait the 3 months it will reduce the air flow to much with the dirt it catches.So I replaced the filter and he also checked my free on level which was fine but my coils needed cleaning.He just basically took a hose and cleaned it out after turning power off and before the 100 dollar bill was not sticking to the coil halfway to the bottom.After cleaning the bill was sticking to the coil everywhere.He said it's important that when the heat comes out the coil can cool it properly before it goes back in the house.I bought the electronic thermostat myself for 25 bucks and took out the mercury one.Now with it being 95 outside it is holding at 73 degrees just fine.So I would replace filter every 2 months at the most to preserve the motor and help air flow.On some properties the builder installed too small of duct lines for the air flow and run to the vents anyways so any little air flow restriction will make the unit hard to keep cool in the hot weather.Probably too much info but thought I would share.Hope it helps.

that would mean that 260 a month would go towards vacancies, repairs, taxes and insurance leaving you 260 for the payment but the payment would be roughly 300 so you would be paying 40 bucks a month out of pocket give or take.