hi all, im wondering if any of you may be able to weigh in on a question i have. im considering an investment property, and want to try to gauge what is a reasonable/standard/expected "sale price-to-rental income" ratio. in short, the prop is currently generating 29k annually(3 unit prop), and will be roughly 200k+closing costs. about a 14.5% ROI. i have looked into other props in the neighborhood, and at the list price and rental prices, this seems about average, usually somewhere around 12-18%.i posed this question on another RE forum, and the only response i got was someone who thought that i could see a return on 200k at around 40k annually, and suggested i look outside my area. this seems high to me, but i dont really know what's "par for the course". fyi, i would estimate that FMV for this prop would be closer to 150k based on past sales, but there arent any 3-units in the area for sale, so its really hard to compare apples to apples with this particular place. thanks for any numbers you can throw out!

So, if you want to throw away that many possible buyers, then so be it.FHA requires a minimum down of only 3.5%.

Not that I'm recommending any of these companies (I don't know enough about most of them), but just throwing out there that if you ARE familiar with these businesses, a 12% yield probably isn't far-fetched at all..Again, it's all about where your expertise is...

Let your tenants know that rents in the area for similar properties are higher than what you are charging, and based on the expenses you incur to keep the property in great shape, you need to increase the rent to market levels.Of course, also throw in how great they are as tenants, how much you appreciate them, and any concessions you're willing to make in order to retain them (for example, if they've been there for a year, offer to paint a room for them or put a nice fan in the master bedroom; if they've been there for several years, perhaps offer to replace the carpeting in a couple rooms; etc).Remember, it's MUCH cheaper to keep existing tenants -- even if you're getting a bit below market rents or have to provide incentives -- than it is to replace tenants.

Wanted to throw together a quick conversation on how to borrow $ to invest in Multi-Family properties when you have a decent amount of capital but your credit is on the other side of the ship (under 640)?

I would not necessarily throw away that lease option buyer, I would look for someone that is having a hard time selling their home conventionally, but needs to get out of the payments.then I would put together a lease option deal with them, and sell the deal to my new lease option buyer for his down payment money.

That's like playing monopoly and throwing only one of the dice...LOL!

In the beginning, it's best to determine your goals for the blog and figure out how your voice and/or message can best serve your target audience.

If you manage this rental yourself and save the typical 5%-10% property management fee, then this property will throw off a little over $1,500/month in free cash flow if it rents for $3,000 (amazing since a 4/2 in SoCal barely rents for that much but costs over a half million dollars to buy).Now out of that free cash-flow, you're going to have to calculate repair costs, capital improvements (new roof, new HVAC, etc.), and possible vacancies (mortgage payments going out, no rent coming in).

It's better to throw it at principal or re-capitalize and go after another property.