Updated over 11 years ago on . Most recent reply
1ST 4PLEX
Hello,
My wife and I are starting the journey of becoming landlords.
We have the approval letter from the lender.
We have the 25%-30% ready to put down.
We have the area in mind and property ready to see.
We have a realtor.
What we don't have are basics and I'm sure there is a lot to learn. I'm looking to see what kind of ratio we need with the property to make it a good foundation to build on (good investment). It seems that there is not too much positive cash flow in properties we have looked at. Maybe just enough to maybe cover all the cost of ownership except for our time. Thoughts?
Most Popular Reply
Regardless of your market, as your first deal, get a property that is POSITIVE CASHFLOW. I don't care even if it takes you 100 properties to find one in California that actually cashflows. Circumstances change. What if you lose your job, business or source of income? A positive cashflow property will at least sustain itself...
Anyway, here's a tool you can use when calculating the numbers...
http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/Mister4closure/file/wendells-simple-cashflow-analyzer