Buying SF and MF units under $60,000 cash

Buying SF and MF units under $60,000 cash

Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 91 posts · 19 votes

My wife and I have really worked hard over the last 18 months to follow our RE Investing dreams. We sat down and figured out our personal finances and we were able to systematically eliminate all of our credit card debt, car payments, and excess spending. 

We have very modest jobs, a Truck driver and a Waitress but we have been very motivated. We started off $6,000 in the negative (credit card debt) with only $1,000 in the bank. Now through some dramatic changes we have approx $50,000 saved debt free. 

I am looking to relocate. I am currently living in Portland, Oregon. The weather here sucks, even if Portland was the BEST opportunity in the states I would still want to locate to somewhere with warmer weather. I am planning on living in Portland until after summer and then relocating around Sept. I estimate my wife and I will have about $60,000 saved by that point. 

I am looking to utilize the BRRR Strategy with the following requirements

  • Properties can be bought in cash for $60,000 or less close to rent ready
  • Good Rental Market
  • Population/job growth is at least slightly on the incline
  • Warm climate (No snow), I like 75 degrees +
  • Crime is not overwhelming, someplace you could raise a family (No war zones)

On top of the $60,000 I will have saved by Sept 2017, I have a $16,500 line of credit I can instantly utilize at 11% interest. 

My company that I work for has hundreds of hubs throughout the United States so it's very easy for me to get transferred to a preferred location.

Can anyone recommend an area that fits these requirements? Thanks

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Engineer · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y

Pinellas County, Florida

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  • Investor · NW Indiana · Member since 2012 · 833 posts · 197 votes
    9y

    @Joel Bowen  I can't help point you to a good location, but just wanted to say wow and that is great you were able to do that in 18 months.  Hope you two continue and find what you are looking for.

  • Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 91 posts · 19 votes
    9y

    Ty @Carolina E., we moved in with my parents for about 13 months which was a key to a lot of the money. My parents let me live there rent free, free electric, free cable, ect. We took advantage of the opportunity. I wanted to stay longer but my wife insisted it was time to rent our own place lol.

    My wife also gets 1 free meal from her restaurant for every 4 hours she works so she usually ate free twice a day sometimes getting 3 free meals a day. 

    We stopped shopping at Nordstrom and started shopping at good will. Bought $2000 dollar cars in cash instead of car payments. 

    We went hardcore keeping track of every single expense on an excel spread sheet and refining our spending each month. Now we have just created a habit and don't have to try. The crazy thing is that I don't feel like I have anything less as far as material possessions.

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Bend, OR · Member since 2016 · 209 posts · 87 votes
    9y

    Hey @Joel Bowen, congrats on getting out of debt! I love hearing stories of success like this, thats awesome. Dave Ramsey would be thrilled :) 

    I don't know of an area that will quite fit what your looking for that will match your weather requirements. I was going to suggest eastern Oregon since you can buy properties for around that price point, but the winters are treacherous there. Have you considering using your 60k as a downpayment and buying something here locally? You can still buy some single family homes for under 250k in East Portland. 

  • Visalia-Fresno, CA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 863 votes
    9y
    Start preparing your mind to let go of your 60,000 soldiers. If you cling tight to them it will be very difficult to shift into investing. Franklin
  • Engineer · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Pinellas County, Florida

  • Jeff CopelandBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Tampa Bay/St Petersburg, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    @Steve B. @Joel Bowen - I'm an active investor in Pinellas County, FL, and I have to say there isn't much here (in areas where you'd want to be a landlord) that can be bought for $60k. That is approaching land value in most decent areas - and that's usually what you get in that range - a tear down. 

    There are some rougher areas where you can still buy a $50k property, and the returns will look great on paper....but they come with collection, eviction, and vacancy headaches that can kill the numbers.

    The $75k-$150k range is a much more realistic target.

    Copeland Morgan LLC4.770 Reviews
  • Troutdale, OR · Member since 2016 · 47 posts · 15 votes
    9y
    Wow! Excellent job changing your spending habits and saving so much, well done to you and your wife. I'm not an expert by any means so take what I say accordingly. You may want to consider the option of using your cash as a down payment so your options open up a little bit. Using some debt, leverage, loan, whatever you want to call it, will allow you to get into more markets. Your cash flow might be less at the end of the day, but you will open up your criteria a little and may end up with a better property, or two. 1 property that cash flows $600/month or 2 properties that cash flow $300/month.. you could potentially get the same result in the end, while getting in a better market for yourself, and obtaining 2 properties, building equity simultaneously. I can't point you in a direction that would support this idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are markets out there that would allow you to obtain multiple investment properties for $60k cash. Again, well done on your savings and best of luck.
  • Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 91 posts · 19 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Steve B.:

    Pinellas County, Florida

     Thanks for the recommendation, it looks beautiful there! 

  • Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 91 posts · 19 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Chris Parrish:

    Hey @Joel Bowen, congrats on getting out of debt! I love hearing stories of success like this, thats awesome. Dave Ramsey would be thrilled :) 

    I don't know of an area that will quite fit what your looking for that will match your weather requirements. I was going to suggest eastern Oregon since you can buy properties for around that price point, but the winters are treacherous there. Have you considering using your 60k as a downpayment and buying something here locally? You can still buy some single family homes for under 250k in East Portland. 

     Hey Chris, I have 0 interest in staying in the North West. I am over the weather.

  • Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 91 posts · 19 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Nancy Wilbanks:

    Hey Joel

    Congrats to y'all for getting out of debt...I'm sure that took a load off no matter what your reasons were. I just wanted to say that I am an agent in Pinellas and Pasco County FL and if you need anything feel free to message me. 

    Good luck to y'all in this new endeavor and may y'all continue to live debt free!

    Nancy

     Thanks Nancy, I look forward to connecting :)

  • Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 91 posts · 19 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Jeff Copeland:

    @Steve B. @Joel Bowen - I'm an active investor, agent, and property manager in Pinellas County, FL, and I have to say there isn't much here (in areas where you'd want to be a landlord) that can be bought for $60k. That is approaching land value in most decent areas - and that's usually what you get in that range - a tear down. 

    There are some rougher areas where you can still buy a $50k property, and the returns will look great on paper....but they come with collection, eviction, and vacancy headaches that can kill the numbers.

    The $75k-$150k range is a much more realistic target.

     Thanks for the good info Jeff, it does look beautiful there though. I am def going to look into the area more.

  • Investor · west linn, OR · Member since 2013 · 1 post · 0 votes
    9y

    hey joel, i imagine driving in the winter is a drag. somewhere warmer is understandable 

    (but in fact i just moved to the PDX area and think it's great). you're looking at TX, 

    FL, AZ and CA... if you REALLY want to minimize the cold season that's about it. 

    keep in mind that the sacramento area is not coastal CA, and thus is much less $$ 

    than the big-ticket places. and i'd say wherever you look, there's a site called city-data 

    which, while not a real estate site, offers GREAT insight into specific neighborhoods via 

    the forums. local knowledge can't be beat. also, wikipedia gives a decent overview 

    of nearly every town in america. best of luck! jon 

  • Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2012 · 289 posts · 151 votes
    9y

    Congrats on the saving. There two things you need to consider.

    1. Doing BRRR and buying "rent ready" are usually not compatible strategies. In order to refinance to get your money out, the property will need to be worth more than what you paid for it. The most common way to do that is by buying properties that require work. It's possible to just get such a stellar deal, but not likely in today's market.
    2. You don't have to limit yourself to cash purchases. You could also use part of your money as a down payment with a conventional loan, then do the rehab, and then refinance to get your money out. The disadvantage to this method is slightly higher costs, and not being able to get as big of deals. 
  • Developer · Hobart, IN · Member since 2014 · 773 posts · 225 votes
    9y

    @Joel Bowen Wow congrats on your savings that is seriously awesome. Here in the midwest we come across some houses for 60K or less quite often. May be worth connecting. Would love to help in any way that I can. 

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