Is this house a deal? How do I find out?

Is this house a deal? How do I find out?

Rental Property Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2015 · 35 posts · 14 votes
There is a Colorado Springs property I would like to run by more experienced investors (I have just started learning). There is a house in Colorado Springs that has been on the market since November, which is a very long time in this market. They have dropped the price a couple of times. The house is 4 bed, 3 bath, 2500 square feet, 2.5 acre lot on a cul de sac, and is just outside the city limits. It has a few problems that I know of, and possibly others as it was built by the first owner in 1963. The garage was turned into a rec room and the basement has had problems with flooding. It is listed at $500,000. I don't have direct comps, but other houses in the area, updated ones, have sold for closer to $700,000. What is the best way to determine if this is a deal or would require too much to fix up to be worth it? Or would a buy and hold be better (my personal preference, if the deal is right)? Another catch is this is outside what I can afford a monthly payment on myself, but I know some people who could possibly go in with me. I am very new and don't know how to go about finding these things out so any help would be very much appreciated.
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Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 485 posts · 384 votes
8y
James Ross the best place to start is using one of the free awesome Bigger Pockets calculators. Once you run those numbers, you can even share the whole evaluation with fellow investors here on BP who then can give you better advice.
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  • Ken NyczajPro Member
    Investor · Grasonville, MD · Member since 2017 · 453 posts · 415 votes
    8y
    For a buy and hold it sounds too expensive unless you can rent the property for $5,000 a month. Even at that rate you still might not cash flow well. A good rule of thumb is your rents should be at the least 1% of your purchase price + rehab to cash flow. For a flip, you should walk the property with a recommended and referred contractor to understand the rehab expenses. If you don’t know one, look online for referrals, ask friends, or go to Home Depot at 6am to network. I would read a few books before you jump head first into a $500,000 property, that seems like a bit much to chew. Reading all Brandon Turners and Jay Scott’s books available on BiggerPockets is a good place to start.
  • Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 485 posts · 384 votes
    8y
    James Ross the best place to start is using one of the free awesome Bigger Pockets calculators. Once you run those numbers, you can even share the whole evaluation with fellow investors here on BP who then can give you better advice.
  • Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 485 posts · 384 votes
    8y
    And yes, as Ken Nyczaj says, learning from those books he recommended is like a must before you make spending decisions. As an alternative game you could also consider investing with a multifamily real estate syndicator, no work needed, and make something like 9% CoC and 15% IRR as an example. $50k - $100k can get you started with most. Some only accept accredited investors some also accept non-accredited but sophisticated investors for their deals. There are great webinars, podcasts and blogs on this exciting and much more scalable subject.
  • Investor · Seminole, FL · Member since 2016 · 94 posts · 41 votes
    8y

    I would walk the property with a general contractor and a realtor. The realtor can tell you what needs to be fixed like the garage etc and the contractor can do the fixing. Once you get your numbers right use the bigger pockets calculators to crunch your numbers. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2015 · 35 posts · 14 votes
    8y
    Thank you all! That's great information. I'm reading the books provided on bigger pockets now and haven't yet checked out the calculators. I'll certainly start there. And I'll look at building contacts (a friend of mine is a realtor, but I don't know any contractors, so I'll have to look there).
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