First Time Young Buyer with a Few Questions
Good afternoon everyone!
Considering this is my first post, I would like to start out by saying what an awesome and educational forum I consider this place to be. I have been lurking around for a while now as a guest and I have to admit, I learned a lot in the last four weeks. There is plenty of good information with very knowledgeable members. Thank you everyone!
I think I am finally prepared to make the jump and start investing into real estate. Most recently I read the "20 year old with sub prime credit but a lot of cash" thread and found myself to be in a similar situation. This topic was particularly interesting to me because I am also in my early 20's; only difference is that I have excellent credit. Robert Dobbs, who seems to know the financing side of the business very well, gave me a weeks worth of topics to research (Thank you, btw! I found the 203K Rehab Loan to be a very interesting program).
I am looking at investing into real estate long-term; the cash flow is the most appealing aspect of the investment and I don't have any intention to sell what I buy. With that said, I am currently looking for a cheap two flat and/or three flat that have the potential to be rented without me having to add money to make ends meet each month. Breaking even is fine, any additional income at the end of the month would be set aside for repairs or investment into other properties.
I have a few questions for some of the experienced members that I am finding difficulty in researching and making a decision on:
For those who own multiple rental properties, do you have the properties in your name or do you structure them into a corporation for liability and tax purposes? If so, what kind of corporation do you recommend be established (LLC?) for the type of investing I am considering?
What is your opinion on purchasing condominiums with the intention to rent it? The reason I ask is because condominiums in many areas are very affordable these days, with the potential to make $300 to $600 a month after taxes, association due, and mortgage payment.
If you had enough liquid cash available to purchase a property, would you put in a cash offer to avoid the hassles of getting a mortgage/paying mortgage interest or would you finance in order to use that cash for future down payments on additional properties? (I can see many pro's and con's to this..-just trying to get an over feel for it).
Is there a website that offers rental statistics? Such as how many properties are for rent in a particular area? I often use the common real estate websites found online and search for rentals in particular areas to get a feel for it, However, I was hoping something a bit more "landlord friendly" that offers all the numbers on a particular area.
Any additional information or suggestion is much appreciated.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Christopher