First Property - seems too easy

First Property - seems too easy

Rental Property Investor · Bowling Green, KY · Member since 2021 · 2 posts · 2 votes
I think I'm on a common path for someone looking to get into investment property. It started for me with Rich Dad Poor Dad, and went on to several other books specifically about rentals. I've also done a good amount of reading here on BP about various topics. I've committed to analyzing a few properties each week just for the sake of practice and learning how to account for different circumstances etc. From my research, it sounds like I should expect to sift through maybe 100 properties to find some that are worthwhile, do a detailed analysis on a few, and that will ultimately yield a very small percentage that are "good deals."

Very quickly I've actually found a few in the range of 1.0%-1.3% on the 2% rule test. One in particular that is in decent shape shows 20% CoC and 1.25%. Its a 2 bed 1 bath, currently tenant occupied and has a good rental history, and really needs very little aside from perhaps just freshening up the interior. I made contact with an agent, explained to him my intentions, and turns out he also does some rentals. I didn't make it far enough to know, but I expect he's on this forum as well. He was immediately asking me what I was looking for in terms of strategy, targets on CoC or cashflow, and very quickly we were on the same page this was what I was looking for. In short; it's in my price range, pretty much turnkey, and in a location that keeps it rented pretty easily.

Everything about that just seems a little too good to be true, including immediately finding a realtor with good experience. I realize it's not possible to tell me what I might be missing without every single detail, but I'm curious if this sounds like a common blunder for a beginner. I'd be happy to provide any other information that would make this easier to answer.
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Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y

Verify market rent and run the numbers correctly. As far as networking I'd just do some research, make sure the agent is solid. From there offer and do inspections. That will tell you condition and how the bigger components are. I've had some clients find a deal within a week others takes months. A lot of variables go into finding a deal since everyone is different. Be conservative, do due diligence and don't make knee jerk reactions. 

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  • Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    Verify market rent and run the numbers correctly. As far as networking I'd just do some research, make sure the agent is solid. From there offer and do inspections. That will tell you condition and how the bigger components are. I've had some clients find a deal within a week others takes months. A lot of variables go into finding a deal since everyone is different. Be conservative, do due diligence and don't make knee jerk reactions. 

  • Real Estate Broker · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 872 votes
    5y

    Seems way too good to be true in this market but I'd just verify what he's saying. Always trust your gut and be true to yourself man.

  • Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 592 posts · 765 votes
    5y

    Your market can heavily impact how easy it is to find a property with decent cash flow, so it's possible you just live in a good environment.

    That said, there is a very serious trap that you can fall into by following these rules of thumb.  Cheap (read D-F class) properties fulfill the 1-2% rule very easily.  However, If you invest in these very cheap D-F properties, reality often underperforms the paper proforma returns for a couple of reasons:

    1) Tenant class is lower, leading to higher turnover costs, increased risk (especially in COVID) of non-payment issues

    2) Capex costs. For some reason, all calculators take capex costs as a % of rent. This is stupid. Capex is determined by the cost of a large capitalizable item divided by its useful life. A roof or a water heater costs about the same to replace for a small house as it does for a larger house, meaning that its cost is a higher percentage of rent than a larger house would be (and a higher percentage than what most online calculators will say).

    This isn't to say that you can't make these work or even that the houses you're looking at are like this, but it's just something to consider when analyzing your properties.

  • Jonathan StonePro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Camas, WA · Member since 2020 · 284 posts · 202 votes
    5y

    @Brett Barrett

    It sounds like you live or are planning to invest in a cashflow market. It is very possible your criteria are "easy" to meet in some areas. It's also important, as has been pointed out, to look at the class/income of the area. I know of people who invest in areas where population is decreasing. It would likely be easier to find a property that meets your current CoC criteria in that scenario, because rents are still high and housing prices aren't driving up. However in 5-7 years where does that put you?

    If you have vetted your location to invest and see a property that meets your criteria and your budget, double check your numbers and go for it. I wouldn’t ramp up too fast until I had proven my concept and had systems in place.

  • Rental Property Investor · DFW, TX · Member since 2013 · 953 posts · 910 votes
    5y

    @Brett Barrett Get estoppel letters from the seller and tenant, get a good inspection, do some research on the appraisal district website and county records. If it all comes back clean, do it.

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