Explain To Me Why This Is A Bad Deal

[John Woodington]

I've been on BP for half a decade now, and I feel like this is the kind of deal that gets labeled as A Bad Deal, and I can't figure out why, so I'd love your input:

My investing parameters: $350/month cashflow per door, 3 bed 2 bath townhomes, B properties in B neighborhoods, built after 2003, with as little of my time invested as possible.

My current rental property is a 2 bed 2 bath townhome in the north suburbs of Minneapolis. It rents for $1795/month, and my PITI each month is $1339. All cashflow goes into a reserve account that I don't use for anything other than expenses for this property. My total for repairs/capex last year was $250.

I can buy other MLS-listed 3/2 townhouses in my market for $225K - $250K. They require no rehab. Assuming I put 20% down, my monthly PITI comes in around $1400 to $1500 per month, and I can rent it for $1800 to $1900 per month. This hits all of my parameters. Yeah, CoC return comes in around 9%, and I'm fine with that. The point with these deals is to build wealth with as little of my time invested as possible.

What am I missing here? Why wouldn't I just buy these things off the MLS and take the easy route into property ownership?

[Sean Blomquist]

@John Woodington if this is investment property only, you may have to put more like 25-30% down vs the 20% down you were thinking. Does the PITI you listed include the HOA fees?

Some people may say it isn't a deal they would do, but that is their personal preference.  If it checks all your boxes and you are good with everything, then it's a good deal to you and you should move forward with it.  Unless it was something blatantly obvious that made it a "bad" deal.