Hello (BiggerPockets) World!

Hello (BiggerPockets) World!

Member since 2025 · 1 post · 2 votes

Hey everyone!

I am super excited to start my real-estate investing journey and have heard great things about this site/community!  I'm looking to start getting into rentals (med. to long term) and have a goal to have this replace my current income by the time i retire (if i ever to 😅).  I currently have two properties that I bought and held but this was before I seriously considered getting into real-estate, and now that I am looking to get more serious, I am a little nervous.  

Being risk adverse, I am trying to learn all I can before starting off with my first rental property and will be perusing through the forums to see what everyone has to say.

See you around! 👋

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Investor · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2018 · 71 posts · 21 votes
1y

Welcome to BP Aaron. You are in the right place to learn all the things about real estate investment. I mainly focus on long term single family homes for my investment portfolio.
See you around.

Good luck!

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  • Andrew SyriosPro Member
    Moderator
    Residential Real Estate Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    1y

    Welcome to BiggerPockets Aaron and good luck investing!

  • Investor · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2018 · 71 posts · 21 votes
    1y

    Welcome to BP Aaron. You are in the right place to learn all the things about real estate investment. I mainly focus on long term single family homes for my investment portfolio.
    See you around.

    Good luck!

  • Jay ThomasPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 716 votes
    1y

    Hey Aaron, welcome to the community. Wishing you the best on your journey!

  • Real Estate Agent · Detroit, MI · Member since 2024 · 32 posts · 12 votes
    1y

    @Aaron Duffy i'd love to connect with you! i'm in detroit too. i'll send a dm. 

  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 13k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    1y

    @Aaron Duffy you may find some of this copy & paste info helpful:)

    Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.

    Why is Property Class so important for investors to understand and apply in their investing strategies?

    Because the Property Class dictates the Class of the tenant pool that the property will attract.

    The Tenant Class greatly impacts rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.

    Both Property Class and Tenant Class affect what type of contractors, handymen and property management companies will work on a property.

    If you buy & renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what Tenant Class will rent it?

    Or, if you put several Class D tenants in a Class A four-plex, what do you think will happen to the property?

    So, if you fail to apply the correct assumptions to a property, your expectations won’t be met and it may even be a financial disaster.

    We use the following to rank Property Classes, in order of importance:

    • Property Tenant Pool: closely linked to location, but not always.
    • Property Location: closely linked to tenant pool, but not always.
    • Property Condition & Amenities: it’s important to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood.”

    Key metrics for each Property Class:

    Class A Properties:
    Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 680+, no convictions/evictions in last 7 years.
    Tenant Default: 0-5% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
    Section 8: Class A rents are too high and won’t be approved.
    Vacancies: 5-10%, depending on market conditions.
    Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.

    Class B Properties:
    Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 620-680, some blemishes, no convictions/evictions in last 5 years.
    Tenant Default
    : 5-10% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
    Vacancies
    : 10-15%, depending on market conditions.
    Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 1-3 years for positive cashflow, balanced amounts of relative rent & value appreciation.
    Section 8: Class B rents are usually too high for the Section 8 program.

    Class C Properties:
    Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 560-620, many blemishes, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 3 years. Verifying recent 2-years of rental history very important! Same for 2-years of job/income stability.
    Tenant Default: 10-20% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
    Section 8: Class C rents usually meet program requirements, proper screening still recommended.
    Vacancies: 10-20%, depending on market conditions and tenant screening.
    Cashflow vs Appreciation: Should cashflow immediately, at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

    Class D Properties:
    Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores under 560, little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 12 months. Verifying last 2-years of rental history and income/employment extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.
    Tenant Default: 20-30% probability of eviction or early lease termination.

    Section 8: Class D rents meet program requirements, often challenges to pass Section 8 inspection.
    Vacancies: 20%+, depending on market conditions and tenant screening.
    Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciation.

    Where did we get our FICO credit score information from?

    Check out this chart:

    FICO Score

    Pct of Population

    Default Probability

    800 or more

    13.00%

    1.00%

    750-799

    27.00%

    1.00%

    700-749

    18.00%

    4.40%

    650-699

    15.00%

    8.90%

    600-649

    12.00%

    15.80%

    550-599

    8.00%

    22.50%

    500-549

    5.00%

    28.40%

    Less than 499

    2.00%

    41.00%

    Source: Fair Isaac Company

    Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.

    Metro Detroit has 132 cities, the City of Detroit 183 Neighborhoods, which we’re analyzing and classifying. Check out the map on our website where we’ve made this all easy to follow.

    We can also share numerous examples of properties & portfolios we’ve assisted investors with!

    DM us if you’d like to discuss this logical approach in greater detail!

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