New Member from Stafford, Virginia

[David Gran]

Hello from Northern Virginia!

I am new to real estate investing but have been working in real estate advertising for 18 years. I co-founded with my wife Sharon MilitaryByOwner Advertising that helps military families Find, Rent, and Sell homes near U.S. Military Bases. We started the company about the time I retired from the Marines. All of my investing activities have been focused on the equity markets and building businesses. I am interested in real estate as a means to diversify my investments. One question I have for anyone that reads this post is: "What is your personal Cash on Cash Go/No-Go criteria? 

[Brian C.]

Welcome to the site from a fellow Stafford resident and former Marine.  

I'm still early on in my real estate investing career, but for rentals, I've set myself two different cash on cash return criteria for rentals.  For turnkey in good neighborhoods, after fixes costs and accounting for vacancy and maintenance expenses, I don't look at anything unless it's 10% or greater.  For properties that require major rehab, because there's more work and risk involved, my threshold is around 20%.  This is based on staying local; if I were to ever invest out of the area, those numbers would have to be higher. 

Once again, I'm still relatively new to this, so that could change as i gain experience, or if market conditions dictate different returns.  But, for now I feel pretty comfortable with that.