Dream Come True or Potential Nightmare

[Emilio Ramirez]

Low Income Mixed race neighborhood - not a war zone. Lawns in the area are cut, but full of weeds. Walking distance to local shops and bus line.
Three unit property with almost no yard. A two family home on the front of the lot and a sfh on the back of the lot.
Asking 39,900 ( I'm thinking of a seriously low ball cash offer 15-25k)
All units three bedroom that rent at 600 each, but have seen properties in the area for 750.

Have not inspected other than a drive by. Seems to be in ok shape with some deferred maintanence. New roof pretty soon, peeling paint.

Turns out this is a short sale as the existing owner has given up on the property. The two family is vacant and I'm considering a walk through. The SFH is occupied by squatters who paid the current landlord first months rent and then stopped paying him and don't answer his calls or the door when he knocks. Apparently they are not letting anyone inspect the unit. Would be my inherited problem if I purchase the property. Other than reading up on eviction here on BP, what are your thoughts? Typical example of how you can turn a distressed property into a goldmine or run away fast?

Thanks - Emilio

[Jon Holdman]

Certainly seems to have potential. You need to get an idea of your repairs.

Where are you located? Much easier to evict in some areas than others. You need to speak with a lawyer who does evictions and find out if the process is easy or hard and find out how much time it takes.

You're probably not going to get the highest rent or the best tenants in a property like this. Families will want a yard, so you can't compare it to similarly sized SFR's with yards. Nevertheless, even if you put a fair chunk into it, this looks like a pretty good deal. Certainly worth a closer look.

You really need to see inside that third unit, unless you're willing to take on a meth lab or who knows what.

You might consider two offers. A lowball one as-is and a higher one with all units empty.