Is this a good buy ?

Question

I have found a duplex 20 minutes from my house for 55,000. 2 bed 1 bath on each side. It's completely remodeled inside including  new plumbing , wiring & roof.The place is turn key.  I have done some research I can get $625 per unit. My loan payment would be right at $300. This would be my first purchase and wanted other investors opinions. Thanks

Elizabeth S. · Answer

These numbers sound similar to my area.

1. Do tenants pay utilities & are they separated?

2. What is the neighborhood like? Will it attract people who ride scooters, factory workers or students? It doesn't matter who it attracts as much as you knowing ahead of time and being comfortable working with that market.

3. Does this property have any crazy features like no parking, really really steep steps, located beside a manufacturing facility, really steep hill tenant has to take trash down each week or anything else?

4. Does it have 2 furnaces & 2 water heaters? How old are they?

The initial numbers are good.  It's the other factors that make the difference. Don't buy thinking about how great it is but rather what its challenges are going to be. From my examples...I've found a few things to look for and sometimes its because I bought it and learned. I'm currently expanding from single family to multi and its been interesting to look at different properties and realize that in a lot of cases the #'s don't work.

Andy Argonaut · Answer

The answer to this question depends on your definition of "a good buy". What is your investment goal? Cash flow? Immediate cash?

IMHO, the best route for a new investor is to focus solely on generating cash and then parking it in an investment that will produce passive income. The goal should be for the passive income to cancel out your living expenses. This is much much faster than buying individual cash flowing properties.