All Forum Posts by: Andrew Angerer

I once was one signature away from buying solar panels for my own property, however the price at the time was too high for me.

There is a national tax credit which is expiring in  2020, that will give you back 30% on the costs of installation and materials, but only if you already owe money to the IRS, if you do not then you wont see any of this benefit.

Also many states have their own tax deductions, visit https://www.solarpowerrocks.com/ to get a better idea of what these are, and how long your ROI will take.

Also, system prices are getting cheaper and cheaper, so maybe waiting a few years could save you a ton of money and get even more power savings. Solar panels are rated for 30 years so likely once you buy, they will be there for life.

Last, I think you could get away with the rent increase if you find the right tenant, some people love the idea of going green and would pay more to do so, others simply don't see the point. 

I work in healthcare in the "rustbelt" and I know from my coworkers that 1) they do no want to live in run down areas, especially since most healthcare professionals make a good amount of money. 2) They don't mind long commutes to get to work, housing, school districts and safety are key for these people above work commutes.

Now, that doesn't meant there are no people that will rent your place, but maybe you need to lower your rent for now, and when the property continues to develop into a better place you can increase the rents.

The key is to hold on to it if the area truly is going up in value then you will be rewarded, but for now you may have to settle for less.

Hope this helps,

Andrew

Your closing costs are low, estimate at least 5% of the property value unless you have a super rare case of the seller paying for part of the closing.

Also consider the 1% rule which is that your rents should be at least 1% of the property value, so that should be higher. 

Also consider two things, California is notorious for being overpriced for housing, currently the state has low inventory and high demand so prices are going up and up. Also, we are in a sellers market in the long term real estate cycle. This means that again, house prices will go up.

I would consider out of state investing if you do live in California, or find a property further away from the big metro areas that are cheaper.  

The main idea of buying is to get properties that aren't already perfect but, can be made better by you, weather it is landscaping or other simple ways to take a house in poor condition and raise its value.

All the best,

Andrew

Just be as professional as possible,  know your local codes and laws about moving out a tenant. You do not need to give a specific reason for doing this, just let them know that at the end of x month that they will no longer be able to live there....

However, if this tenant has been; long term, hassle free, and prompt with their payments, maybe you need to reconsider moving them out as you may find the loss in this cash flow to put a hurt on your income.

I would say a good compromise would be to see if the tenants want to upgrade to the bigger unit, where you being the kind landlord offer a "reduced" price to them.

Ultimately it is your decision, but be sure that your decision is not based on emotions but rather simple dollars and sense. 

All the best,

Andrew Angerer 

I looked at it a bit just now, it looks legit but I am against paying for a private money "guru" to teach me anything. Fortunately bigger pockets has a wealth of information for free, weather you listen to podcasts or just read their free ebooks you can get a great start to knowing the ins and outs of real estate investing. 

 Besides that, often experienced real estate investors, know the "scripts" that these gurus teach, and purposely will not work with you since they get so many calls from people who also have taken these courses. 

 I don't think anything less of these "guru courses" or the people that own them, they are allowed to try to make a buck, but why should you spend even $50 there when there is so much free information out there already?

All the best man,

Andrew 

Hey, living for free is better than 98% of what Americans can say! Sounds like you are on the right path to more cash flow than your W2 job could ever provide. What does your local market look like in west NY?

In almost all examples I have seen people will put 10% for vacancy, due to the fact that vacancy is the silent killer for Real estate investing cash flow. Lets say your property changes a tenant each year and you need nearly a month to repair/ replace everything and find a new tenant. That one month is 8.5% of your total income lost! One month may seem like a long time to do all this, but you always have the what ifs, what if the person I select drops out last minute? What if the there is a discovery of termites?

Granted you can mitigate this with systems that help you get tenants faster, and prep your property faster. Additionally let's say everything goes well and you don't need to dip into that extra savings. After you have reached a certain threshold of money in reserves you can then pull some out and use it for your next property.

I tend to hope for the best but expect the worst.

All the best,

Andrew

What a time to buy, you made the right decision! What does the cash flow look like? Do you have plans to expand, if so consider pulling the equity out and doing the BRRRR method on other properties.

Well said, just today the bigger pockets podcast talked about contractors, and they said that if you constantly find that the contractors are bad, it isn't them it is you ( the real estate investor). Basically, if you are not detailed enough and don't find the right people, you must not understand how construction works.

All the best,

Andrew

Let me know if you have any more questions, I would be happy to help.