All Forum Posts by: Anthony G

I believe what I have is called a sandwich lease. I signed a multi-year lease on a property and simply pay the mortgage, insurance and taxes for the owner (the exact amount.) So I guess I have something like an NNN. I rent out the two units and maintain the property, making my profit off the remainder. So essentially I get the cashflow and they get the appreciation, mortgage pay-down, and tax-related depreciation. In this situation, how do I break down the taxes? I understand that lawncare and repairs are straight-forward. Do I list my monthly payments to the property owner as some sort of rent?

Michael, welcome. I'm glad to see another investor from the Indy area.

Do you see your personal home as an investment or an expense? I'm on my second duplex that I bought to live in, improve, and then rent. My next home will likely be a single family and in a nicer neighborhood. I'm not sure if it will be a long-term home, but if it's not I'd like to buy at least a 15 year house after that. When you guys buy a house to live in for a long period of time, do you buy as an investment hoping for appreciation or based simply on a budget and find something that meets your location, size, and architecture requirements?

So I have a duplex on a fairly small lot in Indianapolis. It has a small sliver of land that runs next to the lot the house is on, probably like 3'x125'. I'm considering merging these parcels to simplify things if the cost is low or free. I can't see how it would negatively impact me, but I wanted to see if you experts could think of a reason not to do this. Remember, you can't build on it or even park a car on it if you wanted to sell it.

There are few neighborhoods in that area that are still sought after. It's defintely not as bad as the North side (stay away.) If you felt comfortable with the blocks imediately surrounding it, then I'd say you're OK. Make sure you find a GOOD property management company as these areas can go either way. My dad had a 12 unit somewhere near 5400-5700 California and never had problems getting tenants, just couldn't keep up with maintenance.

I grew up in St. Louis and helped with some family owned apartment buidings as a kid. They're almost all built like a rock, but the neighborhood matters a lot. Where are these buildings? Southside, North?

Most of the bigger complexes (over 4 or 6) are just sets of 4-units or 6-units next to eachother. Some even have fire walls between them. So you could look at plans for those and just build a few of them right next to eachother. The exception would be buildings taller than 3-stories.

You could also only rent to felons, but most people want good tenants not felons and rapist.

Does it need any repairs? What condition is it in? Are you planning to buy and hold or increase rent and cash out with the increased value?

I know that this is an old post, but I've been thinking about this topic lately. Do custom signs with a business name get better prospective tenants than standard ones. I've used the red and white ones in the past and I get plenty of calls. Will I get interest from a different type of individual with a custom sign?