All Forum Posts by: Mark B

Thanks Charles.

George, I found a similar example (although this guy takes it further than may be necessary or profitable in this neighborhood, it transforms the house.) Look at those columns, they have a bit of girth appropriate for the age of the house (no 4x4 or 6x6 posts).

Before and after pics:
http://tomtarrant.com/?page_id=57

Hi George,

Cool little house. I'm a registered architect and curb appeal is one of my specialties. This thing has lots of upside. Quick answer on painting the brick: no, not in this case. The bland color is not so bad, and if you choose the right trim colors, you could bring it to life.

The house is begging for a little overhang over the front door. If zoning allows (setback to front prop line), I'd building roof that comes down on two nice sized columns that sit on the front porch wall. Have a look at the wall to see if you can determine the footing size or see any settling already. If you frame the new roof extension out of 2x lumber, it should not be too heavy and the exising porch may be able to support it as is. Look into that.

Take the storm door off. They work, but they are hideous (let the new owner deal with that). Paint the door a deep red which will look good with the brick color. Replace the door if it is hollow or in bad shape. Paint the door trim and the eave the same color, a darker earth tone, I'm thinking.

Create a planter below the window to the left of pic, plant a small multi-trunk tree. If it was in NM or TX, I'd make that a Crepe Myrtle.

Could build a wood stair rail that ties into the new columns that I mentioned earlier. Would love fixing this one up.

M

Miles, did you ever have any luck. It's been a couple years and it would be interesting to hear if you made any progress in the ABQ market.
M

I dig 'em, but I am an architect and very open minded. I once had a high-end client that we designed a two toilet bathroom for... with a urinal too.

But for low or middle income, the urinal may be a turn-off. There can be a stigma attached. However they are much cleaner than toilets if being used by boys (and grown boys).

So, name brand cities, the "ones that show up as dots on the maps" could mean any larger city because the population is the main criterion that cartographers use. So, the rust belt may have shown "dots" but have been a bad investment.

I own a rental in Marfa TX which doesnt show up on any maps ;-) but is appreciating for other reasons.

Otherwise I agree with your post. The impediment to growth thing rings true here in ABQ where we are bounded by mountains and pueblos.

Thanks for sharing,
M

Looks like no one responded here. I found your post because I have a similar idea. I do know that apartments are valued based on their NOI (more than comps.) So I imagine if you could get the rents up, and the maintenance fees down (and documented), you could sell this for more.

But remember, you can not change the neighborhood with one property.

IF he or she is still alive. :) I have the same deal with one of my properties and he insisted on the 10 year call because he was 84 at the time of the sell. I guess he is optimistic about making it to 94. (side note: he's going to have some happy offspring - the man owns a big chunk of ABQ.)

Unlike the original poster, I don't mind reading some books ;-) but I've found lots of helpful vids on youtube for other subjects and just have not come across them for REI. Anyone have better luck?

Mark

I agree, at least around here, summer is easiest and winter is hardest.

As for properties next to each other, I love it. I own a 4-plex next to an office building. I can manage both of them much easier because of the proximity. I wouldn't worry about things that insurance can cover.

Actually, I think if you feel the neighborhood is worth investing in (for one property), you should feel it is worth owning 2 properties there. In general, I wouldn't invest in an area I don't think has some level of value.

So, go for it!

Well I did let that one go! Since I haven't been to the site in about a year, I'll just pick up where I left off.

So, after that deal fell through, a lucky thing happened. The 4-plex that is literaly right next door to my office building came up for sale with a very good cap rate. I made an offer, negotiated well, and got a very good deal.

This summer I have been adding a bedroom to one of the unites. They were all 1 br units, but now I have added a bit of diversity since I'll have a 2 br also. I've kept the cost to below 10k, and with a raise in rent of $300.00 per month, this will be paid off in less than 3 years! Imagine buying a building and having it paid off in 3 years, same thing but smaller scale.

I was able to work the zoning system a bit too. For any addition smaller than 200 sf here, you do not have to submit parking and landscaping calculations (which would not have worked), so the br addition is 199.6 sf. And, next summer, I plan to add one more br addition to the front (street side) unit which will lift the curb appeal and the overall income. I'm basically taking this b/c property to an a/b.

Now I'm trying to figure out what's next. I have contact with a hard money lender and would like to move into some larger MUF development. Actually, I'd develop any type of space, but it seems that apartments are strongest in this city right now. Given my background with small projects, I figure working a deal for something about 10 to 20 units would be a good step for me.

Would love to hear any advice or questions from the BP community. I really enjoy all the knowledge here.

Mark