All Forum Posts by: Chris Bennett

Hello World!, I am looking for an Excellent Real Estate CPA and Attorney in Michigan, Livingston County preferably. Any Suggestions?

Thanks, I plan on continually reading as many as i get my hands on.

I'm just beginning my book reading journey, so far Mark Ferguson's "Build a Rental Property Empire", Bryan M. Chavis "Buy it, Rent it, Profit", and Brandon Turner's "The Book on Rental Properties". All great reads, which books should I read next?

@Keri Middaugh I have not but i will listen to it on the wau to work in the morn.

@Christian Hutchinson I have thought about the expansion, adding a garage and master suite, the problem is the way the house is laid out I would loose a bedroom to gain acess to the new area so I would have to add 2 bedrooms and a bath, which still does not throw the idea out the window, losing this bedroom would open the kitchen up aswell. Would a hard money lender lend on a property already purchased to do the expansion? or do you know of another means to get funding for an expansion, I i know they have fha 203k but i think i would have to be living in the place. Also what are your thoughts on detroit today, i'd be interested to hear your opinion?

Michigan, was hit really hard, there were parts of detroit that looked like 3rd world countries. They put all their eggs in 1 basket the auto industry. Detroit actually went bankrupt in 2013 20bil in debt. I live an hour from detroit, but prices have been on a steady climb since 2012. So my value is not depreciating it just took longer to rebound then other places. I work in detroit and see office buildings going up by the dozens all along the way. So I think they learned from that crash and got more industries here. they are pumping billions in the downtown area of detroit new stadiums, Microsoft has a new building, people are actually vacationing to detroit now, which seems absurd to me but... Anyway my point is I believe my value will continue to go up. The last 2 replys are the reason I am wrote this post in the first place, cause my mindset was starting to lean that way.

What would a good capex number be for a 850 sqft house 2br 1 bath be in your opinion?

mp = market price, thanks for the comment, opinions and advice. I am not going to sell it unless i absolutely have too. I wanted to see other more experienced investors thoughts and you guys provided that thanks again.

thanks for the response, I did do a refi in 2012 and im at 4.125 percent i would have to look into the refi again to see if that is worth it. I am looking to get into real estate investing, and if i can make this place just break even for a bit and the market stays good it wont be a total loss. I wont have a problem renting the place, Ive made it a beautiful house and i have lake access. I never even thought about getting into real estate until about a year ago when I tried to sell cause my family and I outgrew the place. I thought about expanding it, but the numbers just didnt add up. So i decided to rent, its just the more i read and learn about renting the more nervous I get about my numbers. In theory i shouldnt have to worry much about cap-ex like you said for 10 years, but I will save it anyway. I figure if i just pool all the money for this place and never touch it, until Im more experienced then I will be alright. I did learn alot from this place, what not to do :-D, and i believe my next rental will go alot smoother. thanks for the perspective and suggestions. Chris

I wanted to ask everyones opinion. I bought a 130k mp house when I was 25 in 2005 for a 115k, I did not buy this as a rental, but a place to live and fix up. Since then as everyone know the market tanked and came almost back to what it was. The lowest I saw the value was 77k I was watching the price cause I out grew the 2 bedroom house. I have spent around 50k in repairs and upgrades while living in it. literally almost everything is new plumbing, piping, ductwork, electrical, roof, insulation, drywall, windows, doors, furnace, hot water heater, sump pump, ac, exterior paint, hardwood floors, kitchen, bathroom, water softner, patio. Although i Realize now, i may never see a good return on investment in this place, but i put too much into it to sell it for 120k. I moved out and am renting it out for 1200 544mort, 208 taxes (sewer assesment), 73 for insurance, 120 maint, 120 vacancy, 17 hoa, leaving me 118 for capex and cashflow. Id like some experienced investors opinion on the situation. Am i setting myself up for failure with little to no cashflow, if the market tanks again and i have to lower rent i will be in the red, but selling at this point i would be pissing away the 50k + all the interest ive paid over the 12 years. what do you guys think?