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All Forum Posts by: Chris McDonald

Chris McDonald has started 4 posts and replied 6 times.

Im new to real estate and I'm sure like everyone, I heard about people Section 8ing their property's in these "war zones". I've seen posts about semi-war zones but nothing about full on war zones.

Now when I say war zone I'm talking about very ghetto areas (drugs, guns, gangs, the whole 9 yards). I was looking at some of these properties for around $25k-$35k. The properties aren't in that rough shape either only seem to need some paint and carpet for the most part that's it.

I was looking at the going rate for some of the section 8 properties in the area and they're getting $900-$1,200 per month!! Now of course your going to get some rough tenants in there that aren't going to take good care of it. But it's only a $30k rental property. Is the headache worth it? Cause you're obviously getting your rent payment every month (assuming their Section 8 covers have 100% of the rent). Is there something I'm missing here that keeps investors away? Also I'm aware there isn't going to be appreciation on these properties, I'm asking from a cash flowing stand point.

Post: Buy 2nd Rental or Pay off 1st?

Chris McDonaldPosted
  • Media, PA
  • Posts 6
  • Votes 1
Alright thank you all for the help I appreciate it. I've taken that my best option would be to just simply move onto my next one and remember to subtract 20% from my monthly $1,200 and save that for an emergency. So I'd still be around $250/month which I believe is good. Assuming I can refinance that'll probably be an extra $100-$150/month cost but I'll be able to get that roughly $30k of equity and I'll invest it in my next rental. I do have 20k saved again now for my next rental so if I can refinance that'll be around $50k and I'll have plenty of capital to move onto the next property.... Sounds like the most important thing is to watch the numbers!! And after that watch them again!!

Post: Pay off my rental or buy my 2nd

Chris McDonaldPosted
  • Media, PA
  • Posts 6
  • Votes 1

@Ben Wilkins 

     I want to have a large amount of rentals as soon as I can afford it. I'm  26 y/o so I do have sometime.

     On my rental my revenue is $1,200/month . Then roughly my expenses (mortgage, insurance, water)  are $725. So I'm profiting almost $500/month now.

     Now like I said I bought this property recently (2 months ago). Is there a certain length of time I must wait before I can go out and refinance, (generally speaking) have you ever heard of someone doing it that quickly?

     Or would I be okay just going and applying for another mortgage for the 2nd rental? Have you ever heard of someone buying another rental that quickly?

Post: Buy 2nd Rental or Pay off 1st?

Chris McDonaldPosted
  • Media, PA
  • Posts 6
  • Votes 1

I recently purchased my first rental property (Duplex) for $65,000. I had to put 25% down for a 30 year mortgage so I still owe just under $49,000. I do have an investment mortgage on this property because I do not live there. Both units are currently rented out. The property was appraised and $75,000 when I had it appraised recently. So right off the bat I have $10,000 equity.

Now I'm able to find plenty of information about going about buying your first property but not as much info about the next step. I have a good amount of money saved again and want to see what my best option is.

Now my question is since I owe $49,000 on my rental property am I better off paying that property off completely or do I just simply move onto purchasing my next property.

Post: Pay off my rental or buy my 2nd

Chris McDonaldPosted
  • Media, PA
  • Posts 6
  • Votes 1
I recently purchased my first rental property (Duplex) for $65,000. I had to put 25% down for a 30 year mortgage so I still owe just under $49,000. I do have an investment mortgage on this property because I do not live there. Both units are currently rented out. The property was appraised and $75,000 when I had it appraised recently. So right off the bat I have $10,000 equity. Now I'm able to find plenty of information about going about buying your first property but not as much info about the next step. I have a good amount of money saved again and want to see what my best option is. Now my question is since I owe $49,000 on my rental property am I better off paying that property off completely or do I just simply move onto purchasing my next property.

Post: Making the first step

Chris McDonaldPosted
  • Media, PA
  • Posts 6
  • Votes 1
Hey BP! My name is Chris I'm 26 years old and am new to real estate investing. I have never actually "invested" in real estate as of yet. I'm not sure if it because I haven't found the right deal yet or I'm just a little too nervous to make the actual plung into investing. I have been reading book after book about real estate/ and money management and taking a few classes here and there over the past few years. I even recently went as far as becoming a licensed Real Estate Agent (I'm still a very new agent only have had my license for a few months now, no transactions yet). I also recently landed a job making a decent income ($50k/yr) which I plan to invest nearly all into real estate. I have no expenses besides my car which is an old beater that gets me from work to home. And a credit score of around 780. Over just the past 3 months I've saved over 10k for investing. Now with all this in mind does it sound like I have a decent shot to get started in real estate investing at this point in time? Or should I save more then the 10K and educate myself more?... My goal is to buy and hold 7-10 single family residential properties within the next 5 years... Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!! :)