All Forum Posts by: Christopher Benjamin

@Steve Milford - congrats on your success. Sounds like a lot of sweat equity but a pretty nice return.  Looking at a 2001 manufactured home right now so we'll see!  Thanks again, Steve. 

@Jason Benda-Joubert and @Chad McMahan - thanks to you both.  The asking price on this house is quite a bit above market rate but we'll see. We are looking for a buy and hold and I'm a bit worried about how that house might hold up (or not) over the next 10 years, especially with the extra wear/tear of properties on the coast. Do you guys have a manufactured home age you like to sell buy to avoid home degradation and issues with buyer financing?

Hello.  I'm looking into buying a property to use as a vacation rental and found a good potential lead, but am hesitating as it is a manufactured home. It is well cared for but built in 2001. 

Can anyone point me in the direction of where I can learn more about expected life of manufactured homes built in that era, costs of maintenance, other things I should know before buying one?

Many thanks!

Chris

Thank you @Jon Crosby and @Leigh Ann Smith! I haven't had a chance yet to go through them but will certainly follow up with you (including sharing any updated/modified version back with you). Thanks again!

Hello-

Does anyone have a deal analysis spreadsheet for potential STR/vacation rentals that they would be willing to share? I began to create one but figured I need not recreate the wheel if someone else has already done it better!

Many thanks!

Chris

@Max Brunke- thank you for your thoughts.  Yes, I've combed through those articles and, beyond the monthly cash flow, am interested in the coastal property for tax deductions, appreciation potential, and as hedge against inflation/market correction. 

@Ben Winchester - thanks also for writing.  Yes, it was podcast #229 that shifted me from long-term rental mindset to thinking the AirBnB approach would make more sense for my situation. Plus, if the market changes (or I move), it would be easy enough to change to long-term rental. 

@Kevin Romines - I have been looking at 2-4 units in the area. Certainly would cash flow better but I've moved away from this because (1) larger upfront cash needed, (2) all the ones in my market need a lot of work and are beyond what I imagine taking on for my first endeavor, (3) they are in a less desirable part of town and can't imagine I'd enjoy managing the tenants who would be living there. 

Thanks so much for your thoughts Bill. I agree, the mixed use would certainly only work with a specific type of tenant and simply Airbnb'ing it is likely how I'd move forward.  

Again, appreciate your thoughts.

Chris

Hello everyone-

I've been eating up the podcasts and blog posts regularly for the last 3 months, learning a ton, but now finally jumping into participating in the community. What a cool resource this is – thanks to anyone willing to help!

My situation is a bit unique and I'd love some guidance as I look to consider entering into real estate investing. I'm married, 32, live in Portland, OR where we bought a home in 2015. My wife and I both work in medicine and we make a good living. I work on the Oregon coast and spend half the week out there. After renting a place near my work regularly for years, I now regret waiting so long to buy where I'm working. Main reasons it seems to make sense: (1) we are in 33% tax bracket and would benefit from the tax deductions, (2) I am paying $500 monthly in rent that I can get back immediately with a house hack, (3) with a buy-and-hold approach, I think there is good appreciation potential for coast near Portland, and (4) there is large demand for rentals in the community with no supply.

A few questions:

1. I know the 2% rule is a goal not a standard but all the properties I’m looking at would get me right about 1%. I guess I’m curious if this is a reasonable thing for a first-timer or if I really should do more work to find a better deal (although I’m not remotely interested in common marketing strategies like sending out fliers).

2. One consideration is to get a two bedroom, get a tenant in one room, live in the other, but also airBnB my bedroom when I'm not there. Anyone else do mixed use rentals like this?

3. Finally, there are a lot of manufactured homes in my market. There are a couple I've been looking at but they are 35 years old and a contracting friend told me I might be biting off more problems than I might expect.  Would welcome anyone's 2-cents on this.

Thanks so much to anyone willing to help.

Chris