All Forum Posts by: Frank Durham

 TOTALLY understood .. and I may have let some things out. 

I currently rent. where I rent the property management place is TOP NOTCH in my book!!!

I've been living here for over 5 years. and NEVER had a complaint about the management company here.. that being said. .I would talk to this management company to about managing my building(s) 

2ndly . ANY DEAL I do. i'm looking at this point at paying CASH for the building.. so if it works out to $400k  I'll pop it down and buy the building . . least that is my game plan I DO NOT PLAN ON FINANCING at this time. .. maybe in 3 or 4 years from now. after I've had my building(s) up and running well. I"ll take a bit of a loan out on it. and purchase another building or 2.. 

 Great point !!! you see .. this is what folks mean by . .one deal for one person is not necessarily a great deal for another.. eg.. you can buy a home for $1k in MD .. sure riots and all. but they will stop rioting soon..  but I'd buy properties all day long for $1k.. and then sell them on craigslist  for $1k down .. and payments on the other $9k .. I make my $$$ back. and now rent to own it paying me $500.00 a month .. i'm your bank !! . at 7% interest.. You stop making payments. I get to evict you . put the ad back on Craigslist. for another $1k. .and start over .. but the last guy that was there did a few improvments. so now i'm selling it for $15k  .. now $14k in financing to the 2nd guy.. if there is one.. but you see it all depends on what/how you want to make $$$..  I have a friend who buys these properties like this all over the  country and puts ads in local papers and sells them to folks. 

I remember the 1st time he did it.. he said.. some guy called him from Kentucky or wherever the house was and asked if there was anyway to get the keys to see the house. my friend said. GO right on it. there is NO front door on the house.  the guy walked in looked around called him and said I"LL TAKE IT..  .. he gets all kinds of checks every month in the mail on these properties.!!!

excellent advice .. 

now if I can find  a picture of myself that doesn't scare me.  and I figure out how to post it up online. i'll do that soon!

I guess the old question . which is the better money maker? 

Renting

rehabbing  and selling

flipping .. (minor to no rehabbing) 

I guess the old question . which is the better money maker? 

Renting

rehabbing  and selling

flipping .. (minor to no rehabbing) 

 Thanks Al, that's defiantly a good idea. and I will run it thru BP when i'm ready .

 MY goal is to find enough property I can pay cash for that I can live off of .. 

eg. spend  $500K For a unit or 2 or 3 .. so that I can have enough units to pay for the upkeep on the property, and still have enough to live off of.. that is my goal!!

IF I can do it with one complex.. and I must do it small and build up. I guess I could buy a few duplexes and or 4 unit homes.. get 2 or 3 of them pay for them outright..   and use those 3 properties to take out an advance or something to purchase a 4th and or5th. property and pay that off quickly.. and keep doing that .. 

again that method is if I can't get a complex of units 10 at least would be good to start. 

 but again i'm new at this and ignorant. and I realize that..  so what I think is doable may not  be so doable.. :) 

 HI Al, 

Now you have me concerned? .. you say you can't live off the revenue of a single 16 unit building?? 

i'm not sure what you consider frugal? but let's just say for fun.. that I rent the units out at say 650.00 each .. ( Up here that is like WAY LOW.. but let's just go with it.) .. 

20units x $650.00rent = that comes to $13,000 a Month.. Taxes.. about $8k a year. all tenants would pay there own electric / heat .. so even if I put HALF of that away every month.. for taxes and repairs etc.. I"m still walking around with $6,500 a month. I can live off of that without being to Frugal .. and I think putting $6500 a month off to the side to cover taxes and expenses for the property would be more than adequate enough to maintain the property and pay taxes.insurance,  etc..  

Remember Im' out right buying the building . no Mortgage .. and I missing something here?  is a 20 unit or 16 unit building NOT enough income to live off of without a mortgage on the property?

Congrats.. You are going to do well in real estate I think. taking the steps to walk away from a deal that just seems a bit to "shaddy" in my book.. personally I'd have RUN . but . you did walk away from it.. and that is excellent. i'm a newbie here. and won't be purchasing my 1st place for a while yet.  I"m just not sure which state to purchase my properties in ? i'm in NH now. going to AZ or FL in the winters.. so not sure which of the 3 states I want to purchase property in. .i'm guessing whichever one will net me the most $$ on my rentals :)

 I'm hoping to get a 'team' around me that knows what there doing despite my ignorance.. I mean i'm not totally ignorant to renting. i've been a renter :) .. and my family has rented. and evicted tenants. etc. so i'm semi familiar with that part . a bit.. and I"ve done some repairs etc.

I guess my ignorance is showing. I assumed I'd be able to talk to a few folks.. once I find the property . .post it here and see what folks say .. I thought Id get a property management company and check on the property and speak to a few tenants on occasion making sure PM company is doing there due diligence.. where I live now we have a 100% excellent PM .. and I may see if they can handle my units when the time comes.. 

was hoping to have enough units that the wife and I could live off the profits..