All Forum Posts by: Dion McNeeley

I will be a little late. Can't get free until 630. 

Thanks,

Hi Laura,

I hope this helps. I have some duplexes as well. One of the things I try to do is make sure the lease includes the tenants responsibility to maintain the lawn. If you move into another duplex in the future and then rent out both sides of the one you are in you may not want to have to keep coming back to it to do the yard work. 

If you are responsible to maintain the yard for the pother side of the duplex then you need a mower. You can't purchase half of a mower so I would use the entire thing as a write off. I write off tools I purchase that are used for maintaining any rental even though I also use those tools around the house. 

I am not a CPA or anything so it is best to check with whomever you have do your taxes. Good luck. =)

HI Jason,

I had similar issues in Tacoma WA. When I looked into any SFH, there would be several offers in minutes. One house I made an offer on had 27 offers in the first weekend. Three places went for well over asking price.

Then I started looking at duplexes, tri and quads. I made an offer on one where the numbers looked good and it was accepted. There were only three offers made total on the place. I got it for the asking price. Then I purchased two more duplexes and had the same amount of competition. One was 5% under asking and the other was for asking price. I am currently in saving mode working on the next down payment for another place and I see some properties that would work. Maybe where you are trying to invest there are different types of investors looking. There may be other options for deals than SFH. Just a thought. I only use the MLS to find properties.

Good luck.

Hi Leland,

I am not sure if I count as an "investor" since I have 7 doors and am only adding a duplex a year. I live in Tacoma and am also looking to connect with people in real estate. I am curious though, you are a "rehabber". Does that mean you are licensed contractor? I have been using Thumbtack (the app) for smaller projects but I am looking for someone to develop a working relationship with for ongoing projects.

Thanks,

Good luck. You are doing it right coming to BP. Tons of info here to help you get started. 

One of the quotes that helps remind me why real estate is the way to go was in a podcast I heard recently.

"The next ten years will pass if you buy a rental property or not. It will be one of the only things you buy that someone else pays for."

I may have butchered the quote but the jist is the same. A lot of people say they wish they started earlier. You get to avoid being one of those people. 

Recently in one of the podcasts I heard a reference to the "thumbtack" app. It is amazing. You are able to chat immediately and get estimates from several vendors. My first experience was with garage door repair. It was shocking how fast I was able to get a good price and be able to check out the ratings of the contractor. 

Good luck.

@Adrian Olivera I did this recently. I printed out several rentals in the area of one of my rentals. I called two local property management companies and asked if they had anything similar ( like I was looking for a place to rent) All of the rentals I found were significantly higher than my tenant was paying. When I showed them to her and asked her what she thought was a fair price she asked if we could raise the rent. She went about $150 higher than I was hoping for. She also feels like she got a deal because she saw places that cost more. For websItes, I just googled rentals and used my zIp code It took jIst a few clIcks to go through the top three results. I didn‘t even bother reading what websItes they were. Good luck.

@Tyler Psenicska. I feel the market is gambling. Only gamble with money you are okay losing. I think there are a few factors to consider. What interest rate is the mortgage. How far off are you from retiring? Are you trying for financial independence? How much equity do you have? Those items would help making the decision. Good luck.

@Justin Teal hello. I think it depends on the price and how much you put down. What your monthly expenses will be will determine if it’s worth it for $2300 in rent. If you do this owner occupied you will only receive one of the rents. I did this this year in Tacoma. My first duplex payments are $1680 a month. I was in an apartment paying $1500. The other side of this duplex rents for $1100 so my rent dropped from $1500 to $580. I would check the numbers and see what the amount you would pay in a duplex vs a single family. Good luck.

@Nathan McBride Congratulations