All Forum Posts by: Eric Delcol

@Travis Bodnar

"where does someone find costs to build and inventory figures?"

Inventory figures is the low hanging fruit. You can find this on the MLS, or if you don't have access, your real estate agent can help you.

Re:  cost to build.  Needless to say there is large set of variables here.  

You can ask your local builders / contractors.  This can range from anywhere from $70-$150/sqft depending on your area.

I'll use an example of an average SFH, 1000sqft in Phoenix.

Land:  $15K

Cost to build $90 / sqft 90,000

Total $105K

"For someone like myself who is numbers driven can I use data/numbers to better a) pick a designated state/county/city and b) prepare to enter the market when the time is "better" (someone like myself who is starting with little money)."

Yes and yes.

Start with data on where people are moving to.

"I don't think the California market is something I can invest in right away."

California, as a state, is generally more expensive than most of the rest of the US, but it's also fairly large -there are plenty of cities where you can find your niche.

Ulises Astorga I have an amazing agent and a fantastic broker. If you're looking for a primary residence my agent may not be the best for you as they are investor focused but if you're looking to do a BRRRR or something similar they would be a good fit. Send me a PM if you'd like their contact

Can you tell where the OVERALL market is right now?

Can you tell where your LOCAL market is right now?

You want buy in phases 1 and 6.  Some will say phase 5 is the perfect time.  Theoretically - yes it is.  However, "it is very difficult to catch a falling knife" as William O Neil, the infamous investor says.

@Travis Bodnar

"I don't like to always trust the "opinion" of someone else. So... How does an investor determine the market trend/climate/cycle within a given area?"

Fantastic question!  Hard data is exponentially more useful than opinions.  It's important to listen to those who've seen full market cycles of the past - but always go back to the fundamentals.

Cost to build and inventory figures will tell you 80% of what you need to know.

The macro market conditions will affect your local market conditions, but your local market is another beast on it's own.

Listen closely to the media but know that they are two steps behind.

@Bao-Chau Tran

What part of Tampa is this located in?  You don't have to give the exact address but a nearest intersection would help.

Tommy Vu was my fav:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQNdi-fRExc

Using some rough napkin math it looks like both of these are winners.

Rent	$1,800.00
mortgage	$687.48
insurance	$91.67
management	$360.00
taxes	$137.50
hoa/maintenance	$200.00
vacancy	$150.00
Net	$173.36

If you want to make money in buffalo you need to be using 0 or even negative appreciation as part of your model. I visit buffalo several times a year, have friends who live in the city, and know other investors who buy in buffalo. I've been tempted to invest there many times but it just does not fit our model as there's no appreciation. One of my reia groups had several people go to buffalo, buy up all the tax lien properties at huge discounts, rehab, and try to resell. Here's some average figures Purchase 20K Rehab 30K ARV 65K That was in 2010. Those same properties are now worth maybe 70K tops. If your game is cashflow you can make decent gains in areas around UofB but your angle will be volume or multi unit. Doing all that locally let alone from Sydney would be tough, but doable. Again, I can't stress this enough - expect negative equity in buffalo or any rust belt city. If you factor that into your numbers you will do well.

Evan Greenfield We focus on SFHs in the 2nd best school districts using the BRRRH strategy. (The "H" is for "Hold") Folks who live in the best district are most likely not renters and the 2nd best districts have a higher likelihood of positive cashflow and see similar appreciation levels of the best districts. I know a lot of BPers make good cashflow in places like Ohio but I doubt their appreciation figures crack double digits after 5 years.

"That will get you part of a driveway in SoCal using the traditional way" Keep in mind that SoCal is not just LA and San Diego. I echo the posts above that you're better off with Phoenix and the surrounding area. However, if you want to keep things close by look at areas outside the major metros. Inland empire is booming right now.

Hey Larry, What's the address?