All Forum Posts by: David Roberts

In the first year, do most investors expect a low COC return on their money or even negative? (this is assuming only considering the down payment as the investment, and financing expense, realtor concessions, etc as expenses). The reason I ask is if you do a conventional loan, here it's around 25-2600 through the credit union with excellent credit for investment properties, and then if you pay 3% realtor concessions, and say 5k in rehab, on a 100k home you're already at 11k in up front costs after the down payment.

Thanks for the explanation!  Good luck on getting that price.  I am trying to stay away from homes older than 1970, just because I think the expenses and time to fix stuff is higher.  I'd buy newer homes if I could get the right price, for sure.

I'm also planning to buy and hold for 20 years and retire early.

Matt your suggestion is a good one,  I would just be worried about getting into a lower income area.  Riverview has some lower priced homes. I was hoping to find a woodhaven or brownstown home I could rent for 1400 but going to pay upwards of 130 or 140k. Cash flow not horrid but not great either.  But schools are good,  area is still up and coming.   I'll I grew up in Wyandotte! 

Elizabeth do you expect good cash flow with only 1500?

There is a 2130 sqft home next city over but within 10 miles of this one, asking rent is 1800..built 1997.   4 bed and 2.5 bathrooms.

3 bed, 2.5 bath, 2260 sq ft, lot size 10, 019sqft

Has a basement.  3 car attached garage.  Built 2004.  Sub division is 2002 oldest home.

HOA. Sub Division builder is still building homes...

Sold for 264k in 2004.

I know zillow estimates are just estimates.  I just used it to look at the recently sold homes around it.  I know the renter doesn't care, but I have no idea what kind of rent I could get for that size home, and that new of one.  The homes I saw for 14-1500 asking on zillow are built around 1970.  I do agree that there is probably quite the leveling out of rent at some point.

No interest in going out of state, I'd like to find rentals around me locally, within 5-10 minutes drive at most.  Having trouble around here.  Not a lot up right now. 

I definitely don't want to do the deal and then get caught because I thought I could rent it for a lot more than I actually could.   

I appreciate the help.

I was wondering if any local investor that knows the brownstown/Woodhaven area  could help me determine what kind of rent i might be able to fetch for this one...

This is a newer construction home, built in 2004, in Brownstown.  Zillow says worth 252, but it foreclosed, and the homes in the area like it are generally selling for 200-220.

2300 sqft colonial, built in 2004. Single Family. It is in a HOA, but I looked up the bylaws and under lease restrictions it just says that no grantee shall lease and/or sublet less than the whole of any dwelling on the lot. So, it seems to me, that the HOA does allow investment properties as long as the entire lot is rented to 1 family.

If anyone has a rental in an HOA, do you require the tenant to pay those fees (usually 1 time fee a year here) or do you divide it out monthly into the rent and not mention the HOA fee?

In the woodhaven/brownstown area, homes that are about half that square foot are generally going for 1200-1300 or so per month, although on Zillow I'm seeing some ranches of 1400 sqft asking for 14-1500.  Is 2000 or 2200 a month unreasonable for a newer home like that?  It's a very nice, quiet area, new subdivision (2002), I can't find any like it that are rented or looking to be rented. 

Seems to me, just as a homeowner, to pay 2000 a month for rent, in any house.  But, I'm a small fish.

I'd like help with analyziing a possible deal if the rent can be fetched at that amount.  I'll post those later if I can get past the rent amount hurdle to start.  But initially, it looks like I could generate 5-600 a month in cash flow.  Is it normal to get higher cash flow on more expensive homes like that?

EDIT:  The home has a 3 car attached garage.  A selling feature no doubt.

If you have very good tenants that have never done you wrong on rent, do you raise their rent less often?  Do you typically raise rent yearly?  I know these are tough and open questions, but I'm just trying to get a general feel for what others do.

The rental I have, which was my former primary home, has excellent tenants. I've only had the one tenant, for 4 years, ready to lease up again for another year, and they pay early every month.  I feel guilty raising the rent on them, and I always talk to them in person about it as I literally wish I never had to raise it.  They are the ones that I would love to lower the rent just to keep forever.

But, business is business.

It's just not for me.  I honestly wouldn't even want to take a deal that looked great.  I just want nothing to do with Detroit city and that has more to do with money.  The only deal I would ever consider down there is a downtown condo in a large building or something like that...but those are new condos/apts with security, downtown, etc.  

I wish anyone the best of luck that is willing to take on the hoods.