All Forum Posts by: Gilbert Dominguez

First of all you waited way too long to address this issue. You should have given them some kind of notice that you need 30 days, they should notify you 30 days in advance of their lease being up as to whether they intend to sign a new lease or vacate the premises.

You have the right to actively seek another renter or someone else to lease to. Do not put yourself in a position where you are not sure if your property will be leased or not through the winter months. Since you have waited until now I would notify them to either sign a new lease or let you know if they intend to vacate the premises. Simple as that the rest will be just your business as usual. Next time do not wait so long. 

In order for this owner to be in a position to do owner financing on a $1,000,000.00 property it means he is a fat cat with allot of experience who will take 10 to 20 new investors just like you and eat you for breakfast. 

This is way to big of a property for you to get started in. It can very quickly turn into a nightmare for you that you will not be able to get out of without losing your shirt.

However, if you happen to be a person who is very astute and have management experience or who can round up experienced people to help you then you might just pull it off. How well do you understand managing the cost and all relative issues when it comes to a building of that size, Its not really all that big but still 22 units may require allot of work. How well can you accurately evaluate the building and its present and historical performance? What will you use to cover any closing costs, insurance and what have you on hand to create a maintenance budget? Where will your needed reserves come from?

Proceed if you determine you can handle things but be ready to book the minute you suspect this may be beyond what you can handle. there are plenty of fish in the sea, as they say. 

Read other post on here especially those that are experiencing nightmares with their HOAs . An HOA can rise the HOA dues to the point you cannot afford to pay them and will feel you have nothing to do about it . You will not have time to adjust your finances should your HOA dues rise significantly. Some people find they are forced to sell if they can or even let their properties go into foreclosure because they cannot afford both the mortgage of the new significantly higher HOA dues.

I would definitely stay away from buying condo or town house units for this very reason but of course the decision is yours. If you have heard allot of negative things about condos then you would do well to consider those negative things very carefully because they can become very real and difficult to deal with. 

Lets add that the first investor has no cash reserves put aside but the second has a cash reserve of $30K now which one is doing business more comfortably?

I would recommend you make your first property(ies) one(S) that need very little repairs. Most people if they do not have much experience at doing construction will always underestimate the cost and time needed to effect repairs. 

Take these two scenarios.

One investor puts down $10,000.00 on a $260,000.00 property. They cash flow $500.00/Mo. so they figure their cash on cash return to be very high however they owe $250,000.00. 

Another investor puts down $60K on an $100K property and also cash flow $500.00/mo. while their cash on cash return is much lower than the first example they only owe $40K. Which one will sleep better at night?

Sounds like you are doing great. Got a place to live and ended up cash flowing positive. Good deal. Now all you have to do is wait out the time to get that mortgage paid down. 

As far as the real estate license question I would say its a personal thing, It does have some uses and advantages along the way. if you have the time and money to spend getting your license it will never hurt. 

I would personally stay away from condos or townhouses because they can be a headache to deal with when it comes to the HOA fee , having to play according to their rules and having not much to say about paying them in addition to paying for your property. They can sometimes eat up all of your cash flow or profits.

I am both happy for you and scared for you. What would feel right for you? I have checked on the Atlanta area and found some duplexes for sale between $100,000.00 and $120,000.00. If you go in with maybe a $60,000.00 down payment and your rents will be between $1,000.00 and $1,200,00 per month you should be able to make your payments very comfortably and cash flow nicely as well. 

This will allow you to make a safe investment and gain plenty of experience being a landlord so you get a feel for it and gain knowledge of all the issues. I would not go to an auction and spend all of your money cash. Always leave yourself with a cash reserve. That's just my thinking and what I would advise if I was your friend and had your best interest at heart. You can alternatively purchase one property to get your feet wet then depending on how things go you can always buy one more property a little down the line. 

Of course I am much older now than when I started and I like comfort allot more than challenge now. You know your own personality and what feels right for you to do. 

Yes, that appears to be right if in fact that is what the law says, just make sure. The old owner may have the right to redeem the property so make sure before you put more money into it. Chances of that happening maybe slim to none but it can happen and what if you decide you want to sell the property? Better check with an attorney that specializes in that area of law for recommendation.