All Forum Posts by: Randy Charboneau

Geez so many Debbie Downers in this thread.   

Holly, I have some pretty incredible news for you.   Yes, you can absolutely still buy a $50,000 home and make money on it still.   Muskegon MI is the place for you.    We have homes over here in rental condition and occupied for as low as the $30,000 range!   I just sold an investor a 2 bed 1 bath home in Muskegon Heights with updated kitchen and newer roof and vinyl siding that is occupied and paying rent at $700+month for $49,500!    This is absolutely possible.   If you wanted to do a quick flip and buy it for $25,000 and put $10,000 into it and resell for $50,000 we can certainly do that.   For a cheap/low money/starting investor, I can't think of a better place in the USA right now to invest than West Michigan.

I'll jump in on this one

I've only rented to section 8 tenants. (Section 8 is sort of a broad term and can encompass any tenant receiving housing assistance from a govt authority. In my local area, we have the (Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Grand Rapids Housing Commission, Kent County Housing Commission (and other counties), The Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), etc.)

What I like:  Tenant is getting assistance from the govt so they only have to pay a portion of their rent.  The rest is auto deposited every month from the govt 100% of the time without fail.  If the tenants gets behind, it's only for a portion of the rent so it hurts less.   Also, if they get behind and you kick them out because of it, they lose their section 8 assistance and the waiting list is years long so they do NOT want that and find money when they need to (through friends, charities, etc.).

What I don't like:  Yearly inspections.   The housing authorities want these properties in a certain condition and if your tenant is hard on the property it's going to make your life a pain in repairs and compliance.   So far, I've been pretty fortunate and have been able to handle all of this.  It hasn't been easy or simple but nothing impossible.  Just very annoying each year.

The bottom line on these homes is cash flow and equity build up and section 8 keeps that money flowing with incentives to make sure it stays that way so I'll deal with the rest to get my cash.

Hey Lydia!  Just catching up on some older threads.  Grand Rapids has had a big bump in sale pricing due to shortage of inventory.  We were running low before COVID and when COVID hit, it really wreaked havoc on this market.  We've been historically low ever since, but I've seen some signs of recovery this year (2024).  Our absorption rate (time it takes to run out of inventory if buyers keep buying at the current pace and sellers stop selling completely) has been averaging less than 3 weeks for a couple of years, but in January we were up over 1 month.  A healthy balanced market is closer to 3-4 months of inventory so we've got a ways to go.   Rents have increased too but we aren't running the same shortage of rental units that we have housing sale units so its less pressure and the rents have increased slower than the sale prices.

Downtown GR and the immediate surrounding is going to be tough to get a single family rental that is decent cash flow due to this.   However, I have seen some duplexes and multi families come up that have positive cash flow with about 25% down conventional.   That seems to be the bar most investors draw the line on in determining if they should move forward or not.   Cash offers obviously can get better cash flow due to no debt service.  Less down and you have to be way more patient.

As mentioned we don't have rent control in Michigan so nothing to worry about there.  You're simply restricted by the free market at this point (and whatever silliness the government does).  There are markets around Grand Rapids that are cheaper and more lucrative for cash flow like Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Muskegon.  I work those areas as well and I'd be happy to provide data for any of those markets if you're interested.

Contractors in West MI are in short supply and very busy.  It can be a challenge to locate a good one who can help you in a timely fashion.  I'll send you some recommendations

Hey Brandon!  Not sure who Josh is and I can't find that episode.  I do cover that market and help investors here.   If you have real estate investment questions I'll be happy to answer them or talk about any of the market challenges here in West Michigan.  Just shoot me a message anytime.

Hey Isaac!  Grand Rapids is a complicated market right now.  There are limited opportunities to buy and a lot of the deals are actually off-market right now.  It would be good to hook up with a source for those kinds of opportunities if you're looking for more options.   I do keep track of that market and off-market properties so reach out if I can help you there.    You might want to consider some local markets around Grand Rapids that are a bit less pressure and better price points like Muskegon as well.   I love your strategy of building a team!  Local professionals will definitely be more tuned in to the market you are in and will be able to guide you.   Information can lead to smarter investment decisions so tap into those professionals for smart advice!  

Hey Ryan!

I see some suggesting Grand Rapids, MI here and its a wonderful market for sure.  GR has gotten a little pricey as supply has been scarce here for years and demand continues to flow, so our median price point has gone up to the point 100K-200K is going to give you limited options.  For example, right now in the metro Grand Rapids area and surrounding suburbs we have 17 single family homes avail and 2 duplexes avail under 200K.   Not a ton to choose from, but its still possible.

A more lucrative market for targets near Grand Rapids would be Muskegon.   The price point is simply much lower and you can control multiple properties for your price point.   Right now, there are 58 SF and 8 Duplexes avail under 200K.  Much larger selection so better chance to find what you're looking for.

I work both markets so I'd be happy to send you any data or specific information you need if you'd like to look at either of these markets more closely.

Hey Dylan!  Sounds exciting!  I agree with some earlier comments that you really want to get your finances in order before investing.   If you do it right, the money will flow back to you quickly!  Also, you want to build a good team to help you on this endeavor.   Realtors who specialize in investment properties, a good tax accountant who understands investing in Real Estate, contractors who can help you with repair and unit refreshing, property management companies in case you plan to not manage these yourself, etc.    A good team can help you make excellent decisions and avoid a lot of problems.

It's a great start!  Looking forward to helping out anyway I can.  Thanks for the kind words!

 This is the ordinance here, yes.  This is the snippet from the City Ordinance Building Code.  You can see the full code here:  Muskegon Building Code

I have worked with several Prop Mgt Companies in Muskegon and they have their pros and cons.  So far my investors have had good luck with them overall.  You can send me a message if you'd like to to talk about some of my experiences with them.