All Forum Posts by: Ibrahim Yamini

@Bob Okenwa

Lol, I have audible and that book is already in my wish list, did it help you?

We all know that there are three strategies for Real Estate Investing: Flipping, Buy and Holds and Wholesaling.

I do know that you at least need your “core 4”; Relator, Property Manager, Contractor and Lender for OOS investing but is there a specific strategy to follow for OOS investing that increases chances for success?   

If there are any books you have to recommend I’d appreciate the names of those titles as well and if they helped guide you through your processes.

Any advice or recommendations especially from those who lived and done it would be greatly beneficial.  

What state do you think would be good for multi family investing?

@Will Gebbie

I asked a similar question to this last week so I think we're in the same boat. I'm here in Phoenix and if a house is listed for a certain price, you'll likely be in a bidding war and pay $20K - $50K over market value. It will be my first investment property as well and I really want it to be here, but the prices are too high for my taste. I might have to settle for a small Townhouse but I prefer SFH.

I have the same fear and nervousness as you about my first investment property being OOS.  I do however, take solace in the fact that some of the people that responded to you have been successful.

With both of us as beginners, I think we should both start to at least look at out of state deals just to see what’s available.  If one of us finally decides the Market we want to invest in, we should reach out to realtors in that area and maybe build a relationship with them. 

Relators aren’t that hard to find, but you’re going to have to do your due diligence to find a good one.  Pay attention to things such as organization, attitude and how quickly they return your calls.  If they seem too busy or dismissive and you’re constantly looking for them, move on, they obviously don’t want your money and don’t care about your time.  

Realtors know a lot of people, so if you find a good one, they should be able to least connect you to a reputable property manger who knows contractors who can fix up your property if need be.  

Lenders aren’t that hard to find at all and one of the previous mentions might have a recommendation. 

Just make sure the loan office let’s you get the point across of what you’re trying to do.  There was one lender I wanted to go with but decided against it because he spoke for 30 minutes straight before I interrupted him and told him what I was trying to do.  

Nice guy, but he should probably focus on listening to his customers before talking so much in my opinion, didn’t even ask me if I had the time to speak to him, just rambled on.

Anyway, should be easy enough to get those four key players. 

I know I’m also new to this but one thing I always hear about why landlords fail is that they didn’t have enough capital to account for vacancies and other expenses.  Make sure to have at least 6 month of mortgage ready to pay if necessary.

The main thing is to make sure the house will be profitable BEFORE you buy it!   Just because a house is $25K - $50K does not necessarily mean it will cash flow.  

KNOW WHEN TO WALK AWAY BUT DON’T BE AFRAID TO PULL THE TRIGGER!

-Ibrahim 

@Will Gebbie

This question similar to one I asked before but are any of you investors that own houses under $300K making at least $500 Net?   I got a response where some people are saying they make $150 after all expenses and that just seems strange to me.

 Since I’ve been doing a lot more research, I’ve been getting a better return on projected income for different properties.  I generally take out about $400 - $500 for expenses and use rentometer.com as a base.

Since I’m only buying one property at the moment, I likely won’t need a property manager in the beginning so I can add that $200 back into net profit.  When I exclude the property manager cost, I usually project to make between $400 - $600 net.

Am I missing something?  I wasn’t expecting my projections to net that much a month, but the numbers seem to work.

Did any of you first time investors net a profit you weren’t expecting? Or higher than what you were expecting?

-Ibrahim 

Would a good start in real estate investing be in buying manufactured homes?

I wasn't interested at first because a lot of the taxes and HOA fees were ridiculously high in certain areas. But a few netted me a cash flow of $500 a month in my ROI projection chart.

Then it got me thinking.  I can buy one of these manufactured homes outright.  Wait a few months to save money from my other income and buy another outright.

I would much rather own a SFH, but if I'm starting out and looking to cash flow, would this be the right move vs buying a $300K house and netting $150 a month?

The main issue that gives me pause is that I know SFH's will go up in value tremendously in the next few years. If I have enough owned manufactured homes payed outright would it even matter in the future?

These questions are for all Airbnb owners, I just had a particular interest in Phoenix and other Arizona Airbnb locations

When I was overseas I met a contractor who told me they had an Airbnb in Phoenix.  He did mention that he put about $80K into his house but he was shocked at house much money he was making monthly.  I think it was roughly about $4,000 a month net.

I could buy a property and furnish it for an Airbnb, but the second part would take away from any “cushion” money so I’m not interested in owning an Airbnb at this time.

I would like to to turn my second investment property into an Airbnb eventually though.

What are good Phoenix locations for an Airbnb?   Is it profitable especially with coronavirus?

Is it better to have a tenant paying rent or hoping some will rent your Airbnb?  Seems like it could be lucrative, but needs to be done correctly.

Do any of you own Airbnb properties whether successful or unsuccessful?   Where did you succeed? Where/Why did you fail?

Failure is a great teacher so I like to know both sides if at all possible.

@George Cocokios

Thanks for the info!  My wife wants me to buy OOS and she thinks I only want to buy here because it’s close.

Well, that’s true, but I don’t think she truly understands the value of this neighborhood.  My house literally shot up in value over $130K and there’s neighborhoods being built all around us.

Why would I invest in another state when the market is here?

@George Cocokios What sq ft and location are these 3/2 houses that rent $1800 to $2000 a month?

@Elizabeth Schartman I use rentometer.com and Zillow mostly.  Craigslist helps you figure out what places are renting for.  I think I got irritated because I wasn’t getting the numbers I wanted.  

We are in the same boat.  You just bought your first rental and I’m about to buy mine in a couple months.  I have a clear timeline: 31 August ‘21.  
I feel like that will keep me grounded in obtaining my objective.

*Sigh* Based on what some of you are saying, I might have to sacrifice a few hundred dollars a month and trade it for the appreciation rather than focusing only on cash flow.

I guess if I’m still in the positive at the end of the day, that’s still a win I can accept for now since I’m just starting out.

When I gain more capital and experience, my attitude will definitely change and I’ll be able to get exactly what I want later.

Just need to bide my time.  This business is about being patient right?

I've been looking at houses all over Phoenix for the past year and based off of sites such as rentometer, Craigslist and Zillow, houses between $200K - $350K seem to fall well below the 1% rule. Whenever I do most of my calculations for a property I'm interested in, I end up losing money in almost every scenario. There are a few where I make a profit, but well below a 10% ROI.

Do I need to take these sites with a grain of salt and charge the fee I want? I would imagine a 3 bed/2 bath could rent for $2K a month anywhere in Phoenix but that’s just doesn’t seem to be the case.

Rent usually ranges from $800 to $1500 and that is usually below my bottom line. At best, I end up making $200 - $300, but I need at least $600.  I would prefer to rent for at least $2K a month in cities like Avondale, Surprise, Goodyear and Peroria.  

Am I being unrealistic to expect to rent for that much anywhere in Maricopa county?

You’ve bought your first Investment property.  Now what?   

Should you have already had a process in place to get a lease ready for a tenant?

Did you use your real estate agent to help you market, find and house a tenant?

Did you screen them yourself?   How did you check their credit?  

Is a property manager necessary for only one property?

What did you do immediately after obtaining your first property?   I would like to hear what worked and what didn’t work if at all possible.

What recommendations do you all have for owner actions the day after closing?   If there’s something that needs to be done well before closing, I’d appreciate  you sharing that info as well.