All Forum Posts by: Jessica Long

@Russell Brazil it's in Lanham close to NASA Goddard and Roosevelt HS district. It's about under market price for that area from what I've been seeing. 

I think something is wrong with the spreadsheet formula. I believe over a two year span it would be more like 197% annual ROI.

Here are my numbers. 

The prop. management fees are 1 month’s rent + $299 per renewal fee. Not knowing how often we’d have to pay this I guessed at 1 new tenant a year (hopefully not though).

All of the other numbers are in my spreadsheet (prop taxes etc...maybe easier if I just paste the whole thing in here...)...

Hello! My husband and I are entering into real estate investing. We are looking at this property to purchase as a rental. We will be buying from family and likely getting a gift in equity once appraised to cover the down payment. Here are the details. We've plugged this into our spreadsheet but want to see what more experienced investors think:

Our Goal: Some cash flow (ideally at least $100/mo. after expenses), good resell value if renting does not work out (ROI per year average*470.06%, Annual "cash on cash" Return on Investment 32.65% - this is without a property manager which we are planning to avoid)

MD, PG County area, outside of DC: 4 bedroom, 3 bath, single family. Little to no repairs needed (under $2k-most not necessary)

Local market-hot, like everywhere. Housing prices up pretty high. A few decent industries (medical etc...)

Deal: $365,000 (Price it has been estimated to sell publicly: min. $410,000+)

Right now planning 5% down but that will prob. go up once get gift in equity. 3.3% interest, closing costs are around $3k for the loan (no agent fees since buying from the owner directly). 

A few unknown variables:

Rent: nothing to compare it to in our area but it's been getting a lot of bites in my "market research" listing at about $500 above what we need for it to cash-flow (There is potential for expansion within the property-basement apartment option pretty good potential)

Management: We plan to self-manage but have made room in the budget for a property manager as a last resort)

Monthly cashflow with a property manager: $77.22

Monthly cashflow without a property manager: $567

Potential cashflow with additional basement apartment (before renovations): $992

What else am I missing? We would love for it to cashflow more with a property manager but the numbers are the numbers (still shopping around for other management just in case). Any thoughts on this deal? If it was just for the equity I'd say it's a no-brainer, but we also would like some cashflow from it.

Thanks for any tips-really new at this and ready to learn! 

Thanks @Leo Watts and @Jack Seiden! We will seriously consider your perspective on this. Our immediate to near-future goals require cash flow but of course there is the appreciation factor. We’re trying to decide if it’s ethical to flip this house or sit on it for a while to appreciate when it’s being sold to us by family at a super reduced price. 

Thanks so much @Russell Brazil and @Joshua Haynes for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it. Yes, we know that if this property doesn’t work out, it will be a long time before we find something again (whether good cash-flow or not) but that’s not a reason to buy a property that doesn’t make sense numbers-wise. Thank you, again! 

Hello everyone! I'm Jessica and I'm new to Bigger Pockets and investing. 

My husband and I have begun the process of learning how to choose an investment property and are currently analyzing a property. We have an opportunity to buy a home off-market in the Prince George's County MD area. It meets many of the typical criteria (good school district, close to good job market industries, in good condition, and we are getting a very good deal on it-buying from family). 

Our challenge is that 

A. We have very few properties locally to compare it with since inventory is so low right now and 

B. We don't know how it will fare long-term since prices are inflated right now--ie. does it have longevity as a rental property down the road. I have no idea if we could continue to rent for the high amount that we could now, later. (I have run some market research at the numbers that make sense for the property to provide cash flow and have gotten many responses from potential tenants)

I have contacted some property managers to gain more insight in our market but was wondering about tips on how to further analyze this property. What else should we try before buying?

Thanks so much for any insight you can give us!