All Forum Posts by: Joe S.

@Ryan Billingsley.  Thanks for the advice.  I will take that into consideration.  

I don't have much experience yet as I'm currently in the market for my first purchase.  However, I will say when I started looking I was concentrating my search in areas with higher cashflow, trying to get that 2% rule that people talk about on these boards.  But after some thinking I saw the problems that might occur: bad tenants, lots of repairs, worse chance of appreciation, all the things @Brice Hall said.  Plus I'm looking to house hack so I would have to live there.  So I've changed my search to better areas where I'm looking to satisfy the 1% rule, and hopefully avoid the headaches I mentioned above. 

@Kathryn Krueger, I'm also looking to make my first purchase in the area.  I am considering several options in and around Philly.  I looked at Germantown and this area seems to have some of the better cap rates in the city.  However, my goal is to house hack and I don't want to reside in Germantown so I crossed it off my list.  I think I located the duplex you are referring to.  The numbers look good if you use the rent amounts listed.  I would be concerned that the rents are inflated, they seem to be a little high for the area. (if were talking about the same place).  Also, you say you are looking for solid tenants, but will you get the best tenants in Germantown? Not trying to talk you out of it, just playing devils advocate.  Best of luck. 

@Chris Price I could prob get 50-100 more per unit of i upgrade them a bit. I don't plan to hire property mgmt, but I factored it in my numbers anyway. 

Thank you @Patrick Liska.  The second insurance was supposed to be cap ex. I appreciate you pointing out the other expenses that I may incur along the way. Taking everything into account, what are you opinions on this deal overall?  Keep I mind it's my first one as I'm just starting out. 

Thanks for the reply, @Armando Renteria.  The place is in pretty good shape.  I would probably start by remodeling the dated kitchen.  I would do most of the work myself.  Any other opinions out there on this purchase?

Hi all,

I'm thinking about making my first offer.  This would be my first ever purchase.  Thanks to these forums, I have found several investors in the same area who are more than willing to talk real estate and lend me advice.  I am very grateful for that.  I wanted to get some more opinions on this before I pull the trigger.  The property is a duplex that is located in a blue collar neighborhood close to Philadelphia.  Condition is good.  The area has not shown much, if any appreciation in the past, however it is a stable rental area.  Here is a breakdown of some numbers.  I would be house hacking by living in one side, but the numbers I ran are as if I do not live there  and have hired a property management company (even though I plan on being the landlord).  

Price: 95,000

Down payment: $3,325 (3.5% fha loan)

P&I: 429/m

Taxes: 300/m

Ins: 85/m

Rental Income $1800

Unit 1 (2bed) $900

Unit 2 (2bed) $900

Other monthly expenses: pmi ($69), vac($180), trash/sewer ($60), Ins ($85), repair($180) mgmt($180)

So according to my calculations this property would cash flow $321.44/m with a management company in place.  Total investment including $down and closing would be around $7500.  

My thoughts are that this is a good opportunity for my first purchase.  It's not going to make me rich but would serve as a good start to my investing career.  

Any and all opinions, comments, suggestions are welcome.  Thanks.

Hi @Austin Mudd, I am in a similar situation to you.  I am looking to house hack a 3-4 unit building.  The reason I want to do this is that house hacking will free up capital for other projects down the road.  I am pretty new to bigger pockets but I have already found some great people on here who are more than happy to help me out.  Maybe look for some people on these boards who invest in the same area you are looking, and connect with them.  good luck

@Igor Messano, I wish that it were 2k for just 2 of the units but its for all 3.  That is why I mentioned at the end of my post that I did not think this is the right deal for me at this time.  I guess I could try contacting the seller to see how motivated they are, but I would need a very significant reduction in price for it to be worth it.  I'm continuing to keep an eye on the market to find a deal with more cash flow.

thanks @Jacob Felder!  I sent you a PM