All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

If this were for a conventional owner occupied that would sound high, but for an investment property that doesn’t sound unusual these days. 

All valid experience. I have heard others comment how their markets improved during economic downturns. Then you have the types of places that are a summer/winter tradition for their friends/family that people make happen no matter what. 

The last place I would go if I was tight on cash would be Las Vegas, even though I realize there are other things aside from gambling to do there. 

People don’t stop spending money in a Recession, they change how they spend it. Maybe they pack a lunch 4-5 days a week instead of eating out, but they still gotta eat. I remember seeing how single cup coffee makers sold like crazy during the recession because people wanted to only make a single cup instead of a whole pot that partly goes to waste. 

Same is true for travel- instead of going to Europe or the Caribbean, maybe they drive to a national park or fly to a trendy city. So some markets might do better, question is which ones? 

For a personal residence and/or future sale to a family minded buyer or renter, yes. Multi family property or STR would be ok and potentially a bonus in the right area.

directly fronting a busy street. 

I would always vote to hold on to cash in reserve or use to deploy for the next investment. Cash is king  

From what I understand you can not apply for an additional second home loan. You would have to refinance into another loan type, at which point you can apply for it again. IIRC 

I’m of the opinion that if she is not credit worthy and can’t come up with the buy out money and rehab funds, then she probably can’t afford it. 

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that’s my impression from the info provided above. 

That said, I think @Brad S. probably had the best advice, specially the ADU with STR on the side. But then you are still back to the issue of coming up with buyout and rehab funds while also being hard to lend to.

No- I do not, however I did grow up there. Ann Arbor keeps growing and has great appreciation. As a result, it is pulling up nearby areas (Ypsilanti, Brighton, Canton, Plymouth etc). 

The Detroit suburbs closer to 275 and 696 seem to be on the safer side. Royal Oak and Livonia are a good call but I can’t comment on current market pricing. I see no reason why we won’t continue to see growth and infill between those 2 cities so I’d consider all of that a pretty safe bet, especially if it’s freeway convenient. 

OK then this makes sense. I do plan to use it (even if it is sparingly), although it will mostly be rented out as STR.