All Forum Posts by: Karen Barber

Independence is a great area & does have some really good investment in duplexes as well as SFR. Cap rates are around 14-18%.

Also there are some south of the river that isn't too bad.

Are you purchasing partially rehabbed or fully rehabbed?  

Welcome to Bigger Pockets. Do you have s market city which you would like to invest in?

I agree with Scott, have a personal & business. Remember to post original content first on your website then cross post to your business & personal page. This will help with your SEO (?) ratings & Google search. The reason you post to personal page is starting out drive traffic to your other pages for all to like.

It really depends on your sons goals. Is he looking strictly for cash flow, appreciation? California is a beautiful area, however the houses are very expensive. For the price of 1 house in CA you could buy 4 houses is the Midwest, however, the downfall is he will have to use a property management firm which would be 8% of the rental income. Good luck on his first investment property!

Just sold this adorable ranch in Independence, MO for 44,000.00 with a projected net yield of 13.52%.  If you are looking for more deals in the Independence/Kansas City area please contact [email protected].  US Real Estate Equity Builders houses are moving fast.

Congratulations to the new Investor who I hope will have many years of cash flow with his investment property.

I am proud to announce that USREEB is now able to provide our investors a Owner/Finance option for purchase of our newly rehabbed properties.  Check out our website usreeb.com to see if there is a property that you are interested in.  These properties are moving fast!  Feel free to reach out to me for more information.

I am proud to announce that USREEB is able to now do Owner Finance on our properties.  This house is completely rehabbed & available to you as a great turn key investment property.  If you are interested in this or one of our many other properties, please feel free to contact me for details.  

Here is my top 5 things to think about before making the jump into real estate.

Here are 5 things I suggest you think about before making that jump.

• 1.You make you money when you purchase the property not at the sell. Many folks buy the house with the intentions of making a lot of money at the end, however, they pay to high of a purchase price up front. Not only are you out the purchase price, you have to add to that the estimated renovations, interest, insurance & UNTIL you get really good on your estimating a cushion of $2-$3k.
• 2.Get an inspection. You can have an inspection done by any inspector of your choice. An inspector might charge you a few hundred bucks, but that is worth it when you consider you might end up having foundation work of several thousand dollars, wood rot, termites, even a roof issue.
• 3.Don’t do the work yourself. Hire a contractor, sub the work out. If you are doing the work yourself, you might save yourself some money, however, you could be using that time working your next deal. Using sub-contractors, you pay for the work they perform, they carry insurance, license etc., in the long run, this could save you lots of money. Also, they will probably be able to get the work done in 3 – 4 weeks & it could take you several months.
• 4.Place the property for sale a little lower than market value. This will attract buyers & could help you move the property fast. You don’t want to sit holding property long that will cost you money. The whole idea of this is to buy, fix & sell, move the inventory fast but have it done right.
• 5.Don’t fall in love with the house. Think of this as inventory. You want to do a basic rehab so the house value goes up, you also want to invest money where you get money back out of it now….not in 3 years. In other words, do not convert the kitchen or master bath into your dream master bath or kitchen…keep it simple, clean & precise.

These are strictly my opinions:)

Kansas City is a great market area to invest in, the surrounding areas, Blue Springs, Independence, Raytown are all great areas as well.  The price of living the amount of renters in the area, the social anchors that are in the area creates a thriving community.  It is really growing!

Disclaimer:  I work for a rehab company in KC

Buying out of state, while it may seem scary can be a good choice.  Sure you have to find a Property Management firm to handle the rental portfolio for you.  If you have a strong one they will do their best to make sure that it is tenanted at all times.  However, before purchasing a house, ask if it is tenanted, look at only tenanted houses if you are concerned about cash flow.

You also have to think of this on a emotional level.  If you purchased a house close to home, you would probably manage the house, know the tenant.  While knowing tenants is good, it also can put an emotional connection there.  I think everyone wants their tenants to do well & succeed in life, but you also want your tenant to pay your rent on a certain day in full.  If you know them you might get taken in by a sob story about how they didn't have the money to pay all their rent.  If you allow them to get by once, then they might continue to try to get away twice or three times.  If you hire a PM Firm, it's there job to collect the rent to you the owner.  They can tell the tenant, the Owner demands his rent so they PM team won't get involved, it's there job to do this & when it is our job, sometimes, we leave emotions at the door.

When it comes to buying a property in a city not close to you. Do your research.  Go online, check the school district, ask questions to the company selling the house, what school district is this in.  Go to the county records, check taxes, go to trulia & check the crime areas.  Tell the company you are buying specifics on what you want as an investment property.  Ask questions.  If they are interested in helping, if they are truthful & honest, they will take their time & answer all questions, you should be able to reach them by phone, email & even texts.  Do your homework, figure out what your yield will be, figure out you appreciation, your cash flow just like you would with any property.  If you can, visit that city for a day or two, meet the company you are buying from, the property management firm.  Do your own homework, do demographic studies on the social anchors, on the job industry in the area, on schools, even churches in the area...