All Forum Posts by: Brant Richardson

Maybe put the lot up for sale for 12k with out investing the 8.5k to clear cut it. Some people would rather leave some trees and you don't have your cash tied up. It won't sound as good telling the story to friends "I bout it for 6k and sold it for 19k" but your profit would be the same.

Sounds like a great first deal. 9k sounds a little low on the rehab though. You need a complete kithen right? Also, when a property sits that long, all kinds of things just stop working and you don't notice on a walk through.

What Kevin said. Also Padmapper.com is useful to compare rents. It shows you all the units for rent listed with Craigslist on a map.

It could be a little bit of a problem with renting or selling with certain people. When somebody who has been looking for a 3/2.5 to buy or rent for a while they will get an idea of what things are worth and judge for them self whether it is a good deal or listen to their realtor. If I was looking for a place to rent I would be comparing your place to the rent of my other options in the area, not Zrent.

I would stop worrying about what Zillow thinks of your apartment, I'm sure it is appreciating just as much as apartments in buildings nearby.

If the county has underestimated the value of your apartment becasue they think it is a 2 bedroom I certainly would not do anything to correct it. When they overestimate then people try to get it lowered.

After a 6-12 month seasoning period banks will finance it based on the appraised value of the property. It will be normal mortgage with the terms that you negotiate.

A "good deal" is all relative. I'm sure many of the people on Bigger Pockets would not consider the properties I have bought for a second, but to me they are a good deal.

There are many "Turnkey" companies which buy properties, rehab them, place a tenant in them, get them set up with a property management company and then sell them. You will not get these properties below the market price but they are all ready to go in a nice package for foreign investors. If you do a search for "turnkey" on this website you will see a lot of controversy and the pros and cons of going this route. Most of the time I am against turnkey but for investing from another country it makes sense.

Is real estate that bad in Argentina? Just looking to diversify out of the country?

If it is worth 120k and she only owes 31k, why cant she just put it on the MLS? If she is getting close to foreclosure and time is of the essence this would be the time to wholesale it. That way you are actually doing your friend a favor, so you save her from having a foreclosure on her credit and she gets something out of the deal instead of losing it all.

I don't see what's wrong with her plan to rent it out either, $900 should be cash flow positive with a 31k loan.

Why can't you visit properties or lenders in Buenos Aires?

It is easier to get a deal with all cash. You can buy properties in disrepair that a bank would not finance. Also, people in a desperate situation might be willing to sell for a lower price to somebody who can pay quickly. You can still finance the property later once you have it all rehabbed.

The pictures were probably taken on the day they were marked. They generally don't take pictures to give and accurate idea of the condition of the property though, they take them to make it look as good as possible. The foundation could be completely trashed and you would likely not see a picture of it.

Pics can be very misleading as far as repairs. Somebody couldn't afford to keep the house and stopped doing maintenance a while before being foreclosed on.

Tax assessment is good for figuring out taxes, not the value of the property.

Is there an HOA fee? Might have to deduct that from cash flow.

If you can make a property at that price range cash flow $300 AND you don't have to do a huge amount of rehab AND you are comfortable with the neighborhood... then I would call it a great investment.

$300/mo is enough if you're calculations take into account all the losses to expect. A lot of people consider $100/mo enough. That should be rent - P&I - insurance - property tax - 10% maintenance - 10% vacancy - utilities (if you pay them) - 10% property management = $300. A big part of deciding how much is enough is dependent on how much of your cash it will take to acquire the property.

If you have a very large house it will require more maintenance. If you have a very expensive house then a couple months of vacancy can kill all your cash flow. Bad neighborhood will have higher vacancy...etc, etc.

Tell us more about your potential $300/mo investment and you will get some expert opinions.