All Forum Posts by: James Slaughter

@Christopher Laverdure I should have mentioned in prior post that the rental properties calculator on BP (under "Analyze") is an awesome tool.  Enter all of your known and expected #'s and you can get a better handle on what it would actually cash flow as an investment.

@Christopher Laverdure As far as cash flow, that would be a very bad rate of return.  Just your operating expenses total $725 a month.  Assuming you could rent it for $900 a month, you would only clear $175 month and that's not factoring in any vacancy, capital expenses (should be low), repairs, property management, etc, and that's with $30,000 down (about 21%).  I am pretty sure it would not even cash flow at 5% ($7,000 down).

Now if you thought it would double in price in the next three years, that's a different story, but not one I would gamble on.  Just my $.02 worth.  Sounds like an awesome place though!

@Matthew B. Great project, any updates? Would love to hear about final costs, expected ROI, etc. My guess is you had no trouble renting these units.

@Robert MacNab Welcome to BP Robert, fellow Charlotte area investor here.  As anyone on the site, being a "doer" in this business is 90% of being successful.  Best of luck!

@Colleen F.Thanks for the input.  There is no other access routes to the other two apartments.  All have to come up stairway (which I own but they have an easement to).  At top of stairs, one landlords unit is to the right, the other three units are to the left (there is a door with a deadbolt at this location) which allows access to a hallway I own with access to my two units and one other landlords unit. 

I am certain you and @Cole Schlack are correct about liability, but our broker and closing attorney were not really sure.  Although as you mentioned maintenance is some of the issue, having always lived in more of a rural environment, it is more of a question of what would happen if someone visiting someone that is not even our tenant slips and falls down stairs.  I imagine people in more urban environments run into situations like this all the time.  It's just not something we are familiar with.  Thanks again for taking time to respond!

@Cole Schlack Thanks for the input.  Its a little frustrating because of the wear and tear (and maintenance) the stairway takes, yet half the people going up stairs are not only not my tenants....they don't even live in my building.  Not to mention that I believe that by far most of the wear and tear is due to tenants other than mine (cigarette butts, litter, etc- we don't allow smokers in our units).  Your answer is what we expected, but my wife (the brains behind this outfit) thought we would ask the BP community.  Thanks again! 

@Matthew SheltonWelcome to BP!  You are certainly in the right place.  Amazing site, limitless content and everyone is helpful and supportive.  Make sure you use the "learn" feature of site (blogs and podcasts are awesome), and set up keyword alerts so you will know when a topic of interest is being discussed.

Best of luck!

@David KernerWelcome to the BP site.  It is obviously a wealth of information (forums and podcasts) and I have found everyone has been so helpful and supportive. Being a real estate broker should give you a big head start.  Combine that with a booming Charlotte and surrounding area market and I think you should so do very well!

Hey Matt,

I will go first.  My first rental was/is a townhouse in Cornelius I lived in for several years.  My wife and I decided we wanted to buy a new place about two years ago and we decided to rent the townhouse out instead of selling it.

So far my first rental has almost been too easy....knock on wood (I know there will be issues and vacancies at some point). I also know the HOA and property manager are taking a bite out of my profits, but having a place that is taken care of on the exterior at least was an easy stress free way to ease into the rental market. Having bought another property since, I have found (mostly due to my wife) that the property management aspect although challenging has overall been a rewarding process. One thing I have found is that I have great tenants and I plan on working hard to keep it that way.

Not too exciting so far and hopefully it will stay that way.

@Matthew Jones Welcome to Cornelius and BP!  I have lived in Cornelius/Davidson for 15 years or so (talk about wishing I had gotten into real estate earlier), but everything is relative and there are always deals out there.   I agree, the podcasts are a wealth of knowledge and sure make the day go by faster!