All Forum Posts by: Lane Mobley

No, I will probably be getting out after this next three years. I am going to be both applying to find my new job and also building a property management business (so that eventually I can roll my properties into good systems). We tend to have bad property management in Western Georgia. 

Thanks @Kat W.!

So @Login George, yes, most of the duplexes, triplexes, and quads were built in the early 1900's. Having said that, there are some great old properties in this one part of town that is the HOT spot. It has done a complete 180 turn since the last time I lived here in Columbus.

The HOA fee seemed really high to me and still does. However, I went and sat down with the HOA in their office and was notified that they handle landscaping and pest control. I had previously been told by my local termite company that they wanted 3k per year for termite stations around the property during our due diligence inspection. I was pretty blown away about that. Nevertheless there is a saying in the South in regards to termites... It's not if a property has termites, its when. So having the monthly spraying done by the HOA is really nice. Also, they showed me the financials for the HOA, which budgets very well. So I know @Joshua Dorkin hates HOA's because of his first condo, and I did take heed on that bit of information, however, the higher price per month, allows the budget to be a little more padded for assessments. Recently we had to replaster the community pool and resurface the concrete in the neighborhood, which after all was said and done, still left room in the budget so that it did not dip into the red. 

All in all, the property still allows me to take into account maintenance, cap-ex, and potentially future management costs while still positively cash flowing. I am happy. 

Thanks @LaTanya Graves!

@Michael A. I actually created my wife a script and list of pertinent information we need with the requirements next to those items so as she screens calls on our business line while I am work, she can check whether or not they meet them. Honestly, we use the Bigger Pockets Guide to Screening Tenants and we are using the NOLO Landlord's Legal Guide to build that criteria. For Georgia specifically, I read the whole Georgia Landlord Tenant handbook, which is the legal guide for us in this state. These tools have been amazing and the NOLO forms that come with that book are 50 state legal, so we plan to use them as well when generating our leases. 

I can tell you that some of the people that I have shown the property to so far have previous bankruptcies (over 10 years ago), and that was not a dis-qualifier. One prospective tenant who we haven't heard from this week had a previous eviction 6 years ago. I inquired about it, and was told that her husband had gotten out of the military and did not plan ahead getting his GI bill money started, which took a few months and so they could not make ends meet. That is a tough decision though, it was over 6 years ago and the circumstances surrounding it are understandable if you have been around the military for some time. I don't know that this would immediately disqualify her, however, other tiny red flags such as employment length for this female would. 

Hey everyone! Finally entered the ranks of Real Estate Investors officially with the close of our first REI deal. It was a Low Money Down/House Hacking deal as well.

Here's how it broke down:

Purchase Price $197,000

Appraised Value $ 230,000

Rents- $700/month x 4

Type: Quadplex (all units 2/2)

Built: 2003 (wood frame/ concrete slab foundation/ metal roof)

Financing: VA 30 year fixed ~3.5%

PITI= $1374 /mo

HOA= $270/mo

Utilities- Electricity sub metered and water sub metered 

So my wife and I were relocating due to a military change of assignment. I started researching the market about 4 months out from our move. I screened multiple realtors, and picked one with vast experience in investment property. I had previously been stationed in Columbus, GA so I new quite a bit about the city. Upon touching ground here in April, I had already lined up about 15 properties to look at with my realtor. My wife and I also drove other areas and did more research ourselves, as well as went to a lot of open houses. I had been eyeing another property in this neighborhood and was planning on putting an offer on it. It was also a quadplex with all units 2/2. The exterior of the property needed more work. The week I was getting here and settling in, my realtor emailed me this property, saying it had just popped up on the MLS as a Fannie Mae foreclosure. Asking price was 190,900. After viewing the property and calling my mentor, I put in an offer for $170,000. The offer was rejected due to the fact there was another offer. We were asked for "Highest and Best". We offered 195,000 and our offer was accepted over the other. Through the due diligence period I was very stressed out, ensuring I was present for home inspection/structural inspection/pest inspection/etc. My lender was very helpful in getting the loan processed, however required Fannie Mae fix a HWH and sand/paint the exterior stairs before closing the loan. I was nervous that this would not happen, Fannie Mae typically sells "As Is" and won't budge. They did agree after some time, and everything was complete a couple days after the original agreed upon date.

After closing, I went to work, painting all three of the units interiors that we would be renting. Wow, that sucked. 3000 sq feet of interior space was a lot of painting. It looks amazing though, took about a week of after work time (Cost about $500 worth of paint and materials). I also swapped out new locks and new doorbells. One of the units had a freon leak, which was discovered during the home inspection. So we replaced the HVAC unit in that apartment ($2800). After closing costs of $2,400/$2,800 HVAC and /$500 painting we have our first quadplex! Currently marketing it for rent, and finding its hard to find good quality tenants. We have our criteria well defined and are sticking to it though. 

I have been reading and studying real estate investing since 2004. I have been wanting to do this, even got licensed in California in 2006 and also did mortgages until the 2008 crash. This was a guiding reason I joined the military when I did (also the surge in Iraq). I am very excited that my wife and I have now been able to acquire our first and are very eager to learn as much as possible over this next year with the difficulties of property management. Thank you to my mentor, I would not have been able to pull the trigger without your inspiration. Thank you to BP for showing me that this is completely possible and challenging conventional thinking by proving this IS the path to REAL wealth. 

@Richard Balsam Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely take heed to your caution. It is going to be a little difficult, most of the non military renters here in Columbus that do not live in a bigger/newer complex (200+) are typically lower income renters. This week has brought some better candidates, with all meeting the 3x rule. Thank you for the advice on the move in by the end of the week people, that makes a lot of sense. The good/bad news about this neighborhood is there is an HOA, and they require all background/credit checks go through them before leasing. They charge a $75 dollar fee. I was surprised. So even after four showings, we still have nobody that has completed the background check. I am just remaining patient and marketing through some new avenues to hopefully bring in more better-qualified tenants. We will see how this plays out.