All Forum Posts by: Liam Goble

Rodney, Welcome to BP. I came here for the same reasons you did, networking, finding deals and learning as much as possible. I can tell you that it is quite possible to do all three here. I've met quite a few awesome people in some target markets and I've learned a ton. I haven't pursued the deals yet, but that will come in the near future.

I would run it both ways, just to see if there is an affect. Even though the buildings are identical, maybe one building has higher rents than the other? If you purchase on two deeds, you could sell one building and keep the other, which would affect your numbers.

@Roy N. All I know is that it sounds pretty damn cold! But you are correct, at -40, the two systems do converge, so -32deg?? is close enough for government work.

@Roy N. and @Jerry W. are you both using the same temperature scale? Roy, I would assume you're talking -32degC and Jerry is probably talking -32degF?

Maybe I'm wrong and you're all calibrated.

For point of reference, I was looking at purchasing a 4-unit in a non-vacation town (year round rents) for $120,000 that would rent for $2,400/month in total. I felt it was a reasonably good deal. I would not consider a $124k investment for $800/month income. You'll want to remember all your expenses: taxes, insurance, vacancy, property management (if using), repair reserves, etc. I generally assume 10% for vacancy, 10% for property management and 10% for repair reserves, or 30% off the gross.

Lets assume you manage the property yourself and your tenants pay for all yard maintenance, snow removal and utilities, after vacancy and repair reserves, you're left with $640. Let's assume $150/month for taxes and insurance ($1,200 taxes and $600 insurance), you're at $490/month take home. Your return is then: ($490 x 12) / $124k = 4.74% cash on cash. If I were going to invest for a 4.7% return, I would look to dividend paying stocks rather than deal with tenants.

@Thomas Landis Welcome to BP. I have found success in getting dirty while fixing units to rent. Aside from working two jobs (the day job and the REI job at night), I actually enjoy the night job more than the day job...just need to get my cash flow up so I can do this every day!

Good luck.

@Chris Pasternak For getting out of your flip, have you considered offering owner financing? Obviously Dodd/Frank will affect how you handle the situation, but if you pay cash for the place, fix it yourself w/ friends, it may be worth offering owner financing to ease the sale.

I've partnered with some experienced flippers for my first flip (they're providing cash and expertise in exchange for my elbow grease. We're splitting profits 50/50). One of the homes they completed in 2008, they held and have a sales agreement on, meaning they are collecting the mortgage at 7% for 10 years.

My day job is as a contractor, and assuming you're not entirely gutting a kitchen and bathroom, your numbers seem reasonable.

I believe the eviction process varies by state. However, when I purchase occupied units, I generally do NOT ask the current owner to renew the leases. If the leases are month-to-month, I can choose to not renew the lease. In Pennsylvania, if the lease is established for 12 months, and there are 11 months left on the lease, I am obligated to follow the lease.

Have you seen copies of the lease? If not, include that as one of your contingencies in the sales agreement.

@Zachary Lowe I generally ask my Realtor to do a semi-quick comp search before I set out on a purchase. Zillow and Trulia seem to focus on SFH purchases. I'm not sure of any website that has info about small multis.

Sometimes I only have the luxury of having one local comp. It's not much, but sometimes its enough.

@Roy N. Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate seeing the numbers.