All Forum Posts by: Maxwell Hunter

Happy Birthday!!  Enjoy it...it's only downhill from 30 :)

New investor question for the BP community.

In your experience have you noticed that certain additions/upgrades help to increase your profit margins on rent or is it as simple as "one-upping" the comps in the area?

My wife and I currently own a town-home that we are considering renting but would like to see more cash flow if we are to use it as an investment property.  The home has been well maintained, but the appliances and features are pretty standard right now.  We are having some trouble determining if the returns will justify the upgrades.

@Howard Abell I think the main reason for my approach is the potential for appreciation.  Don't get me wrong, I realize that investors shouldn't speculate, but we have lived in the area for a while and the growth (population and commercial) has really increased.  My concern is that if we let the property go, in a few years we would find ourselves trying to buy again but at much higher prices.  With that said, I certainly see the logic in your approach.

@Kyle J.Your absolutely correct, we can do a traditional sale and bring the money to the table.  Oversight in my use of "short-sale" (new guy mistake).

Again, I really appreciate the responses on this.  Getting the different perspectives is really helping me to look at this from an unbiased perspective.

Thanks @Rhett Tullisand @Richard Jeffriesfor taking time to respond.  Rhett, I can certainly see how that situation could lead to some serious problems and concerns for the tenant.  We are in a position to pay for 3-4 months of vacancy without creating a strain.  With that said, some of that money would be coming from my 9-5 and not from built up reserves.

Richard, other rentals for townhomes in the area are going for 1250 to 1300 (in same neighborhood). Our home is more up to date than theirs as we have been upgrading certain appliances and amenities as we lived there. The apartments in the area are going for about 1100. In addition, a new high school is opening (within 3 miles) in the fall that looks to be very promising. My thought is that this would boost rents as well. On the downside, my concern is also the HOA which is expensive for the area. This really puts a dent the potential for cash flow. With that said, the property value has increased pretty steadily the past few years and if it continues at that rate, we would be above water in about 2 years (given we don't have another crash). Ideally, I would love to either rent it and get cash flow until we get above water and then either look at refi options or sale.

My wife and I will be relocating to a new area in metro Atlanta from Lawrenceville GA.  Our current town-home is still underwater by approximately 10-15k (Still fall-out from the last bubble and market drop).  Our options at this point are to either short-sale or rent it out.

A few years ago we were in a similar situation and decided to rent it out.  We pretty much broke even but at the time I knew nothing about investing and landlording the proper way, I'm certain we could have gotten some positive cash flow from the property given what I know now.

Our overall goal is to buy-and-hold so it seems like a good opportunity to jump start the career, but I'm still a little apprehensive.

Right now, the mortgage on the home is 900 and the HOA is an additional 200. The property was built in 2006 and we given that we have kept the property well maintained, I wouldn't anticipate any big capital expenditures.

I have been debating the right approach on this for a while and wanted to reach out to the investor community for thoughts.

Hi Rae, can you send me more details to my e-mail [email protected]

Awesome, in my opinion if you have the funding available then go for it.  With that said, make sure that you do you research and find a solid deal.  I will let others with more experience provide more detailed answers and speak to the RE License question.

Hi @Shakeya McKenzieand welcome to the forums!  You are my neighbor as I am in Lawrenceville.  Make sure you set up keywords based on your interest and locations of focus and also reach out to the community on here as they are very helpful.

@Todd Whiddon...same with me, I would love to get your input on my business strategy, but the 9-5 will have me tied up that day. 

@Andrew Cordle...I'm really sorry, but I wasn't able to make it out this time around.  I hate that I missed the opportunity but I do look forward to future events.