All Forum Posts by: Mohammed W.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. See you all around the site.

I've always used the same handyman with a 2 man crew. He pretty much took care of everything minus major electrical or major plumbing. I wouldn't use him for HVAC or the roof either, unless it's just a leak. I've always found a licensed contractor for those major jobs myself, but had the handyman coordinate the work and instructions as a GC would. If you feel comfortable with a handyman with enough experience, you may be able to get away by going that route and have him act as the GC in the process. I've found this to be a huge cost savings. 

If the ARV is around $190k, it would seem to me that the rent of $1100 is below market. It off course depends on the home - is it a 3 or 4 bedroom, does it have a pool, what's the current condition, which area, how much are hoa dues if any, what year is it built, sq. footage, etc. but typically, a home in Vegas valued at 190k retail would probably be in the $1200-1300 rent range. I would agree with Guy Raveh. There may be a possibility of doing a light rehab and flipping it to an end buyer, but there doesn't seem to be any wholesale value or buy and hold value on this one.

Hi Justin, welcome to the world of real estate. Spring Valley is a great area of Vegas, but honestly most areas are good for rentals. Look for 3/2s sfh. HOA's are rampant throughout. Make sure any home you're looking to make an offer on allows rentals. If they have a rental cap, make sure they have not hit it. Your agent should be able to check on this for you. I like to make sure myself as well. I stay away from North LV, but others may say otherwise. Southeast, Southwest and West are all great areas. Make sure the numebrs work. Rents range from about $950-$1200, depends on size, features, location, yr built, association amenities, etc. Great rental market. Expect tenants to stay 1-3 yrs on average. Good luck.

@ Mike H. Great post Mike, that makes a lot of sense.

Hi Darren, I've done this in the past and had a similar reservation about this possibility. My agent assured me we would simply cancel any outstanding offers after we received an accepted offer. You're not committed until you your offer is accepted and you then sign the purchase agreement. So don't worry about making multiple offers, that's the way it's done.

Hi Yates, welcome to the world of real estate. My advice is to do your homework, BP is a wealth of knowledge from experienced investors willing to share their help and experiences. Once you do your homework, don't hesitate to take the leap into an investment, as long as the numbers make sense. I think this is where most people fail is the taking action part. You're not going to know everything at first, but you'll learn the most when you're invested. Good luck. Btw, Raleigh's economy and population growth is on your side, so you're in a good place to begin.

Very inspiring, amazing thread.

Hi Andrew, just wanted to give you some advice based on my experience. Have 6 rentals for just over 3 yrs. from ur spreadsheet, it looks like you've done ur homework. That's the way I initially worked out the numbers before I bought my first property, excluding the maintenance and vacancy %, which I hadn't thought about. These numbers look good to me. Id tell you to take action on ur first property as it builds confidence and experience. Don't spend too much time looking for the best deal ever and never pull the trigger. You should cash flow pretty well, but more importantly, u will learn a lot in the process and this should be the first of many. Good luck.

Hi Darren, the numbers look good. Getting 3 doors under 1 loan is a positive as well. Proximity to your home, another plus. I've got 6 sfr and don't have an roi as good as this on any of them. Your ROI looks to be about 14% which is really good. Appreciation on income properties like this is usually based on the rent collected, so it may not be as good as a SFR. That would be the only downside to a triplex, but the upside being everything listed above. I'd say you have what seems to be a good deal.