All Forum Posts by: Rachel De Villava

@Joel Bongco Thanks for sharing! Makes absolute sense in a flipping scenario, especially @those numbers. I was thinking more for a vacation rental. But I think I’ll go with your advice and stick w/ fee simple. Really appreciate your input!

@Joel Bongco I’m considering purchasing a condo in a leasehold development and found this thread as I was doing my research. Are you willing to share your numbers as well as your thoughts on whether or not you’d recommend going that route? Thanks!

@Natalie Schanne Yes, very good point — the vacancies are definitely eating into my overall profit. I’ll take a closer look at what the return is after factoring in $0 rent months. Thanks.

@Dan Schoenbaechler Thanks. That was my thought process as well regarding self-managing. Yes, I was afraid that was the case with Hudson County property values. That is making me lean towards holding onto it for a while til things begin to normalize. When people start going back into the office (presumably in NYC) hopefully we’ll get some interest from buyers that may want a convenient commute. Thanks for all the insight.

@Mariana Vonder Born Thanks — those are great points about condos not being a great for appreciation. The property is in North Bergen, NJ right across the river from Manhattan. Regarding equity — the good thing is I basically have $0 in this property since I took advantage of the first time homebuyer credit back in ‘08 and used an FHA loan. So the $45k is the all-in number factoring in current value. Yes, I should definitely think about getting a property manager and I need to factor that into my numbers.

I’ve been pondering whether or not to hold onto a condo that I’ve had since 2008. It was my first home which I converted to a rental in 2010. It cash flows ~$450/mo. when it’s not vacant. But that’s the issue I’ve run into — it takes about a month to secure a new tenant once one moves out. So the question is should I hold onto it or sell and use the equity to purchase another small multi-family). I’ve moved in that direction w/ recent purchases because of the fact that if one tenant moves out, rent from the other units offset that.

Here are the numbers if that helps. I should mention too that I’m managing it long-distance.

Purchase price in 2008: $145K

Current value ~$170K

Equity ~$45K

Monthly cash flow when rented ~$450

@Cameron Brunt Thanks for reaching out! Yes, will do.

@Lauren Hogan. I invest in both NJ (where I used to live) and Utah. These are some of the benefits I’ve found with being an investor/landlord in Utah:

- Strong economy and job market (surely Covid has had some impact but overall I think Utah is fairing much better than other parts of the US). When I have a unit up for rent, it’s typically rented out the same day and I’ll have multiple qualified applicants.

- Steady appreciation: we saw big-growth years a few years back with appreciation in the double digits. Though those days are behind us, we still enjoy above average appreciation rates compared with other regions.

- Companies continue to flock to Utah (tech and finance) from other high-cost areas, moving their headquarters here or at least expanding their presence.

@Cherie Orellana Thanks for reaching out! Yes, SLC and the surrounding areas have been great these past 10 years that I’ve lived here. Though cash flow has been difficult to attain lately. Hoping to really dig in this year and find some good opportunities.

Hi everyone - Happy New Year! Been checking out BP for a while now, though lately I’m trying to get more involved and thought it would be a good time to introduce myself. I’ve been investing since 2008 (rentals mostly, and some flips in between). Lately I’ve been trying to get more “serious” and organized with my RE investing and am looking to buy more multi-families that cash flow. Hope to connect with some of you here on BP!