All Forum Posts by: Joe Villeneuve

 I hear what you’re saying…
The repair cost on such small base is what sounds a bit scary. For example or roofs and AC units less expensive on a smaller base house? I’m not trying to be a Debbie downer. I’m just talking from my heart about the concern I have. If the repairs were as small as the base the picture would look a whole lot more inviting. 
I definitely think that if a person is local they have a better chance of making money there.  

Yes, exactly. Point is whatever overall monthly payment you are making on the house increases over time. 

So the notion of - "payment staying the same while rent increases" is false. The monthly expense payment increases over time. You rehab and increase the value - assessed at a higher value and now have higher taxes. 

We've seen a 50% insurance increase here in the last last 2 years - that's like the minimum. Lots of people in higher risk zones are seeing 100%+ or even canceled policies with no option to renew. 

 Since when does the mortgage payment stay the same?

Do you not have taxes? Do you not have insurance? Do those both not increase every year or every couple of years at the minimum. Everyone's mortgage payment will increase over time due to taxes and insurance. Ask anyone in Florida near the coast. Ask anyone in California near fire territories. 

Interest rates were what, near 3%, 5 years ago. And what today - probably near 8%. So the pre-covid era is much different than the post-covid era. In terms of appreciation as well. We own a family cabin in Tennessee - was ~275k or so back in 2018. Now it's easily 850k. But do I think it makes sense to cash flow or see the appreciation pre-covid in the post-covid era? No. 

Do I think Chicago Illinois is appreciating like you said? Nope. Getting the appreciation like you mentioned (850k valued 4 plex) and netting 35k/year in cashflow. I doubt it seriously. 

How high can housing prices in the City of Detroit go?

In case you missed it, Detroit' Mayor Duggan announced that the value of houses in the city increased 23% in 2024.

In the last 7 years, Detroit housing is up over 300%!

That's an average of 17% annually over that time.

The City of Detroit has not only outperformed every city in the Metro Detroit area, its outperformed every city in the USA from 2014-2024:

Let that sink in for a minute ... you'll probably need more time than that to process this!

Not only did Detroit beat every city in other popular Midwest states like Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, etc...

Detroit beat every city in the super popular states of Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas - Detroit beat them ALL!

Now let's be real, yes housing values are up overall in the city, but they do vary by Neighborhood. So, it's still NOT a good idea to try to invest by zip codes - which are too big in our opinion/experience. Please stop asking us for "the best" zip codes to invest in.

Detroit has around 183 Residential Neighborhoods - wouldn't it be nice if "some proprety mangagement company" Classified them all as A, B, C, or D on an interactive map that real estate investors could use to make better decisions?

 I didn't pay cash. I did a cash out refi on my principal residence at a much lower rate and paid it off.Now I plan on using the equity for more purchases.

 @Henry Lazerow, thanks for your perspective. I apologize if my post offended you.

I have leveraged rentals that cash flow as well. I'm not saying it's impossible or they don't exist. I'm only saying they're not as prevalent as the ones that do not cash flow.