All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Hi Lee, are banks refusing to lend you based on the equity in the homes too? Have you considered using a 1031 exchange? 

I just finished Brandon's book "The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) money down". It opened my eyes to how many possibilities there are! Highly recommend if you haven't already :)

Hi Blake! I cannot provide a ton of experience but I love chatting about this stuff. I wanted to jump in because my wife and I are also just getting started. We are in a totally different market but we too are looking for a multi-family to hack which will most likely be a duplex. 

Ripping off the band-aid and becoming a landlord while covering our mortgage is just too darn appealing for us to consider many other strategies! Having said that, we are looking at buy and hold as our long term approach. I love the FHA (3.5%) route (plus potentially using a 203k loan wrapped in) to get in the game. There is a small downside to consider, small down payments eat into your cash flow some.

Which are you interested more in, cash flow or appreciation? Do you plan to target the St Petersburg market exclusively?

@Kyle M. Yep makes sense. Sounds like my knowledge gap lies in how to evaluate properties to determine what a property would/could be worth. Thank you for the insight!

@Kurt Barnhart no offense taken. The more I look it definitely seems that I won't be getting a big bargain deal that is going to explode in appreciation. However I do like the idea of starting out in a market that is most familiar. Even if that means missing out on some appreciated value.

If I can find a deal (instead of a great one), update some, and get some cash flow going, I think it works be a great way to start off in this game. After gaining a little experience in the process I would entertain the idea of outside markets.

Thank you for the feedback and perspective on our little home town market!

@Kyle M. excellent point. Not sure I know yet how to determine when a market is moving slowly or not but it makes sense that we don't move quickly. Being a local most of my life I understand how we don't have a large influx of growth so it makes sense.

I see Hanover has having a little more potential, especially the south side where the commute to Maryland is very reasonable.

Hanover and Gettysburg also have a lot of old buildings that may be prime targets for some forced appreciation.

Is there anything specific you look for when forcing appreciation? Or the better question might be, what variables do you see as most profitable to update /add? IE, is there return in updating the old heating and cooling systems, or adding beds/baths, or interior updates (why everyone wanted to use wood paneling is compelling beyond me!)?

@Travis Wylie thank you for the info on a local group! That is a big help and I will check it out.

@Byron Scott

Congrats!! This is amazing to hear and is a big boost of encouragement. Keep it up!

Anyone in the forum have past or current experience in the South Central Pennyslvania markets?

I am brand new but trying to get an idea of local markets before my investing begins in the coming years. I am mostly looking at multis as I believe that type of property will be our first.

I have mostly been browsing zillow and realtor.com to see what options and prices are in Gettysburg, Hanover, York, and Harrisburg.

Any comments, advice, history on this local market?

Any general advice on analyzing a specific market?