All Forum Posts by: Sam B.

Update

Property #1 Rented at $1800/mo

Property #2 Rented at $1595/mo

Property #3 Rented at $1700/mo.

Property #4 Appraisal came back today at $236,000 or $107/sq ft -woooooo! My all-in costs were just shy of $142k, so I'm capturing $94k worth of equity on this one, making it the best so far. This is great, considering it's not my favorite rehab - I cut some corners by leaving parts of the existing bathrooms in place, leaving the tile floors (ugly color, don't match the rest of the house), not doing any work to the exterior or replacing the windows. That said, it's a rental and it appraised, so I'm happy.

The final professional photos are below.

Property #5 It's rented back to the sellers until May when I can get in and perform a cosmetic rehab. No change.

Property #6 Flooring is just about finished, baseboard starting today. Granite will go in Thursday. Progress photos are below.

Property #7 Complete (appliances purchased, awaiting delivery). No appraisal as I refinanced this one already at tax value (only pulling about 50% equity out). I did pull recently sold comps and I'm coming up with $91/sq ft. At 1648 sq ft *$91/sq ft = $150,000.

I'm all-in at $112k, capturing $38k in equity. The home is still on the rental market. The final professional photos are below.

Property #4 Final Photos Below

Property #6 Progress Photos Below

Property #7 Final Photos Below

Thanks for the update @Jeff F. and hang in there. Congrats on getting the refi done, even if it wasn't what you needed.

What's the game plan on filling the other (2) units?

There is no better than @Andrew Fidler in the Toledo area.  Highly recommended and I've been working with him since 2013.  Feel free to post questions/PM me for more details.

I've sent quite a few close friends/fellow investors his way with nothing but stellar feedback.  

@Adam Laurenzo  My contractor or property manager have been kind enough to do so in the past, depending on who's making the trip to HomeDepot/Lowes next.  I've also just had the stuff moved to the next house if we're using the same stuff (flooring/baseboard/paint/misc stuff) and/or for me to return whenever I'm in town.

Update

Property #1   Rented at $1800/mo

Property #2   Rented at $1595/mo

Property #3   Rented at $1700/mo. 

Property #4   Rehab is complete.  Appraisal is this Thursday and I'm shooting hard for $232,000 aka $105/sq ft.

Professional photos to follow and this will be on the rental market sometime next week.

Property #5   I formally closed on this last week and it's rented back to the sellers until May when I can get in and perform a cosmetic rehab.

Property #6   Flooring has started.  Porch enclosure is now complete, increasing the sq ft by ~320.  Granite will go in late next week once flooring has wrapped up.

Property #7   Rehab is complete with the exception of some minor exterior repairs that I'm bidding out.  I'll update later this week/next with final value numbers and rent rates.  Professional photos to follow and this one is now on the rental market.

No problem @Eric Holman  I'm glad you're getting something out of the thread.

@Milton Marcelin  Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you got something from this thread.  

Sure, there's no reason why someone from Western Europe couldn't do this.  I did this at a much further distance when I was based in Singapore, about 2x the distance away vs your location.

I think the key item you need to be prepared for is committing to a long term investment, understanding that it will take time to iron things out and be prepared to inject that time and cash into the investment. You'll have other items to watch out for, especially how you're going to hedge currency fluctuation, financing hurdles (assuming you're a non-US citizen), etc.

@Andrew Caldieraro  Laminate flooring with tile in bathrooms and most kitchens.  Some of the earlier properties used vinyl in the bathrooms and a couple used laminate in the kitchen (a no-no, yes) as @Aaron Rowzee pointed out, ha.

I used a variety of laminate throughout this thread but used the HomeDepot TrafficMaster the most as it was very affordable, looked fantastic, holds up well and had free shipping.  80cents/sq ft (with free shipping) if you buy the pallet...and any overages you can just return yourself to HomeDepot....hard to beat that.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Russet-Hickory-7-mm-Thick-x-7-2-3-in-Wide-x-50-5-8-in-Length-Laminate-Flooring-1063-48-sq-ft-pallet-45109P/303330739

@Bruce C.  Thank you.  Not so much a shady electrician, he's just doing what contractors do and slowly trying to increase his margins.  I just need to manage it better/swap electrical contractors on the next one.

@Ryan Johnson  Out of Nederland, TX - https://elegant-granite-and-cabinet-llc.business.s...

Call Aaron and tell him Sam sent you.

@Julie Kern Great post btw.

@Somit Joe  I don't think you're missing anything.  On paper, multi-fam always cashflows better.  People like to write blog articles and sell courses stating the same.  Reality is often very different.

It's very market dependent. A well managed multi-fam, in the correct market, can and often will cashflow far better than SFH.

However, in some markets, SFH will cashflow better over time once you account for higher gross rents, lack of vacancy, higher quality tenant and lower operating costs.

*In my market, you can get all-in to SFH for $80k-$120k that rents for $1400-1700/mo and all expenses are paid by the tenant. Tenants tend to be young families that will be home owners in 3-5 years and plan to stay until then.

Multi-fam, you can get for $30-45k/unit, rents for ~$600/mo, but the owner pays for partial expenses and you deal with a worse tenant that may/may not pay rent, will run utility costs sky high and be hard on your unit.