All Forum Posts by: Saran Mandhadapu

I am looking to purchase a 4 Plex that looks as follows:

Purchase Price - $249,000

Rent Collected = $3,150 / month

P&I - $955 / month

Taxes - $400.50 / month

Insurance - $218.67 / month

Water - $160 / month

Property Management (optional) = $315 / month

Landscaping - Handled by Renters

Deal Structure - 20% Down and Conventional Financing 

Projected Cash Flow = $1,100.83 / month

This is the best deal I have found in the price range I am looking for so far.  Since the renters are already in place, I hope that with a smooth transition I can take over as a new landlord.  I would promise them no changes in rent since they handle the landscaping already. My only concerns would be the renters themselves - I hope they will pay rent on time each month - but I won't find that out until I am the owner. Also the area is not the best - probably a C- or so - but I grew up around there so I am familiar with things already.   

As they move out, I plan to renovate each unit with vinyl plan tile, fresh paint and update bathrooms and kitchens.  I believe there is room to increase the rent and these upgrades would justify that for any new tenants. 

Even if they do not move out for a while, this is still the best deal I have found so far. 

Would appreciate feedback on this deal, how it looks and if there is anything I should do further checking on. 

Learning: NEVER sign a contract if you are not comfortable with the contents, no matter how bad you want the property.

I was a typical BP newbie. Searching for financial freedom, I stumbled upon rental properties as investments and soon I was at the doors of Bigger Pockets. I signed up for Brandon’s webinars and got hooked to the passion in the BP community. I read up the Ultimate Beginners Guide, and read up starter books recommended. I listen to podcasts like crazy, made my car my learning university. I have some savings and so I decided to start investing in multi family units.

I live in Bay Area in California, and it’s nearly impossible for me to start of investing in my area. So I decided to look outside. I have family in Tampa area and it is one of the growing places in the country. I research on the geography and find a decent 4-plex to invest in. Numbers made sense on paper, based on certain criteria I had set for myself. I quickly realized the property was not managed well and they did not care about raising rents. There was significant room to improve rents ($150-$200 per unit). I had built a good relationship with my agent over couple of months. He helped me walkthrough the property, took videos for me and gave me a good visual. We made an offer and decided to go into the contract.

One of the units needed some minor repairs (new flooring and some paint, about $2k worth of work). I decided to do the repairs and increase the rents once I buy the property. Seller had other ideas. This unit was at end of the lease and they decided to fill in the unit “as is”. There were a lot of applications already to fill the vacant unit, so the seller wanted Rent + Deposit in case the deal falls through. I was confident of making the purchase so I agreed to the clause. Mistake #1.

We put contingency in our contract that if inspection reveals something of not my liking I back out. What we did not explicitly put was backing out from the clause too. My agent said the contingency covers the clause as well even when it is not explicitly. I agreed. Mistake #2.

We got an inspector, he gave us the list of things needed fixing and seller wouldn’t fix the items I needed fixed at the minimum. Contract fell through and we learn contingency doesn’t explicitly state the ability to back away from the clause. I felt a punch me in my stomach and I couldn’t even fight back! I failed my first deal, because I lost money even before I acquired the property.

Learning: NEVER sign a contract if you are not comfortable with the contents, no matter how bad you want the property.

Hey BP - Just wanted to introduce myself. I am is a licensed realtor work in the greater Philadelphia area. Born and raised in Delaware County. I graduated from West Chester University. After college I worked in the corporate world for about 5 years in finance and sales. I had enough of the corporate world and had to make a change so I got my RE license in 2014 and made the jump full time as a realtor in March of 2015.

Looking to network with other investors in the Philadelphia area to hopefully learn and work with. I have yet to pull the trigger on purchasing an investment property but have been listing to BP podcast as well as reading as much information as possible.

Thank you!

Hi All,

I am looking to invest in the greater Philadelphia area. I recently started looking into student rentals for Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Anyone currently doing this, or have any insight on the state of the market there?

Thanks!