All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Taggart

@Matt VanGorder I own a decent amount of units in Beaver County and work with a lot of clients that buy there as well. 

Better rent/price ratios than similar quality areas in Allegheny County. 

Good rental demand especially if you are closer to Cranberry/Robinson/Airport areas. 

I would buy pretty much anywhere there except downtown Aliquippa closer to the river and certain sections of downtown Beaver Falls, generally closer to river there as well.

@NA Naim are you looking for something mostly turnkey or fixer upper? Looking to stay close to downtown or okay with going outside city to get in a better quality neighborhood for the budget?

@Alec Jacobs I always try to get properties with at least the gas/electric separate. A majority of them you'll see they are split. Water/Sewage/Trash is probably about 50/50 as far as how many have those split. Those bills won't tend to be as variable or run you as much for abused usage like gas/electric might though, especially in the winter time here in western PA.

Properties I have that have shared water/sewage/trash I just add a flat $75-$100 fee on top of rent to help offset that and then just leave the bills in my name and pay them since you can't legally charge tenants for utilities if they aren't properly split. This is typically what the bills end up running anyhow so it's worked out well for me so far going that route.

A 3/1 house landlord insurance policy shouldn't be any more than about $750 yearly unless it's a really expensive house. They can get slightly more expensive if they are a vacant home policy during a rehab but you should definitely be under $1000/year for any single family home you would be keeping as a rental. 

Definitely house hack if you can. I've been doing it my entire 20's and have done 6 of them now up to this point. Has been a huge game changer for me without a doubt. 

Feel free to reach out if you need any assistance in Beaver County I own quite a few properties there myself and we help clients buy there quite a bit.

 @Bryan Strain That's probably the way I would go. Maybe buy a single family you could get some equity in also and use a 3.5-5% down rehab loan on it prior to moving in. Then use the rest of the funds to build your rental portfolio. HUD foreclosure homes can be good for single family owner occupant buyers since you get first dibs on those if you move in before investors can purchase. A lot of times they'll be listed below market and be good deals. If you get some equity in that can also use that to further help building your portfolio by taking out a HELOC. I'm a big fan of utilizing leverage at the start to help build as long as you are buying smart and not get wreckless with it.

@Bryan Strain is the plan to sell the single family home you are in now and use the proceeds to buy another single family home? I'm always a fan of utilizing equity you have in your home to buy rentals rather than or in addition to your own funds. Allows you to scale much quicker. Or depending on family/living situation sell the primary you are in now tax free since you've been there 2+ years and then use the FHA again on a 2-4 unit for very little out of pocket. Then the rest of the funds you can use to buy rentals outside of that.

@Hunter Gibson check out the "Pittsburgh Real Estate Investors" Facebook page a lot of the wholesalers will post their deals on there. Or even if you join and post you email and that you want to be added to their lists they will add you and start sending you deals. Just keep in mind a lot of them are going to be cash no contingencies on their deals which can be tough sometimes being out of state. 

@Lana Ly Bob Mason could help with that https://www.reliablestructural...

@Nawab I. Rental properties are never going to be 100% passive. You can get them mostly passive by hiring out property management/leasing and buying something that has been fully renovated but there's always going to be the chance of maintenance needing done or tenants not paying. If it was 100% guaranteed and hands off then you wouldn't be able to get outsized returns compared to say index funds or treasuries.

As for $225k that can get you a duplex in a pretty good area here that is mostly turnkey. We do have older housing stock though so going to have a little more maintenance compared to something new construction. That's also one of the main reasons the real estate is much cheaper here.

Just have to figure out what you want your level of involvement to be knowing something that will require more up front work on your end will likely give you a better return. Less up front work, lower return. Generally speaking in most cases. 

@Ade Guobadia we do a lot of business in Beaver Falls and can PM there. Feel free to reach out be glad to help. 

@Scott Michael Gross management intensive area but you can get some good cash flow if you are okay with that. Just have to be more hands on with it compared to some of the higher end areas. It's not on the cusp of turning into a B area right now but I wouldn't consider it a war zone by any means. Just your typical lower income tenant type area that has upside over the long term if Pittsburgh gentrifies as a whole because of how close it is to downtown.