All Forum Posts by: Tchaka Owen

I agree with Nicholas. Let’s approach this from a different angle. Tell us the current condition of the big ticket items of the home. And is this a home in your portfolio or something you’re looking to add? Also, share with us how you got $4000 and that may help us help you. Cheers!

Quote from @Samuel Boyd:

@Tchaka Owen I agree! So, I do think looking at all properties together (condos included) is a little misleading for that reason. 

That’s how I feel too, particularly with the hit condos are taking with the new regulations. In parts of S. Florida they’re at a 22-month supply. How do you like them apples?!!!

This is good stuff, Sam! From what I'm seeing, this is actually SFHs and last month we were sitting at 4.5 months for SFHs (I believe condos were around 8.1 months). If we've dropped a tad since last month, that's good news for our area! 

Quote from @Justin Wells:

Based on advice I’ve seen given to others starting in real estate investing is that house hacking is key. However finding a multiplex property in our local area for under 500k is nearly impossible at the moment. Any advice/mentorship would be greatly appreciated thank you!

Hey Justin, I'm going to be a bit more picky here. House-hacking is not key to starting, rather it is a great way to start. It's not the only way. And in your case, my suggestion is that you focus on another route: find a nice home that could rent easily (and rents cover expenses), buy it and move in with your wife. Then work on the next home, then the next and build your portfolio in that manner. Brevard County is not a great place for multi-units likely because there's plenty of land and multi's never were a priority. I've been here since 2018 and haven't seen many multi's, let alone one with numbers that work. My wife and I purchased last year (no more renting) and have been looking for our next ones. Start there. And good luck!

Quote from @Joshua J Foster:

@Tchaka Owen thank you that information was definitely useful. I am looking more locally as there are a lot of leads in my local area.  Are you an investor?

Getting back into it. Most of my investing experience was in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Relocating to Brevard has made my life happier. 

Quote from @Joshua J Foster:

Awesome!! Right now I'm looking into places where I know are vacation hotspots like Kissimmee,Orlando, Miami, and Tampa.

Since you are new to real estate, start out with your local area and get comfortable with REI. Miami is not where you want to begin. 

Quote from @Drew Sygit:

Check out this chart:

FICO Score	Pct of Population	Default Probability
800 or more	13.00%	1.00%
750-799	27.00%	1.00%
700-749	18.00%	4.40%
650-699	15.00%	8.90%
600-649	12.00%	15.80%
550-599	8.00%	22.50%
500-549	5.00%	28.40%
Less than 499	2.00%	41.00%

Source: Fair Isaac Company

Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.

Drew, do you know if calculations have changed over the years? I was a lender until 2012/13 doing primarily A-paper and most of my clients were in the 710-760 range. In over a decade of lending, I only pulled several over 800 (my father being one). I would have estimated no more than 5% in that top sector as opposed to 13%

Real estate is local. So while Florida is feeling the effects of a real estate slowdown (particularly South Florida), it is not as severe in Brevard. Two things to consider:

1. When Florida went crazy during Covid, Brevard was a tad more measured (excluding a few places that went nuts, such as Satellite).

2. The space industry is hot and it's not just the Blue Origin and Space-X in the game, there are many players supporting. That's not just employment, it's also well-educated employment. 

@Craig Daniels -while I do agree with others that 30% down for $175/mo cashflow is not a good investment, I will present a slightly more positive response. Seasoned investors have a minimum per door and that's around $150/mo now. Based on that, you're ok. The big question is whether you calculated cashflow properly. Eg, i have a friend/client who determines it based on income vs PITI. Although I've stressed the importance of reserves, he is comfortable with his system. That said, do your calculations for cashflow include setting aside 15-20% of monthly rent for repairs, CapEx, vacancies, etc, etc? If so, you're good to go. If not, no bueno. The person in the response above who got crushed by a $5000 repair never did have $100-200/mo. cashflow. It was probably close to zero per month. If s/he'd been putting aside reserves, the repair would have been covered by funds already in the bank. Make sure you're calculating correctly.

The second thing is that you just started out.....congratulations! Use it as a learning experience as you move forward. I had a mentor who stressed "you make your money when you buy"; the next place you get, be sure to haggle big time - and walk away if the price is not low enough. I see this home and what you paid and while it's not at all a bad price, I've seen investors offering that size in Palm Bay for as much as $15-25k lower. To be fair, they needed a tad more work, but you get what I'm saying. Walk away if the numbers don't work, there will always be others.

Good luck!

Tchaka 

Selamat siang, Om Adiyanto!

@Nicholas L. is spot on. I have done several evictions on my own in the past simply to gain knowledge. While it was nice to learn, I ultimately realized that my time is much more valuable doing what I do best and it's better to pay for those who specialize in evictions. So do hire an attorney. 
And yes, saya bisa bicara Bahasa....tapik sudah lupa banyak.