All Forum Posts by: Jordan Williamson

I started the house hacking thing starting back in 2013 and bought a duplex for $67,500. It rents for $1400 a month and has nearly doubled in value. In 2014 I bought another duplex for $130k. It will rent for $1900, but I live in the larger half so it only rents for $900. The plan  was to buy one a year for the foreseeable future until it bought me out of my full time job. The problem is that the multi-family property prices have gone up FAR too fast. Although rents have also significantly increased, they haven't gone up at the same pace. 

I have considered moving to single family rentals, but they have also gone up far too fast and rents are yet to catch up. 

This is all moot however because, although my mortgage broker thought I could be approved for an additional $150,000, after contacting their reps etc they could not make it work as my DTI is far too high.

All of this to say... Where do I go next? It seems like a transactional market these days. Should I switch strategies to fix and flip/ wholesaling?  I prefer buy and hold for long term retirement/cashflow but the market doesn't seem to support it....

Where do I go next??? #askBP

Welcome to the site. I'm in Cape Coral. Let me know if you are ever looking into this area. I'm always looking for people to meet and network with.

John, I've seen your ads on craigslist ha, but anyways, did you check it for Chinese drywall? Huge concern for properties built 04-06 here in the cape.... Seems like a nice property though!

Theres a similar property right own the street for sale for $140k, but I don't think it will sell for that. There's a dramatic difference between what people want to sell their duplexes for and what people will buy them for right now in my opinion.

Property has been great. Market rent for the property is now $750 per side and value is $120k+. I just wish I could buy more.

Rick Jackson does a great job. You can contact him at 239-994-4678

Sounds interesting, but I would just put it under contract with an inspection contingency. Then walk the property yourself first to look. If its scary, then walk, if not then order the actual inspection and move forward.

I would dig into the numbers more Randy. It is important you understand the numbers behind the investment. It appears to be a poor deal in my opinion. The only reason it is cash flowing at all is that the numbers above are indicating 25% down. If you were to go 3.5% FHA you would lose all cashflow and most likely be negative even at full occupancy, which wouldn't occur as you would be living in it.

I would suggest the other BP books. Jay's book on estimating rehabs cost's will be very beneficial for you and Brandon Turner's book on investing with low and no money down will help you structure deals.

I own a couple duplexes in cape coral. Although I am obviously a fan of the market, there is very little worthwhile on the market (MLS) in my opinion. Although you can force cashflow with 25% down the COC return is minimal at that point. I am not telling you how to invest your funds but personally I would watch for better deals then what are currently available. You also want to watch out for specific areas of Skyline and Santa Barbara. They tend to be higher turnover and higher crime. They are not terrible rental areas, but they are worse then others. I wouldn't pay a premium ($190k+) for them personally.