All Forum Posts by: Tim Lyons

 The $140K is based on having a second mortgage (temporarily). If I first sell my house and temporarily rent in OH, I could likely get approved for a $280K house or more. I know banks will often approve a mortgage contingent on a home sale, but moving out of state and switching employers complicates things. 

Harrison and Alfath, thank you for the offers. I will be keeping you both in mind if the move happens. 

Thank you all so much for the replies. This community is truly an asset.


 

I may be relocating there for work, and was considering buying a multi-family home to live in while I rent the other unit out. 

I don't have a lot of money, $140K is my max. There is plenty to buy well under $100K but the neighborhoods likely aren't the greatest. 

Can anyone suggest any areas surrounding Cleveland where there is minimal blight, and $140K will get you into a fairly clean neighborhood? 

In upstate NY $200,000 buys a clean turn-key two family house in a desirable area. I'm not sure what the units would rent for but likely at least $1,000/month each. That means unless a substantial amount is put down (way more than 25%), the property probably won't even cash flow by the time the mortgage and upkeep is considered.

On the other hand, a $25,000 down payment on a $100K two family house in the "hood" will likely still have units that rent for at least $700/month. That leaves considerable cash flow because of the small mortgage.

Is it worth dealing with the downsides of buying and renting in the less desirable urban areas? 
 

NY state has recently passed new laws prohibiting the rejection of prospective tenants over a history of evictions. Any strategies to protect yourself as a landlord in NY state? These new laws are insane. It seems they want the landlord to take on the role of providing social services.

If I want to rent my house out for a year, but ONLY a year, how would I go about this? Telling prospective tenants up front is likely to drive many of them away, so what is the procedure to make the tenant leave after the lease is up and do so legally? How much notice do I have to give that they will have to find a new place?

Any thoughts on buying a sub $20K mobile home on a private lot (no lot rent), rehabbing it, and renting it out? 

Seems like it could be the cheapest way to get in the game if you do the work yourself. 

Maybe $35K total investment, rent it out for $700 minimum? 

I've been thinking about renting to section 8 tenants because from what I understand you can buy cheaper properties that aren't glamourous, and a portion of the rent is guaranteed via a government check. 

The cons, of course, is having to deal with 'shady' people, and potentially having your property trashed. 

Any thoughts on if section 8 is worth it for a first-timer just starting out?

On another forum, someone argued that buying just one property was a bad idea, stating that it will "drain me" and that you need multiple properties to be successful. I told him that if any one property can't be profitable, then you could never profit from having multiple unprofitable properties. 

Any thoughts?

Should a first time buyer always aim to start cash flowing immediately, as in buying a property that already has tenants, or should a couple months downtime to clean things up and find tenants not be a deal-breaker?

Keep in mind I will be financing, so each month of downtime will be a black hole sucking cash from my bank account.

Mods please delete my post.