All Forum Posts by: Travis Dawson

Hey BP,

Interesting opportunity came up for me last night and I wanted to get an outsiders prospective on it.

I was talking with a friend last night about the Duplex I am closing on later this month and touched a little bit on my future real estate goals. She brought up that she would be willing to let me manage her real estate holdings (one SFR and one Commercial building with 4 tenants) as she is starting a new business and doesn't want to deal with them right now. I told her I would consider it.

Things to note:

Idaho is basically the wild west when it comes to property management laws. I don't need a license or any kind of certificate.

Snow removal is paid for, but I would be responsible for mowing a very small lawn at the commercial property.

I work a 40 hour a week job and cannot give that up at this time.

Because she has other ventures the commercial tenants are used to not getting their needs met day of. Honestly, if I responded to their needs after the work day it would be fast than the owner has.

I don't currently have an LLC, I would need one.

Ultimately I think this would be great for me, its an extra, albeit small, income stream and the experience would help me decide if this is something I want to do going forward, Plus the added knowledge gained doing the work should help me regardless.  But I am curious about any downside I might not be thinking of.

Congratulations @Joshua D.! 

Do you still work a day job? Were you able to make all these deals while only making 35k a year or did your income improve over time?

Run the numbers with what you'd expect to get out of the other side if you werent living there. I assume you don't plan on staying there forever, yes?

You need to factor in a lot more than the mortgage. Water? garbage? sewer? Taxes? PM fee?

Gladly :)

@Jihyoung Kim

It generally means someone agrees with what you have written. You can see the voting interface right below your picture in a thread. 

Many people here are looking to replace or compliment their W-2 jobs right now. Many people have been successful.

It will take more than a couple of rental properties, and assuming you need a loan the banks won't touch you until you've had a steady job for a while, so I doubt anyone has done it without a day job to start with.

"He even called yesterday and offered the sell it at a lower price if that would help. Then take a portion of the rent each month as payment or some variant of that."

That seems like a bad deal.

"It is my understanding that I will have trouble finding financing with foundation issues and roof needing to be replaced."

Also true, I believe most conventional banks won't finance a house unless the roof has at least 5 years left in it, but if you want this property you need to be talking to a lot of lenders and see if one is willing to back you. Worst they can do is say no.

maybe I'm just paranoid, but I don't see the benefit to the seller here which makes me think you are being screwed in some way you don't see. 

Assuming the valuation is right, the seller is willing to give you the place for a low down pavement and an interest rate lower than a banks. That seems fishy to me. Do you know the seller? Are you related? 

If not, I'd pay to have a good inspector to look for what you aren't seeing. 

even if you can't cash flow positively if you are paying less than you are renting right now you are going to come out ahead. Also consider that you are building equity and not just throwing money away like when you rent.

@Justin Heitter

Are you deadset on the property being in CDA? You might having better luck finding a cash flowing property in one of the surrounding towns, Rathdrum or Post Falls perhaps? Although admittedly I haven't seen many multifamily properties in the area at all.  Just browsing around though I've seen some nice potential in some Spokane listings like @David Clinton III advised.