All Forum Posts by: Will Gaston

@Jim K.

This thread is a great reminder that RE investing is not a spreadsheet.

@Jaquette Green My first question when looking at a townhome:

What kind of shape is the HOA in?

If I could only choose one, I'd rather inspect the financials of the HOA than on the actual townhome. This could go sideways real quick if there is a ton of CapEx and/or deferred maintenance.

Tons of "investment" townhomes/condos in my market are only good at one thing....feeding HOA budgets.

@Della Beaver The knob and tube seems like the X factor. I would get several quotes on that. And don't forget all of the re-patching and painting that will have to take place after it's rewired. 

Sounds like a good candidate for a commercial lender/portfolio loan due to the unit setup and the construction required.

@Sean Fisher I'm unaware of a service that does this but I agree it probably exists.

What if you provided your tenant with a list of an approved electrician, plumber, and HVAC company instead? Seems like you could cut out the middleman if you put some ground rules in place.

@Brock Barr

These books below have had the biggest impact on my investing/mindset. My experience is figuring out what to work on in real estate is far more important than how hard you work. 

"Atomic Habits" - James Clear

"The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" - Eric Jorgensen

"Never Split the Difference" - Chris Voss

"The Psychology of Money" - Morgan Housel

"The 80/20 Principle" - Richard Koch

@Ernie Sturzinger look at this as a great opportunity to learn about the commercial lending side.

I am huge fan of portfolio lenders and commercial lending in general. 

My experience is it is much more reasonable and easy to secure financing. The balloons are a downside but it is rare that banks won't renew notes if the borrower is performing and the debt service coverage is sufficient.

@Logan Jamieson 

"Don't wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate and wait." - Michael Scott

@Awet Hagos I 100% acknowledge that every market is different. 

However, a 100k house renting for $625/month in my market would likely be in the red $500/month.

@Brock Bonnicksen what are the chances this would have happen with a brand new sewer line?

My experience is that if it's happening a lot in a short amount of time is that the sewer line needs to be replaced. I rent to college students and it's fun/easy to blame them for everything but at a certain point I realized that life is just easier as a landlord if I have newer sewer lines. 

I never have problems with anything they flush once the line is new.

@Shaun Ng I've been doing student rentals my entire career and have friends ask a variation of this question often. They want to save money or build equity in a house which is totally understandable. 

Here are some questions that I ask them:

1) Will your child be able to a) find multiple friends who b) wants to be their roommate c) at the location d) and at the price you want to rent them? (Getting all of these 4 isn't always easy, especially for 3-4 years.)

2) Will child be able to handle the strain on his/her relationship with their friends if they don't pay rent? Or damage the apartment?

3) How much are you REALLY going to save if you account for all costs of home ownership over a 3-4 year period?

TLDR: It can be a good idea but you need to think through it.