All Forum Posts by: Zachary LaJoye

@Jeff Milas I would say pour the concrete patio. One of my side by side duplexes has an existing patio which was poured 20 years ago and still looks great. The side porch decks of similar age had to be replaced when I bought the place because they were in such bad shape. My duplex is in a B area and each 3 bed 2 bath unit rents for $1250. As long as you provide an area for grilling/entertaining I personally don’t think people are going to have a preference on concrete vs decking. If you’re worried about the aesthetics I would look into what was mentioned earlier and rent some concrete stamps. The combination of stamps and dye makes a world of difference.

@Branden Pfaff I am in the process of installing a 12x20 paver patio behind one of my units right now. I would have much rather just poured concrete but access to the area with equipment/trucks is limited. My rental is a 3 bed 2 bath with a large backyard in a B neighborhood, so a backyard patio is almost expected. I think patios are definitely worth the investment and as others have stated, are practically maintenance free. Especially if you compare them to decks.

@Jared Baker if you’re concerned about the possibility of getting emotionally attached I would think the likelihood of it happening isn’t so high since you are aware and also hopefully in tune to yourself.

I would never recommend intentionally skipping out on an opportunity to collect information on a potential investment. Why intentionally keep yourself in the dark? I would also not make seeing the property a prerequisite to making an offer though. Especially in this market and even more so if it is on the MLS. The deal could ask probably will be tied up under contract before you even set foot in the door if it is decent. Good luck.

@Jeremy Cura if you find a deal and your finances aren’t ready be prepared to bring in a partner or possibly wholesale it to somebody who is ready to buy. Nothing wrong with either scenario,

but you will definitely be limited.

If you’re goal is to own doors and more specifically own them without investors you need to be ready to pull the trigger. Depending on your situation, “getting your finances in order” might take 2 days or 2 years. Whichever case the best time to start is the present. In the meantime, looking for and evaluating deals never hurt anyone. Just don’t get caught fantasizing about deals at the expense of doing the tangible and sometimes hard work of saving and getting your financial house in order. Good luck!

It depends where in the house you’re putting it. Bathrooms I’d stick with tile or vinyl planks as both are 100% waterproof. Laminate will be a little bit cheaper but is not waterproof. Anywhere else laminate should be fine. I just installed the Home Depot luxury vinyl planks in the kitchen and living room of a rental along with tile in the bathrooms and both look great. Doing the work myself was quick and surprisingly inexpensive also.

Josue Rivera Definitely check out what zoning restrictions if any apply. I’m not familiar with the area but being that close to Atlanta I would be surprised if there weren’t any restrictions. If they are zoned for SFR only than you will not be able to convert the existing house into a triplex or build anything besides single family homes on the other lots without getting the zoning changed. Also, if you’re looking at new builds be sure to run your numbers correctly. Flipping new construction is not exactly an easy thing to do unless you are the contractor and build it yourself. Good luck.

The effect it will have on your credit should be minimal honestly. A hard check will bump you down 5-10 points. If you are that concerned about 5-10 points perhaps you should get out of the lease and get something more economical. I can’t and won’t tell you what choice to make but you have to prioritize and decide just how important investing in the near term is to you. Is it worth sacrificing a little?

Agreed with the comments above. I also served a contract and one overseas deployment with the National Guard and Reserves. Those recruiters might make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread but you have to realize that most of them have agendas that do not align with yours and are not looking out for your best interest. Not to harp on recruiters, as it is not their job to look out for you, that’s on you. The sign on bonuses might sound tempting also but they will be paid in installments most of the time and Uncle Sam is going to take a pretty sizable chunk before you even see it. And as for the one weekend a month thing...drills are much more of a commitment than they’re made out to be trust me. You’ll have an initial 6 months of training after you join in which you are basically an active duty soldier. You’ll have 2 weeks of annual training annually and a lot of those weekend drills will run 3-4 days in length. From a financial standpoint, you can make a lot more money investing all of this time in other ways. That’s why I would never recommend joining up simply for the monetary benefit though.

You’ve definitely got the right mindset and some good motivation. But it’s all for naught unless you can use that fire to get moving in the right direction. They say the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. You’ve gotta take that first bite though. I’d say priority number one would be getting your credit score up. When trying to use leverage, that is going to be the key to get in the door nine times outta ten. I’ll just reiterate what Angie said above about needing to bring value to any venture. Why should somebody give you a piece of the action? Figure out what the answer to this question is. Real estate isn’t a get rich quick kind of thing and requires work and putting forth the daily grind. I’d caution you to stay away from anyone telling you otherwise. A lot of snake oil salespeople out there making big promises to get at your money.

As Anthony Dooley stated above, you must honor any lease in place from the previous owner. Are you using owner-occupied financing? If so, this scenario really won’t matter because you will not be able to purchase with owner-occupied financing unless there is already a vacant unit that you can occupy. A lot of owners realize this though and will wait to sell until leases are due to expire to give potential buyers this flexibility in an attempt to attract more buyers. I recently purchased a duplex with one unit rented and the other vacant which I am renovating/updating while occupying it. Rents were approximately 25% under market rate and both units were dated. My plan was to keep the other tenant month to month until I was ready to renovate their unit in which case I would’ve given the option to sign a 1 year lease at market rate or move out and allow me to renovate and find another tenant at this increased rate. The tenant decided to purchase a home and move out shortly after I closed so it made my decision that much easier as I’m now close to completing the rehab on both units. In regards to what Anthony said about giving away rent money by living there, this is only true if you can rent somewhere else for cheaper. Also, this is not taking into consideration the benefit of owner occupied financing (lower rates and downpayment.)