Is it all worth it? - Posted by Richard Ragon

Real Estate Investing
#1

Posted by Richard Ragon on May 26, 2000 at 13:14:52:

>>You might not have a positive cash flow here. Get our expenses nailed down to see how you would come out. On a 2 unit, which is basically what you have, I’d want at least $300/mo. going into my pocket after expenses.

Ok, I’ll keep this in mind. Maybe we could get the house down a lot more, I can offer to take “as-is”, and the seller knows that there’s some fixing up too do… And I really sense that they do not want to do it… :slight_smile:

>>Saying that, you might want to approach this property diffently. Check with zoning. Can the two houses be seperated. The two seperate houses should sell for more individually than as a package.

I’ll check into it. I think I heard the owner tell me that the house in the back, built years before, didn’t have zoning… Or there was some kind of problem maybe, because it was built so long ago, there were no permits on record of it. I wonder how one would go in looking into this… Perhaps a property profile report from the local title co.

#2

Is it all worth it? - Posted by Richard Ragon

Posted by Richard Ragon on May 25, 2000 at 24:05:52:

Grettings Everyone,

This is my first time posting here, but I’ve been reading here for a number of years now. :slight_smile:

I have come across a deal and I am in need of some advice. I found a house that a buddy of mine is selling, and he wants to move out of state. He’s asking 135,000+/-, and it looks to be a small fixer upper, but nothing real major. The lot has two houses on it, and the back house is currently rented to a tentant for $650 a month. Front house should go for about $700/mo. Both houses have 2 bedrooms/1 bath. The owner owes about $91k still on it, and is willing to carry back some money at a little lower rate than today, but absoluty doesn’t want the house back. :slight_smile:

I’m not thrilled about being a landlord, however, the house is not in the best of areas, and it would be alot easier to rent it, than sell it. I’m calculating about a 1,000/mo payment here, and I think that I can rent both houses at $1,4000/mo. I might be able to get the overall price down, by taking things “as is”… and then just pull some money out to fix things all up a bit.

My question here is… Does this all sound about right? Or should I just pass and look for something a bit more in a the equity side?

I’m sure this question comes up a lot, but this would be my first time buying a rental, and I’d sure hate to loose the farm so to speak… Thank you everyone!

-Richard

#3

Re: Is it all worth it? - Posted by Jim Holmes

Posted by Jim Holmes on May 27, 2000 at 02:23:00:

Richard,

Honestly, I don’t like the numbers…especially if the location is in question. One of my biggest repeating mistakes is doing something, just because I have’nt done it before or because, “I can.”

Be patient…lots and lots…and lots of deals out there. Pick sure winners…However, after saying all that – you do have to get your feet wet. Swim, don’t sink!

-Jim from Idaho

#4

Re: Is it all worth it? - Posted by phil fernandez

Posted by phil fernandez on May 25, 2000 at 07:52:01:

You mentioned you could get a total of $1,350 - $1,400 per month in rental income. Your mortgage payment will be about $1,000 per month. That leaves $400/mo. for property taxes, insurance, maybe some utilities, lawn care, rubbish and maintenance. The $400 will disappear quick because of expenses.

You might not have a positive cash flow here. Get your expenses nailed down to see how you would come out. On a 2 unit, which is basically what you have, I’d want at least $300/mo. going into my pocket after expenses.

Saying that, you might want to approach this property diffently. Check with zoning. Can the two houses be seperated. The two seperate houses should sell for more individually than as a package.