"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison

"Get off that couch and go buy that rundown duplex" - me

Thursday, August 21, 2014

No money down is possible...




But you always gotta pay somehow!
We have done many zero down deals, but they always seem to cost the most! Time, effort, fix-up costs, interest, they will cost you somewhere.
Not that that's necessarily a bad business model. If done right, it can be the perfect solution for broke investors (what other kind is there when starting out?) to substitute something else for cash down.
Just make sure you can get CASH FLOW. Without it it's a false economy. You aren't putting any immediate cash down, but you will be every single month! That is not path to financial freedom. I like real estate, but not enough to pay every month to own it...

Friday, August 15, 2014

Great time to be a landlord!

People always make excuses as to why it's not the right time to buy rental property...the economy is too bad, the economy is too good, interest rates are too low, interest rates are too high...
Fact is, we have found it's always a good time to be a landlord! Ya, sometimes vacancy is higher or lower at one time or another, but there are so many factors involved don't over think it.
Boils down to this: people are always going to need somewhere to live! There are millions of people out there that can't/won't or aren't ready for home ownership. If you own quality, inexpensive rentals you will always have customers wanting your product.
One of the more recent developments are the "Millennials" Check out "5 Reasons Why Millennials Would Rather Rent Than Buy" and "Apartment living becoming ideal for millennials".
Gear some units to this group! Smells like opportunity!




Sunday, August 10, 2014

Vacancies

People ask me all the time "what about finding tenants?" Well, If you chose the right kind of properties in the right areas you will never have a shortage of good tenants who want to rent your units. If your units are clean, safe, updated, you will be ahead of most of them out there. Even in times of high vacancy, yours will fill up first, and will stay filled the longest.

Remember, buy with the eyes of a tenant. Ignore the things you know you can fix, but look at each unit as if you will be moving in. I'm talking here mostly about neighborhoods and layouts. Picture the unit after fix-up. Would you want to live in it? Is it functional? Or are there hard to fix layout problems, like a bathroom that you have to access through a bedroom (though should be fine in a smaller one bedroom or bachelor), or a kitchen with the sink or refrigerator in another room?

Remember, you don't wan't a place where you have to do major renos to fix layout issues (unless it's a screamin' deal!)