Home Investment

How far away is the home from where you live?

Is it a duplex?

Is it in a neighborhood or on a street that is primarily (75%+) owner-occupied?

Just because they say they're good tenants (what else are they going to say?) doesn't mean they are and doesn't mean they'll be gone tomorrow. I wouldn't base your decision on the current tenants. Pretend like they don't exist.

What is the total cost of ownership? Seems like it is worth investing, even if you have to pay 1 month's rent to a local property manager.

BTW: Why aren't the renters interested in buying it? They could 1/2 their monthly outlay.

Sounds like a bad idea.

You stated you're not really looking for something like this...and you're far away.

Being a long distance landlord doesn't sound appealing. If you were just going to flip the house then maybe not a bad idea if it's a great deal.

Quote from vaultaddict : Sounds like a bad idea. You stated you're not really looking for something like this...and you're far away. Being a long distance landlord doesn't sound appealing. If you were just going to flip the house then maybe not a bad idea if it's a great deal.

Thanks for the input everyone. The days of being a long distance landlord as a negative thing are long gone I think. I have a friend who owns 8 homes, all 2000 miles from where he lives. You can easily find a great handy man on CL. As long as the tenants are OK, you should be fine.

This is a home with a studio in the back. Both are rented with long term tenants according to the agent. There are issues from long distance, but the $1000/month rent seems like a great investment after 30 months. IF I can keep it rented of course. Much better than flipping if you ask me.
iwheela

Quote from iwheela : Thanks for the input everyone. The days of being a long distance landlord as a negative thing are long gone I think. I have a friend who owns 8 homes, all 2000 miles from where he lives. You can easily find a great handy man on CL. As long as the tenants are OK, you should be fine. This is a home with a studio in the back. Both are rented with long term tenants according to the agent. There are issues from long distance, but the $1000/month rent seems like a great investment after 30 months. IF I can keep it rented of course. Much better than flipping if you ask me. iwheela

If this property is a long distance away from where you live, you'll need to use a property manager as managing it from a long distance away isn't financially or practically wise.

$1000 rent role on a Single Family w/ Accesory unit for $30,000?

That statistic can't be beat, however, do your due diligence as sometimes when things sound too good to be true they usually are.

Ok, I was going to keep my mouth shut, but the fact is that the only properties in that price range that make that sort of cash are typically slum properties. Yes, it's true that even here where I live it is possible to find a house at 30K that isn't a slum or necessarily in a completely horrible neighborhood. However, you REALLY have to do your "due dilligence" in a case like this, and especially as a long-distance landlord.

My rules are this: don't buy anything farther than 2 hours away from me (especially you as a beginner landlord). DON'T under ANY circumstances buy a house (or in a neighborhood) that I would not live in myself.

Then again, IF you can afford to just "throw away the money" (meaning you don't need it real bad, or will lose it completely) Then it may work out for you.

I'd still advise you to not buy this "sight unseen", or without at least visiting it the first time. Your tenants, regardless of how good they might be now, will OWN you very shortly, and they WILL do everything they can to take advantage of your long distance from them. Also remember that judges almost always side with the tenants in disputes regardless of the reasons. At a minimum, they'll even let the tenants live there rent free for months even after you get a judgement against them!

Good luck.

Quote from MikeBear : My rules are this: don't buy anything farther than 2 hours away from me (especially you as a beginner landlord). DON'T under ANY circumstances buy a house (or in a neighborhood) that I would not live in myself.

This.

Renters can be a major PITA. You know how much stuff can go wrong in a house? Imagine that multiplied by the factor of a tenant who often feels they're not responsible for things since they're not the owner.

At least when you're nearby they know you can quickly drive over and punch them in the face for being stupid.

Quote from iwheela : Hi all, By chance, I found a home in a different city that's for sale for $30k that doesn't need any repairs.

All houses need repairs. It's just a matter of severity and priority.

Quote : It's currently rented out at $1000 a month. 2 long term supposedly good tenants. I could write a check and pay cash for the home right now. I'm not a real estate investor at all. I was only looking to expand my business, which has nothing to do with real estate. But this seems like a no brainer. Does this seem like a good deal? The selling agent (of course) says it's 100% spot on profit wise. But I am far away from this home and not sure if I'll expand my current business there. I know there are negatives of being an owner in a different city, but these tenants are solid and there's no issues with this home. It seems a cash $30k investment for a $1k return a month is a no brainer. But I've never owned a home before. Should I pursue this? It just seems too easy. Thoughts? iwheela

Rented out for $1000 including what? Utilities? Telecom? etc etc.

As said above, you need a bunch more information, need to judge the neighbohood, renters, and your position. Since your break-even point is so near, you may be able to find a local contractor that you could work with should anything go wrong.

But ask yourself this -- how did you happen to stumble on it? If it's such a great deal, how has it fallen through the cracks? Perhaps it hasn't -- perhaps it just came on the market the day you started looking. But if it's sat, why?