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calidreamin · Guest

Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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Hi. I have been wanting to get into real estate income property investing for over 2 years. I began research 2 years ago and am now taking my research more seriously because I shied away for fear that this was too hard to do. Ideally what I would like to do is, since I have never owned a home, find a foreclosed property that is habitable for my family, make alterations to the home which add to the value and move out after 2-3 years. I'd like to then buy another home, one that we'd like to live in for alot longer, and rent out the first home as income property to pay for the mortgage on it, and maybe a little of the mortgage on the second home. I guess my question is, how do-able is this? What are the major factors? How important is money vs. financing capability? Is this a good idea, and more importantly, will it work? I am brand new at this, but I am passionate about it. Also, is it a good idea to take real estate classes or should I get my bumps and bruises from experience? I'd like to make a career of this. We'd like to start a property mgmt company but like I said, we're brand new to the game. Help!!!!!!!!!! Any input is greatly appreciated. I will be scrolling through the posts for others in my shows. Thanks.

Duncan Pollock · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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I think you have all the right ideas, not the least of them being the recognition that you're not looking at any Quick Road to Riches.
The only reservation I'd have is your thought of focusing on foreclosures. Apart from the scarcity of them (good ones anyway), you may be faced with more repairs than you can tackle. If you have a handyman background it won't be a problem but, if not, it may cost you more than it's worth to turn a place around.
Fixer-uppers aren't all that common, either, and the same handyman prerequisite applies.
What I do think you ought to do is line yourself up with a good Buyer Agent who can work with you in finding properties that offer an upside to them. This can involve more than one thing, but the agent will know what it means -- and if he/she doesn't, then you haven't found a good one!
In any case, go for it, go for it.
Done slowly and carefully -- as you imply -- it will lead to a comfortable level of net worth.

Duncan
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Real Estate in Canada's Niagara Peninsula

maxxipotamuz · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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Hey calidreamin,

With that name, I presume you're in California. Duncan is absolutely right. Take it slow, go with a good buyer agent, and being handy doesn't hurt. There're so many ways to do real estate investment. The right type of investment will depend on several things: 1. what you enjoy doing (dealing with tenants? fixing?), 2. the housing prices in your neighborhood in which you do business. If the prices are too high, like many parts of CA, rental / income properties may not give you enough positive cashflow to make it worthwhile despite the low interest rates. So flipping might be a better solution. As Duncan has said, go slow and watch the market. Talk to as many investors as you can. I find many of them love to talk about their successes. That's my 2 cents.
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jnazareno · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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in Two years of Searching for A good income property that is consider a good buy
I finally found one in Berkeley and my freind Co-Realtor made the offer-he got it
accepted for 1.3$$ with $5,000 cash flow month. It's almost not worth buying
Income Property in California now-a-days unless you put down at least 50%
to see some cash flow, other than that they are pricey and not worth getting into.
unless you deal with a reasonable seller.
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kensmithkw · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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Investment property in many ares (like CA) has become speculative as the only way to make money is to look at the appreciation rate. This is a risky way to make money and not one I advise my investors to do.

Nothing says you need to buy investment property in your area, there are still places that you can get good deals that have nice cash flow with 10% down. Just have to be willing to think outside your comfort zone.
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jnazareno · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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I like investing in Florida, Arizona and I heard NEw Mexico is getting hot hot hot
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KeysToFlorida · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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I agree with the comments from Ken Smith.
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David Abernathy

Jupiter Florida real estate and Juno Beach real estate investments and residential property. For local information about Juno Beach Florida

calidreamin · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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I'm actually looking to invest in properties in Chicago, or the surrounding suburbs. I'll be leaving CA next year and want to have something to plant my feet on. Does anyone have any info on the Chicago market??? I want to thank you all for your input. I'm feeling more confident about the decision.

judyo · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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There's several of us here from Chicago. I work in one of the more affordable areas of Chicago, the south side and southwest suburbs. There are established neighborhoods within 30 minutes or less travel time to downtown Chicago's loop by car or train. We also have newer construction farther south and southwest, although for the investment purposes you're looking into you'd be more interested in a resale home.

Check out my web sites to find out more about my experience & the areas I work with average sales price ranges from last year (my Cook County site).
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Orland Park Real Estate - Oak Lawn IL - Cook County Real Estate

kensmithkw · Guest

Re: Am I Expecting Too Much or Too Little?

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Would be happy to talk with you about investments. Investors account for around 50% of my business and I am also an investor. Feel free to PM me your phone number and I will give you a call and we can talk about some options. Judy covers the southside and the southwest suburbs and my team covers just about all of the other suburbs.
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