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PaperclipPerfector  8mo ago (text post)   3779 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 27, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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Has anyone here ever purchased a rental property? I'm considering purchasing a single-family home and I'm curious how someone selects a specific property and a specific neighborhood/location.

Selecting the property itself seems fairly straightforward: work with a realtor to find a house within your budget and make sure it doesn't have any major issues. I know what I'm looking for: a house that is move-in ready and doesn't need a whole lot of fixing up. Obviously, there will be upkeep costs and I'm realistic about that. What I really don't want is to purchase a 200k house and find out I need to replace the entire foundation for another 50 grand. This seems like something a realtor can help me with especially if the house has publicly available inspections.

I already have a general idea of the location where I want to buy. I have family who live close by and they would be able to help me manage the property. But even within a 5-10 mile area, I'm thinking there must be criteria for selecting a better neighborhood than others. Obviously cost comes into play here as well, but without spending a lot of time on the ground, I'm unsure how I would select a location where the house *at least *retains its value.

Any input from those with rental properties, especially those who own in a different state, would be appreciated.

I would recommend against working with a realtor. Unless you have a very close relationship with the realtor, they will get you market rate housing. If they had a screaming bargain, they would buy it themselves or flip it to a friend before they show it to a stranger. Market rate houses don't leave meat on the bone for a budding landlord, you will make minimal profit. You need to get something at a below market price, if only by cutting out the realtor's commission and finding a seller who hasn't listed yet to get 5% breathing room.

Working with a realtor will not ensure that you face no upkeep costs. I can share many horror stories. Realtors don't know what they're looking at, or might not tell you if they did. Most cultivate intentional blindness to ensure they don't need to disclose.

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