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Well I am somewhere near you, Evey, and there are very good deals for investors.
You can find 2 bedroom 2 bath CB homes in the $75,000 range here.
Your PITI on this would be around $650 and rents in the area for this size go around $750.
The smaller, lower end rentals are in higher demand so it is not too much problem keeping them full.
I agree. I sold my main home in Florida because it was way too expensive to risk as a rental and kept two investment properties. I have taken a few trips down there to scout out some other places and will not hesitate to buy if the price is right.
Now that I have moved to Georgia, cheap houses are a dime a dozen so now we try to find unique properties that should hold their value no matter what happens.
I say go for it, we have bought and sold for ten years and have never not made a substantial profit, even in this market. Just do your research and be flexible, some houses we planned on flipping wound up to be rentals for five years.
I know it's a good time to invest, just wanted to get some other ideas of what people are doing. I spoke with a lender yesterday to see what our options are. What I have working against me is that fact my occupation is now a real estate agent and I'm still new to it. On the books I have almost no income, so it might be a little hard to get a loan. I do have excellent credit and no debts except my current mortgage.
When it comes to investing, it's all about location, location, location. Seriously, though, there is so much inventory right now and not every part of the country is going to recover as quickly as others. In fact, in many parts of the country where jobs are on the decline and population growth is on the decline, housing prices have suffered huge declines. I would expect that many people in those areas will end up just walking away from their homes, and some areas of the country may even become blighted for a while. On the other hand, a shift in population to where the jobs are, or where there's great weather, or something else that's special about a particular city/town, then those areas will recover more quickly and real estate investments in those areas could be lucrative.
I would venture to guess that the tightening of mortgage requirements coupled with the housing downturn will result in a return to people buying only one home, and staying in it for a longer period of time, perhaps fixing it up rather than moving up the housing ladder within 3 - 5 years. People who can afford to will probably invest in a vacation home for a longer duration, too. However I really see the days of investing in real estate as a commodity as over (at least for quite a while) in many parts of the country.
I think fractionals are great right now as opposed to a buying a second or vacation home.
I know it's a good time to invest, just wanted to get some other ideas of what people are doing. I spoke with a lender yesterday to see what our options are. What I have working against me is that fact my occupation is now a real estate agent and I'm still new to it. On the books I have almost no income, so it might be a little hard to get a loan. I do have excellent credit and no debts except my current mortgage.
Even with 700+ credit scores, recently my husband and I have had to put down 15-20% on any investment properties. OUCH! The lenders do not believe we want anything as a vacation house, etc until we get rid of our main house which is quite large (not gonna happen). This will actually slow down our investing as we found out one week before our last closing we had to cough up $35,000 (like a stab in the heart). And we've never had a late payment. I don't see why good credit people are having to pay for what else is happening but it's the cost of the business I guess.
Even with 700+ credit scores, recently my husband and I have had to put down 15-20% on any investment properties. OUCH! The lenders do not believe we want anything as a vacation house, etc until we get rid of our main house which is quite large (not gonna happen). This will actually slow down our investing as we found out one week before our last closing we had to cough up $35,000 (like a stab in the heart). And we've never had a late payment. I don't see why good credit people are having to pay for what else is happening but it's the cost of the business I guess.
Our credit scores are also 700+. I'm not sure I understand why you had to put that much down? It's because they believe it's an investment property? In that case you have to put more down? Bare with me, I'm new at this.
Our credit scores are also 700+. I'm not sure I understand why you had to put that much down? It's because they believe it's an investment property? In that case you have to put more down? Bare with me, I'm new at this.
That's exactly it. We bought our main house last year with absolutely nothing down, in fact, we didn't even live in the state or have jobs there (and it cost about five times our annual salary). We have been able to pick up investment properties with about 5% down before this mortgage mess of the last six months. We bought a house in April expecting the usual down payment and then a week before closing we got hit with 20% down.
That's exactly it. We bought our main house last year with absolutely nothing down, in fact, we didn't even live in the state or have jobs there (and it cost about five times our annual salary). We have been able to pick up investment properties with about 5% down before this mortgage mess of the last six months. We bought a house in April expecting the usual down payment and then a week before closing we got hit with 20% down.
It is a great market to invest in. Seriously, it's every woman's dream... everything is on sale
Haha, exactly! I would love to buy a bunch of properties right now. I search the MLS and I can't believe the deals out there. I feel bad for people that have to reduce their property so much but if I look at the history reports, most of them are still making money.
Don't try to catch a falling knife!!! Yes, prices are going down, but how low will they go, no one really knows. Additionally, rental rates my go down in the near future, until at least all those foreclosed homes and condos (increasing rental supply) are absorped my the market, which could take years. Yes, location is important, but so is timing.
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Seriously, though, there is so much inventory right now and not every part of the country is going to recover as quickly as others. In fact, in many parts of the country where jobs are on the decline and population growth is on the decline, housing prices have suffered huge declines. I would expect that many people in those areas will end up just walking away from their homes, and some areas of the country may even become blighted for a while. On the other hand, a shift in population to where the jobs are, or where there's great weather, or something else that's special about a particular city/town, then those areas will recover more quickly and real estate investments in those areas could be lucrative.
