I am thinking about investing money in foreclosure real estate and renting it out.

[Phil]

What do you think? I know renting is pain in the ass but I’m willing to take a risk. Just got talking to my buddy who has 7 rental properties so far and he’s all over the buyers market.

[Spunky]

Jump in.no risk,no gain

[Phil]

Originally Posted by Spunky

Jump in.no risk,no gain

do you have any life outside GFY?

[angeleyes]

Where are you located? Right now (atleast in S. Florida) the real estate market is a joke, it's a buyers scene and right now landlords are breaking out HUGE deals on properties just to keep up. I'm not going to lie, I'm living in a place (Mizner) that I would normally NEVER be able to afford if the market wasn't so bad. I'm not paying much over 1200/month. So, if you offer good deals here, yeah--you can rent in no time, but on the flipside, by having to compete you might lose?

[Vendot]

Dont you think its a bit early to go into the market? Wouldnt you rather wait till it bottoms out which may be a while though i must admit i havent been tracking the US property market closely.

[angeleyes]

Originally Posted by Vendot

Dont you think its a bit early to go into the market? Wouldnt you rather wait till it bottoms out which may be a while though i must admit i havent been tracking the US property market closely.

Where is he located? lol I was told by my real estate broker (because I am finally buying when my lease is up) that the market is going to continue to plummet. Not good for the economy, but its good for me. I scoped out a 2500 square foot modest house, BRAND NEW, never lived in, 2.5 car garage, beautiful granite counters, etc and THAT was only 180k... I can only imagine what will be in my range once it continues to become more of a buyers market.

[Spudstr]

If you can buy the houses in cash and have very little liability then its worth it.

This is part of the housing problem. People started buying houses off HELOC, refi's etc and thought they could rent/flip them out and it back fired and now we are in the mess we are today.

If you can pay cash for a few houses right now then its worth it, in 5 years you could sell it for double your return + collect rent along the way.

I have properties in 3 different states in 3 different markets, all of which markets are turning up and more houses are selling. Last month new home sales rose unexpectedly. We are either at the bottom or very very close to it.

Most of the foreclosed homes etc are being bought up right now, so there is more being sold than coming on the market in that area, once the foreclosed homes gets under control the rest of the housing market prices will come up because the houses will not have to compete against the foreclosed homes.

[JeffCliff]

It all depends whether you have the money or not? if not, then I think that you should seek investments for your price range.

[ztik]

Its way too early. My buddy has 20 some houses and only 5-6 are rented. He says he can't rent them, even after remodels. He has them on the market too. He was telling me the ones he does have rented he's not even breaking even on. He had to lower the rent to rent them.

[yys]

Think multi-unit buildings on or near college/universities. They're taking a beating like every thing else but have a stable and built in pool to draw tenants from. They are easier to rent out and their values will pop faster then single family residential when the market turns.

Recent example I saw from AZ. 12 unit building fully leased asking 1,950,000 . Vendor dropped asking to 1.35 after it didn't move. Picked up for 1.275 with vendor holding 950,000 take back.

[Holly]

I know someone who has been doing this for about 10 years. Buying really cheap little houses and renting them out. A lot of them were either cheap enough to pay cash, or he took 5 or 10 year loans. The thinking was that by the time he retired, they'd all be paid for and he'd have the income to supplement his retirement.

He's now at that point, and sick of all the hassle that comes with the upkeep. He said it's constantly something. So now, he's fixing a lot of them up, and selling them outright. For any new houses he buys, he now only does what he calls "owner financing", or basically a lease sale. The tenants buy the house from him and are responsible for all the upkeep and maintenance. If it ever gets to a point where they can't pay, he gets the house back and does it all over again with a new buyer.

[tranza]

It's a good idea! good luck for you

[BradM]

If you have the $, time, and patience go for it. Renters are motherfuckers. There's always something wrong with the place you are renting and they won't let up.

My grandparents-in-law had dozens of properties and that's what they did for a living. If you can handle it full time and make bank... do it.

[sortie]

It could be a great thing but you gotta remember that the reason there is a housing crisis is because people don't have the money to pay.

You can put the place up for rent but you still have the problem of finding people who can pay.

I'm seeing a boat load of empty houses and an even bigger boat load of homeless.

Getting people to move from more expensive property into yours would be the way to
go; but how can you magically make your property cheaper?

[PurrrsianPussyKat]

Do you know a handyman who is reliable and works cheap?

That's going to be a huge plus. When the tenant flushes a diaper down the toilet and water is cascading into your living room. You're going to want a go to guy. And trust me.. having money doesn't mean they aren't smart enough to not flush a diaper or some other equivalent. ;)

[sweetcuties]

Congrats, I love foreclosures

[sweetcuties]

Real Estate Is The Best Way To Build Long Term Wealth! Never Forget It!!!