What Will That Investment Duplex Rent For?

What are the real rents?

Do you think that question is funny? You shouldn’t. If you have been a real estate investor for any period of time you know that rental values can be manipulated. Here are ways;
  1. Charging a higher monthly rent but getting 1-2 months “free.”
  2. Charging Section 8 tenants more than the market will actually bear.
  3. High rent…but utility cost are included in rent.
  4. Charging a higher rent in lieu of a security deposit.

That should get your mind started. When I look at rents in a particular income property I am always curious as to what the rest of the neighborhood is getting. Curious enough that I will research the rents online and also knock on doors.

I’ve actually had sellers tell me they are getting $995/mo when every other property in a two block radius is getting $750. Well, maybe they really are. But when it goes vacant, what do you think you are going to get to replace it?

Know your true rent values. That’s my $.02.

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Happy 4th of July From BBQ Capital: Kansas City’s Real Estate Blog

Regardless of race.
Religion.
Or political affiliation.

To every man, woman and child since Columbus landed that has given their life in sacrifice to this country I say “Thank you.”

Your sacrifice has allowed me to

Stand proud.
Disagree.
Live free.

Pictured in the photo is this country’s only WWI Memorial recognized by the United States Congress. It is located in Kansas City.

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Real Estate Investor From California Loves Kansas City – Real Estate Investor Interview #2

Today’s real estate investor interview is from a gentleman residing in the Los Angeles area of California. He chooses to go by Phil “N” and that is enough for you to know! You see, many people are not looking to sell books and tapes as real estate gurus. They are looking to build a Retirement Worth Having.

This interview stands in stark contrast to the last interview I did. Our last real estate investor had owned property consistently over the last 50 years and had many properties. Compare that to this interview and see the similarities and differences.

Q: How long have you been investing in real estate? I have been investing in real estate for almost one year now. That is with the duplex in Blue Springs, MO. I researched for about two years before I bought.

Q: Why did you choose to start investing your capital into real estate? I think it is a good idea to invest in real estate because of he fact that you’re able to leverage a larger amount of appreciation of funds for a smaller amount invested. In other words, my $30,000 investment is actually $150,000 appreciating at 4% a year, not to mention that someone else is paying off the mortgage, I’m able to benefit with reduced income taxes, and the duplex I bought in Blue Springs is actually operating in the black by $300/month already.

Q: Okay, but you live in California. Why did you choose Kansas City? I chose Kansas City (after much research) because it offers good cash flow on my property. The combination of purchase price v. rents was a good ratio (i.e. good cap rate). The neighborhoods are nice, the per capita income in Kansas City is higher than the national average, and Kansas City seems like a good place for large businesses to operate from.

Q: Does owning property so far away cause you to lose any sleep at night? The only concern I have is that because I’m so far away, I’m not as familiar with the day to day changes within the community where my duplex is. I rely on my property manager to keep me up to speed on changes in the neighborhood that might influence future value of the property. I subscribe to an online newspaper for Blue Springs that allows me to keep up with local news.

Q: So now you have one under your belt. What are your future income property plans? I’m very happy with the duplex, and I plan to buy one or two more properties within the next year in the Kansas City area.

Editor’s Note: These interviews are done without me writing the answers. I swear. But they sound like things I preach. Hmmmmmmmm.

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The Police in Concert

You will have to pardon me if I don’t have a lot of heavy posts today and tomorrow. You see, I have a bunch of phone calls to make, contracts to check on and inspections to work with before I leave at 1:00 pm today to head over to St. Louis for The Police concert this evening.

I worked all weekend with my real estate investing business. It’s time for play this evening. Now, if I could only find my parachute pants…

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Osawatomie Under Seige…Again

In a story that is being reported around the country Osawatomie, Kansas is under siege by flood waters. 46% of the town has been ordered to evacuate this small town about an hour’s drive south of Kansas City, KS.
I drive through here all the time on US 169 on my monthly trips to Oklahoma. Good people live down there. But sometimes the Marais des Cygnes river bests them. Even with all the levies and dikes built around the town.
John Brown, the famous anti-slavery fighter, fought against the Missourians there in Osawatomie. And the term Jayhawks is believed to have first been used there. So I like the town already!

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How Much Money Will I Need To Reitre? Retirement Calculator

From our friends over at CNNMoney is this link to a retirement calculator.

Real estate investing can help you to achieve your Retirement Worth Having. But how much money is that going to take to mix in with your personal plans?

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Real Estate Investing Equals A Retirement Worth Having

Are you one of the millions of Americans trying to figure out how you are going to have a Retirement Worth Having? Why not think about small time real estate investing?

I’m not talking about committing hundreds of thousands of dollar and every weekend of your time. I’m talking about owning one, two, five or maybe as many as ten homes for investment purposes. Too hard? Well, start with one. If that does it for you move on to another. When you reach your limit, you’ll know.
But here is what owning just one income property can do for you over the next fifteen years of your life. And if you think that is too long, how old are you and what is your life expectancy?
This example will not be all inclusive and I simply don’t want to write 10,000 words showing how I arrived at all of this. You are welcome to call or email for details.
Buy $175,000 duplex with 25% down at 7.12% interest. Monthly rents at $1,475. Now, I’m going to take into account 5% vacancies and other expenses like insurance, taxes and general maintenance. Also, there will be 5% risers on the income and property value figured in. Here we go;
Year 1 – Income of $17,700 minus expenses of $6,800 minus debt service of $10,608 equals $292 yearly income. House value still $175,000. (To account for slow growth this year and as a cushion. – Hey, I’m being ultra conservative here to make a point.)
Year 5 – Income of $22,500 minus expenses of $8,315 minus debt service of $10,608 equals $3,577 yearly income. House value is now $210,000.
Year 15 – Income off $34,500 minus expenses of $13,750 minus debt service of $10,608 equals $10,142 yearly income. House value is now $319,500.
Note: There were a couple years in there I did not count or did not count in full 5% risers. Again, just being conservative.
So let’s look carefully at this. And we are not going to discuss all the 4 Benefits that we know we have when investing in real estate. We are only going to consider the net equity of the house after 8% sales costs. (You know, the real estate agent, title company and the like.) We’re not even considering the cash flow you had and can see for yourself. Because you probably spent that on your kids’ education or a BMW or another rental property.
House value is now $319,500 minus the $25,560 in sales fees minus the remaining loan balance of $97,600 equals $196,340.
Chris, what about capital gains taxes? What about state capital gains taxes? What about, what about, what about?
To be fair, cap gains taxes are 15% for the feds and vary state to state. But you want to count those? Okay. But to get the details you also need to go back and adjust your yearly income by adding in depreciation. Ah, oh. Now we have depreciation recapture to worry about.

Listen, there are a lot of things going on here. This is an overly simplistic way to get you to stop and think about your Retirement Worth Having and how real estate investing can be a valuable tool in the box. Obviously, you are going to need to work with a professional to counsel you through the landmines and pitfalls to maximize your benefits.
Just stop though, for a minute, and think about the retirement you want to have. How will it look? Where will it be? What amount of money do you need to make that happen? Would another $196,000 help?

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