exnzpat buys a rental!

[Bluekiwi]

I love 'Flip this House'... I have a little crush on Richard..

I hope for all our sake's you a woman Rueban

But they have different people on it, the rude grumpy texan guy Armando is funny...

But there is also a black couple and the "Lady" is kinda hot

[Davo36]

Flip this House is all BS isn't it? Hasn't that been proven before?

Anyway, good buying Exnzpat. Post a photo so we can see what you're talking about.

[rueben]

Congrats NZExpat - that sure is a bargain.

I love 'Flip this House'... I have a little crush on Richard..

I was so disappointed when the second series didn't include the Trademark team - I believe Richard Davis is suing the Network...

[Bluekiwi]

Well done, I wondered why you were on this site when you seemed to hate everything property with a passion.

I have been watching the "Flip this House" series on TV last month, the americans certainly have there own way of doing things

[exnzpat]

While all this scintillating Property Talk (pun intended) has been going on I have been looking at foreclosed properties here in the States. Just two weeks ago I finally purchased a property. 30 year fixed at 5.5% (Conventional Loan) not as good as I had hoped but I got such an incredible deal on the home. Almost 80% below market value and at least 20% less than other similar foreclosed homes! I couldn’t believe my luck! Even the seasoned investors in the area missed this one. The house is in another town from the one I currently live in (about one hundred miles away). Many years ago I lived in this town as a newly-wed so I know the area pretty well.

The home was constructed in the seventies – 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, brick; Ranch style. About 1800 square feet – only needs some simple cosmetic work. The most expensive part will be the kitchen: new cabinets, appliances etc. The house may need a new roof – but I’ll look at that in more detail when I get there. I can probably do all the work for under $6000 (excluding the roof). I’ll do most of the work myself over the next two weeks (I have vacation).

This is a great little project that I have decided to share with you. Over the next 14 days I’ll be working on this thing so I thought it would be nice to give you a blow-by-blow account of the “action” so to speak.

Even though the market is down you can still make money from real estate!

So, here the numbers:

Purchase Price: $45,000

Monthly Mortgage: $255.51

Monthly Insurance and Tax: $160.00

Current Market Value: $170,000 (or thereabouts)

Now, this house is an exception. Normally, I would do a quick rehab and have it on the market the moment I got it into “showable” condition. But, because the market has taken such a dive I believe that this area will not even begin modest value-regain for at least five years. So, as much as I hate to do it – I’m going to have to get renters in for the next few years until things begin moving again. And with the price I purchased this place for – I can’t lose. But then this is real estate investing – anything can happen – and probably will!