I would like more info. I am in the position to invest on this scale and the idea of being a landlord is not too scary to me (actually sounds kinda fun in a twisted way). Some questions off the top of my head:
- What attributes constitute a good rental property?
- Is it ever worth it to hire a manager?
- How often do you have to visit the property? I live in SF but I understand being a landlord here is difficult due to renter protection. If I were to buy a property in an outlying area, how often would I need to visit it? I'd also like to take some extended travel in the future. Would being a landlord get in the way of that?
Right a mortgage is 5% or so. So around 0.5% per month, roughly.
Rule of thumb #1 for rental properties is that if it can get 1% of its total value in rent per month in rent, you can get positive cash flow. 1.5% is worth your time. 2% is what you want to aim for.
Rule of thumb #2 is that the crappier the property, the easier it is to get a higher % of rent vs price. Multifamilies are in general more profitable to rent than single families.
Don't hire a manager when you're starting out. Do it yourself, invest close to home.
SF is too expensive, anyways. Everyone has their own comfort level trading off profit vs crappiness of neighborhood. I'm drawn towards slums, myself.
Richmond/Concord has some nice cheap properties, is close, and has good rents. Oakland is even cheaper but slummier.
The default first step would be to fire up realtor.com and craigslist, and compare prices versus rents. Start with the cheapest single and multi families in Richmond, Concord, and Oakland.
How much cash do you have? This is important since it defines your options.
Join bigger pockets, it's a great forum with lots of pros.
Always try to buy below the market price set by the MLS.
You can get away, but you'd need to get someone trustworthy on call to take care of emergencies.
Shoot me an email at foreclosurevision dot com, once I know exactly what you're looking for I can offer more targeted advice.
- What attributes constitute a good rental property?
- Is it ever worth it to hire a manager?
- How often do you have to visit the property? I live in SF but I understand being a landlord here is difficult due to renter protection. If I were to buy a property in an outlying area, how often would I need to visit it? I'd also like to take some extended travel in the future. Would being a landlord get in the way of that?
- What else should I be thinking about?
Thanks!