Author Topic: Live-in Landlords Unite!  (Read 6243 times)

vivienneme

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Live-in Landlords Unite!
« on: August 27, 2017, 02:34:56 PM »
Hey all!

I want to hear YOUR stories of being a live-in landlord. Can we share? My husband and I are JUST in the process of looking at a duplex, so I don't have much to say yet. But you do, maybe!?

What made you first consider being a live-in landlord?
How has it been different than your expectations?
How's the cash flow for ya?
And, if you're a boss, how has it helped you invest in your FIRE goals? (More property? More Vanguard? What?)

Much love, live-ins! Perhaps we can post updates here occasionally and get a mini-community going.

Rural

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2017, 07:14:55 PM »
I'm renting out a room, just started this month. Don't know about sharing space, frankly. The jury's still out,

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2017, 07:28:40 PM »
That would be a tough way to go! (I'm definitely only interested in separate units/multiplex living.)

FIREGuy

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2017, 07:47:34 AM »
My wife and I just crossed the one-year threshold of buying our first duplex and so far so good!

We took a little longer to find a place and bought something that doesn't have killer cash flow, but we wanted to balance the investment side along with the quality of life. Yes this is an investment and yes we want it to be a good one, but we realized no matter how good the cash flow was, if we weren't comfortable living there, we wouldn't be happy. Is it our dream home? No. But it is a place we feel great coming home to.

Another huge factor is your tenants. Dealing with bad tenants is hard enough (so I hear) but imagine that is what you come home to every day. Pretty unsettling. We got lucky and inherited great tenants who pay on time and are very clean. Other than the occasional loud cheering for sports and video games, they have been ideal.

Bottom line. Don't go crazy over trying to find a deal. Make sure it is somewhere you would want to live first and treat the rental income as a bonus. An extra $200 a month of cash flow is not worth your sanity.

matchewed

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2017, 08:34:07 AM »
Just started renting out this week. We spent a few months fixing up the property (a 3 family). We got used to having this massive building to ourselves so the shock of hearing people in it was kind of surprising.

What made us go down this route had a few factors -
1) Opportunity - we live in a section of the country where triplexs are popular in the cities. This means that for the same (or less if you can find the deal) as a single family home we can have a three family home as our first property purchase.
2) The cashflow from it would break even with us living in it was a necessary thing in my view. And rents where such that this was true as long as you could find the deal.
3) The experience and diversification of income/investment.
4) We both have lived in apartments all our lives. This seemed an easy enough step to keep it that way for the short term and reap the benefits of being a landlord at the same time.

The time to fix things has taken much longer than anticipated but that is as much due to other life things than it is to the projects themselves.

No cash flow until we move out. Break even will happen in six months or so when we finish the third floor.

It will advance FIRE for us in six months by a significant amount over the next 3-6 years. It will literally shave four years off my plan.

Nate R

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2017, 08:50:37 AM »
Just hit 4 years living in a duplex we bought.

Cashflow? We put 20% down (partially via 401k loans, as we were originally told we'd need 5 or 10%, we had that.)
Bought for: 150K. Taxes here are expensive, ~$4500/yr.

PITI payment nowadays is 982. We put some money into the lower unit in 2015 to fix it up some. Rent is 980+pets. So, our rental unit covers PITI. We have to cover water for that unit, but otherwise live rent/mortgage free-finance wise WHEN the unit is occupied. BUT, we bought a place that needs a lot of work over time, so we've been putting cash into the building every year so far. Chimney rebuild this year at 3.2K, 2 years ago did both furnaces for $4.2K, siding projec we'll start next year probably spending 6K, etc.

For us, SFH were going for similar prices as duplexes in teh neighborhood we wanted to be in. So this was a way for us to house hack and spend a LOT less overall, long term. Love that when it's paid for, we'll be cashflowing where we live!

Our inherited tenants moved out after they bought a house themselves. THe next set of tenants were NOT good. We learned a lot. The next tenant (after the fix up in 2015) has been great. :-)

Quote
Bottom line. Don't go crazy over trying to find a deal. Make sure it is somewhere you would want to live first and treat the rental income as a bonus. An extra $200 a month of cash flow is not worth your sanity.

Agree with this completely. THere's a lot to get used to as far as noise, shared space, etc. For us, it's well worth it, though.

rothwem

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2017, 11:39:51 AM »
Owner occupied duplex owner checking in.  I'm mostly in agreement with the previous posts, we bought in 2014.  However:

Bottom line. Don't go crazy over trying to find a deal. Make sure it is somewhere you would want to live first and treat the rental income as a bonus. An extra $200 a month of cash flow is not worth your sanity.

I'm not 100% with you on that.  The numbers HAVE to work, its an income property.  If you can't move out and cashflow, its a bad deal.  The reason is, if you have to move, you'll have to sell, just like with a regular SFH or condo, but duplexes are HARD to move and they don't appreciate very well.  For example, my zip code has experienced an average of 26% percent increase in home prices since august 2014 when I bought my house, but my place only went up 20%.

FIREGuy

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2017, 11:52:04 AM »
Owner occupied duplex owner checking in.  I'm mostly in agreement with the previous posts, we bought in 2014.  However:

Bottom line. Don't go crazy over trying to find a deal. Make sure it is somewhere you would want to live first and treat the rental income as a bonus. An extra $200 a month of cash flow is not worth your sanity.

I'm not 100% with you on that.  The numbers HAVE to work, its an income property.  If you can't move out and cashflow, its a bad deal.  The reason is, if you have to move, you'll have to sell, just like with a regular SFH or condo, but duplexes are HARD to move and they don't appreciate very well.  For example, my zip code has experienced an average of 26% percent increase in home prices since august 2014 when I bought my house, but my place only went up 20%.

My apologies, I that I should qualify that statement and say it does need to make sense after you move out from a financial perspective. The main point is that it is a balance between being a good investment and being a place you want to live.

My wife, who seems to be very wise, talked me out of putting an offer on a place that would have cash flowed with us living in it. It would have been a great deal, but the more I thought about it the more I didn't really want to live there.


vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2017, 06:03:08 PM »

We took a little longer to find a place and bought something that doesn't have killer cash flow, but we wanted to balance the investment side along with the quality of life. Yes this is an investment and yes we want it to be a good one, but we realized no matter how good the cash flow was, if we weren't comfortable living there, we wouldn't be happy. Is it our dream home? No. But it is a place we feel great coming home to.

We are thinking we'll be living in this community for just a few years, so I've had to think a lot about my "ideal" home v. a home that I would feel good about coming home to (I think this is a great way to look at it!) - and that would hopefully allow us to rent out both sides if/when we do move. What made you decide on duplex living? Is it a long term plan for you? Thanks for sharing!

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2017, 06:06:21 PM »
For us, SFH were going for similar prices as duplexes in teh neighborhood we wanted to be in. So this was a way for us to house hack and spend a LOT less overall, long term. Love that when it's paid for, we'll be cashflowing where we live!

This is awesome! What made you consider living this way in the first place?
What do you plan to do at the point this residence is paid for? More rental props or more Vanguard/other investing?

Good on you!

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2017, 06:07:47 PM »
What made us go down this route had a few factors -
1) Opportunity - we live in a section of the country where triplexs are popular in the cities. This means that for the same (or less if you can find the deal) as a single family home we can have a three family home as our first property purchase.
2) The cashflow from it would break even with us living in it was a necessary thing in my view. And rents where such that this was true as long as you could find the deal.
3) The experience and diversification of income/investment.
4) We both have lived in apartments all our lives. This seemed an easy enough step to keep it that way for the short term and reap the benefits of being a landlord at the same time.

...

It will advance FIRE for us in six months by a significant amount over the next 3-6 years. It will literally shave four years off my plan.

Wow. Love hearing your rationale and the way this could advance FIRE so quickly. Keep us posted! I'd love to hear how your projections match up with what happens.

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #11 on: August 28, 2017, 06:10:32 PM »
The reason is, if you have to move, you'll have to sell, just like with a regular SFH or condo, but duplexes are HARD to move and they don't appreciate very well.  For example, my zip code has experienced an average of 26% percent increase in home prices since august 2014 when I bought my house, but my place only went up 20%.

It sounds like you have good experience here. Can you educate me (and maybe others) about the reasons duplexes appreciate at a lower rate? I'd speculate it has to do with the fact that most people want to live in SFH and the number of investor-owners is lower than the number of SFH buyers. Are there other reasons?

It's great to hear your perspective!

Rural

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #12 on: August 28, 2017, 07:16:45 PM »
That would be a tough way to go! (I'm definitely only interested in separate units/multiplex living.)


Yeah. Grim Squeaker is a genius at it, and I'm going to do fine, but I don't know that I want to keep it up. We have a friend who may move in when this tenant's one-semester intership is up for security,* dog-sitting, and help around the place rather than money. I wouldn't mind living with him for nothing, so I think it may be a better arrangement.


Meanwhile, though, this tenant will be paying the $1,700 it's going to cost to get decent Internet up here in my little slice of paradise.


* Because otherwise alone in the middle of the woods out of sight or hearing distance of any other humans, a fine thing except when it isn't, you know. Also he's better at getting downed oak trees off the driveway than I am (I'm tiny).

rothwem

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2017, 06:06:59 AM »
The reason is, if you have to move, you'll have to sell, just like with a regular SFH or condo, but duplexes are HARD to move and they don't appreciate very well.  For example, my zip code has experienced an average of 26% percent increase in home prices since august 2014 when I bought my house, but my place only went up 20%.

It sounds like you have good experience here. Can you educate me (and maybe others) about the reasons duplexes appreciate at a lower rate? I'd speculate it has to do with the fact that most people want to live in SFH and the number of investor-owners is lower than the number of SFH buyers. Are there other reasons?

It's great to hear your perspective!

Yep, most people want SFHs, and they don't want to be landlords.  Also, income properties, like I said, HAVE to cashflow. If you buy one that doesn't cashflow, then you won't be a landlord very long.  So the price of the income property is indexed to the rent prices, which typically track pretty well with inflation and local wages, rather than other home prices.  So in a down economy I'd imagine the multifamilies would probably be more stable, but in a hot market like I'm in, our home price is getting left behind. It isn't a big deal since I don't really intend to ever sell the place though. 

FIREGuy

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2017, 07:18:54 AM »

We took a little longer to find a place and bought something that doesn't have killer cash flow, but we wanted to balance the investment side along with the quality of life. Yes this is an investment and yes we want it to be a good one, but we realized no matter how good the cash flow was, if we weren't comfortable living there, we wouldn't be happy. Is it our dream home? No. But it is a place we feel great coming home to.

We are thinking we'll be living in this community for just a few years, so I've had to think a lot about my "ideal" home v. a home that I would feel good about coming home to (I think this is a great way to look at it!) - and that would hopefully allow us to rent out both sides if/when we do move. What made you decide on duplex living? Is it a long term plan for you? Thanks for sharing!

There is nothing better when you are effectively living for $500 a month - before principal paydown. By having a minimal housing payment, we have been able to save up faster for a down payment on the next one. We are planning on keeping the place long term along with adding 4-5 more along the way to accelerate FI.

Cwadda

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #15 on: August 29, 2017, 07:41:03 AM »
Bought a 4 family two months ago. The gross rents are $3600 and the mortgage payment is $2700, including taxes and insurance. I net about $300/month and live for free. Once I move out, cash flow will be about $1300/month after everything. Crazy, because I could use this on ANOTHER mortgage payment.

This is too good to be true. I'd recommend anyone starting out buying a multi family. You only need to live there for 12 months.

Nate R

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #16 on: August 29, 2017, 08:36:42 AM »
For us, SFH were going for similar prices as duplexes in teh neighborhood we wanted to be in. So this was a way for us to house hack and spend a LOT less overall, long term. Love that when it's paid for, we'll be cashflowing where we live!

This is awesome! What made you consider living this way in the first place?
What do you plan to do at the point this residence is paid for? More rental props or more Vanguard/other investing?

Good on you!


Heh, probably shouldn't have implied that I'm ACTIVELY paying it off quickly.....not doing so right now. 3.875% rate is comfortable enough, I've got other priorities first.

  Why did we consider living this way?  I watched some siblings buy rentals when I was a teen. Helped them fix things, etc. So I had an interest in rental property as it were already. When we were looking at a specific area of town to move to in 2012/13, I just could NOT stomach the thought of evenutally paying off a single family house, and STILL spending $400+/mo in property taxes alone. So, a duplex was an obvious choice as a way to get some rental income and experience, and keep long term costs of housing lower. (FIRE was in the back of my mind then, too).

We bought our first house, a SFH, in 2006 to live in. Rented that out once we bought/moved into the duplex in 2013. Finally selling that SFH this fall. (Didnt' WANT to keep this one in particular, but the housing crash kept values below what I owed on that one for a while, so more rental experience there! And that one cashflowed when rented, so not too bad)  I anticipate eventually buying another rental property or 2 probably much closer to the current duplex (SFH was across town.)  But as of now, I dont' see moving out of the duplex myself anytime soon. I've got other debt that we're paying off yet, and a couple other money priorities before I get to buying more, but we'll get there. :-) So, not sure if the house would get paid off if/when we FIRE, or just pay as agreed. I guess we'll see where rates and returns go. There's some thought of us living in 2 or 3 locations once FIRE'd, so the duplex would be nearly free to keep our unit empty, essentially.  (Or, maybe rent it on AirBnB when we're gone? :-) )

matchewed

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #17 on: August 29, 2017, 10:19:51 AM »
What made us go down this route had a few factors -
1) Opportunity - we live in a section of the country where triplexs are popular in the cities. This means that for the same (or less if you can find the deal) as a single family home we can have a three family home as our first property purchase.
2) The cashflow from it would break even with us living in it was a necessary thing in my view. And rents where such that this was true as long as you could find the deal.
3) The experience and diversification of income/investment.
4) We both have lived in apartments all our lives. This seemed an easy enough step to keep it that way for the short term and reap the benefits of being a landlord at the same time.

...

It will advance FIRE for us in six months by a significant amount over the next 3-6 years. It will literally shave four years off my plan.

Wow. Love hearing your rationale and the way this could advance FIRE so quickly. Keep us posted! I'd love to hear how your projections match up with what happens.

Well I plan conservatively so you can see my numbers below. In year three I anticipate moving out and for all of it to be income. Our FIRE date is year 4 or 5 depending on typical caveats. We may dip down with some roof and driveway replacement as only one of those is factored into the $23.6k improvement area.

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #18 on: September 01, 2017, 01:29:20 PM »

We took a little longer to find a place and bought something that doesn't have killer cash flow, but we wanted to balance the investment side along with the quality of life. Yes this is an investment and yes we want it to be a good one, but we realized no matter how good the cash flow was, if we weren't comfortable living there, we wouldn't be happy. Is it our dream home? No. But it is a place we feel great coming home to.

We are thinking we'll be living in this community for just a few years, so I've had to think a lot about my "ideal" home v. a home that I would feel good about coming home to (I think this is a great way to look at it!) - and that would hopefully allow us to rent out both sides if/when we do move. What made you decide on duplex living? Is it a long term plan for you? Thanks for sharing!

There is nothing better when you are effectively living for $500 a month - before principal paydown. By having a minimal housing payment, we have been able to save up faster for a down payment on the next one. We are planning on keeping the place long term along with adding 4-5 more along the way to accelerate FI.

Awesome. I love that. Keep us posted on how it continues to go for you!

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #19 on: September 01, 2017, 01:30:19 PM »
Bought a 4 family two months ago. The gross rents are $3600 and the mortgage payment is $2700, including taxes and insurance. I net about $300/month and live for free. Once I move out, cash flow will be about $1300/month after everything. Crazy, because I could use this on ANOTHER mortgage payment.

This is too good to be true. I'd recommend anyone starting out buying a multi family. You only need to live there for 12 months.

That's fantastic. Keep us posted as you acquire more property and continue to hold this one!

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #20 on: September 01, 2017, 01:33:19 PM »

Well I plan conservatively so you can see my numbers below. In year three I anticipate moving out and for all of it to be income. Our FIRE date is year 4 or 5 depending on typical caveats. We may dip down with some roof and driveway replacement as only one of those is factored into the $23.6k improvement area.

A+ spreadsheet. For real.

matchewed

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #21 on: September 01, 2017, 03:25:46 PM »

Well I plan conservatively so you can see my numbers below. In year three I anticipate moving out and for all of it to be income. Our FIRE date is year 4 or 5 depending on typical caveats. We may dip down with some roof and driveway replacement as only one of those is factored into the $23.6k improvement area.

A+ spreadsheet. For real.

Shamelessly stolen from the sticky.

matchewed

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #22 on: September 03, 2017, 08:17:01 AM »
Do these properties tend to be in lower-income areas of a city?  Do the neighborhoods seem just fine to live in compared to the neighborhoods comprising SFH?

I've been considering scouting for a duplex/triplex/quad in socal as a live in landlord targeting areas that don't have rent control regulations and I'd likely go through a property management company and let the tenants believe that I'm just a renter as well.

(we have the income to support the mortgage payments if we had 100% vacancy, but otherwise it looks like a decent way to be able to afford housing in socal while still meeting retirement goals when we do have tenants).

I currently own one SFH rental property.

I imagine it depends on the location and your tolerance. My neighborhood is a lower income neighborhood but does not have rent controls. There is some crime in nearby areas within the city but my particular street is quite nice.

Nickels Dimes Quarters

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #23 on: September 04, 2017, 05:50:01 PM »
I own and live in a multi-family building. It is definitely not ideal, but we like it for now. For the most part, our tenants are great. One thinks that because we live here, we are always available...such as paying rent after 9 p.m., or sitting in their unit waiting for the cable company to arrive. We have had to be firm about boundaries. On the upside, we always know what is going on here. There is a lot of comfort in that.

It has been a terrific investment and we are currently in the market for the next complex.

NDQ

matchewed

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #24 on: September 04, 2017, 06:07:42 PM »
I own and live in a multi-family building. It is definitely not ideal, but we like it for now. For the most part, our tenants are great. One thinks that because we live here, we are always available...such as paying rent after 9 p.m., or sitting in their unit waiting for the cable company to arrive. We have had to be firm about boundaries. On the upside, we always know what is going on here. There is a lot of comfort in that.

It has been a terrific investment and we are currently in the market for the next complex.

NDQ

Yeah we had a whole "the cable company says they don't need to come by to install that everything is fine so what are you going to do about that?" The response being call them back and schedule an appointment and be there for it. It has little to nothing to do with me.

badassprof

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #25 on: September 05, 2017, 01:32:56 PM »
We live in a HCOL area (Bay Area) and house hack:  we have a three story house and rent the bottom floor, a two bedroom apartment, out.

For us, it has been ideal. We live in a very expensive neighborhood within walking distance to a research university, and probably wouldn't be living here now if we didn't have a rental that pays 2/3 of our mortgage (although don't get me started on property taxes).  We have always had a series of excellent, interesting tenants, many of whom become friends. We keep our historic home in good shape, and will take dogs, so we have never had any trouble renting it out.

I'm sure, though, it isn't for everyone. There is some noise transferance, but having lived in NYC, it is barely noticeable, at least for me. And it is terrific to have someone around when one goes out of town. We let each others dogs out, pick up each others mail, etc.  Been great!

badassprof

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #26 on: September 05, 2017, 01:36:28 PM »
Just to add, on value:  Our home has doubled in value since purchased in 2006. May be location specific, but here, houses with an apartment, cottage or mil apartment are in high demand. We get unsolicited inquiries from real estate agents with clients looking for such places all the time. Might be in part too because there is a dearth of such places  in the town we live in, although i think more new housing here in the bay generally is being built with such units.

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #27 on: September 08, 2017, 11:45:05 AM »
We live in a HCOL area (Bay Area) and house hack:  we have a three story house and rent the bottom floor, a two bedroom apartment, out.
....
I'm sure, though, it isn't for everyone. There is some noise transferance, but having lived in NYC, it is barely noticeable, at least for me. And it is terrific to have someone around when one goes out of town. We let each others dogs out, pick up each others mail, etc.  Been great!

This sounds ideal! I'm really glad it's worked out for you - both in lifestyle and financially. Gotta love that!

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #28 on: September 08, 2017, 11:58:54 AM »
Hello all! Update from us. We're getting settled in our new community. We're watching the market and thinking about 1) rehabbing an existing duplex in the (safe and quiet) college town in which we live OR 2) building a new spec home, but building the lower level out as a separate apartment. I think either would be good, but our town typically has pretty extensive water damage in existing/historic homes, so I'm a little nervous about that. With either option, we wouldn't HAVE to rent out the other half in order to make ends meet. But, if/when we did, it would certainly subsidize our own living costs substantially.

The costs are similar. Building new is maybe $15k more (the price is locked in, so won't change with the builder's whims) than buying an existing home/duplex and rehabbing it. BUT, we don't pay property taxes until 2019 (because the new lot and property won't be assessed until 2018).

My read is that buying existing property may come with greater rehab costs than we anticipate and/or previous (or future!) water damage that might need to be fixed, whereas new construction is being built above typical basement depth (more like a modern split-level). But, new construction is a bit further from campus, and a bit more expensive overall (though there is a concession on property taxes for a couple of years). Does anyone have experience dealing with water damage? Any opinions on which way you would lean in this decision?

Thanks, all!


Cwadda

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #29 on: September 08, 2017, 12:07:06 PM »
Hello all! Update from us. We're getting settled in our new community. We're watching the market and thinking about 1) rehabbing an existing duplex in the (safe and quiet) college town in which we live OR 2) building a new spec home, but building the lower level out as a separate apartment. I think either would be good, but our town typically has pretty extensive water damage in existing/historic homes, so I'm a little nervous about that. With either option, we wouldn't HAVE to rent out the other half in order to make ends meet. But, if/when we did, it would certainly subsidize our own living costs substantially.

The costs are similar. Building new is maybe $15k more (the price is locked in, so won't change with the builder's whims) than buying an existing home/duplex and rehabbing it. BUT, we don't pay property taxes until 2019 (because the new lot and property won't be assessed until 2018).

My read is that buying existing property may come with greater rehab costs than we anticipate and/or previous (or future!) water damage that might need to be fixed, whereas new construction is being built above typical basement depth (more like a modern split-level). But, new construction is a bit further from campus, and a bit more expensive overall (though there is a concession on property taxes for a couple of years). Does anyone have experience dealing with water damage? Any opinions on which way you would lean in this decision?

Thanks, all!

If you can be certain it's only $15k more, I'd go new. In my market, that's unheard of. It's extremely expensive to build here. I wouldn't discount the older duplex idea though. There can be some tremendous value in finding the right place.

badassprof

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #30 on: September 08, 2017, 12:17:03 PM »
Vivienneme, don't discount the value of a place within walking distance of campus, both for students and faculty. That can add a tremendous amount of value to the home and to the rent you can potentially charge.  For example, in my area, one can charge almost 1000 more if the apartment is within biking or walking distance, maybe 500 more if close to transportation.  (And add more if you are willing to take pets, although I know all of this is very location specific).  We have rented mostly to students (graduate and post-doc) and have had wonderful tenants. Admittedly, I'm a professor and enjoy being around students, regardless of their age.

matchewed

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #31 on: September 08, 2017, 02:38:35 PM »
I would look into the why so many homes have water damage. Is this actually a location that you want to build in given some past event which obviously showed signs of flooding?

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #32 on: September 08, 2017, 06:22:16 PM »
Vivienneme, don't discount the value of a place within walking distance of campus, both for students and faculty. That can add a tremendous amount of value to the home and to the rent you can potentially charge.  For example, in my area, one can charge almost 1000 more if the apartment is within biking or walking distance, maybe 500 more if close to transportation.  (And add more if you are willing to take pets, although I know all of this is very location specific).  We have rented mostly to students (graduate and post-doc) and have had wonderful tenants. Admittedly, I'm a professor and enjoy being around students, regardless of their age.

I think this is a valid point. It's been a little hard for us to determine what would tip the scales. Since the rental income is bonus, and existing structures may need more repairs than we plan for, we were leaning toward new construction. But, I think you're right - a lot of students would want to be able to walk downtown on a whim (and we would, too!). Hmmm.... it's a tough call for us. Thanks for weighing in.

vivienneme

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Re: Live-in Landlords Unite!
« Reply #33 on: September 08, 2017, 06:28:33 PM »
I would look into the why so many homes have water damage. Is this actually a location that you want to build in given some past event which obviously showed signs of flooding?

You are absolutely right. But, I laughed a little when I read this. We've just moved here, to this rural area. The town is the only one in about 60 miles, so we're left (stuck?) with this town as our option and the whole area is on a water table/over an aquifer.