The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Real Estate and Landlording => Topic started by: surfhb on February 04, 2015, 08:56:11 PM
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Hello Folks
Im currently saving for a down payment on a property in the Portland area. The idea is to rent the property out for several years as I work my way towards retirement.
Can anyone suggest some good books, blogs, websites, ect on being a landlord? I'm trying to avoid as many " gotchas" as possible on this new endeavor of mine. Any tips would greatly be appreciated.....especially from people who live in Portland :)
For what its worth, I'm looking to purchase in the sub $150Ks and Ive lived my entire life in Orange County, CA
Something like these 2 home perhaps:
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/OR/fsba,fsbo_lt/house,townhouse_type/53929346_zpid/46_rid/100000-150000_price/362-543_mp/days_sort/45.566468,-122.434988,45.467475,-122.658148_rect/12_zm/0_mmm/
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/OR/fsba,fsbo_lt/house,townhouse_type/53990984_zpid/46_rid/100000-150000_price/362-543_mp/days_sort/45.566468,-122.434988,45.467475,-122.658148_rect/12_zm/0_mmm/
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I'm certainly not an expert as I'm in the same boat as you, but Bigger Pockets has a TON of great resources. This article in particular is made of solid gold:
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/27/tenant-screening/
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FWIW, the first one is fairly close to a currently troubled part of Portland/Gresham called Rockwood. You may not be able to attract the rent/renters that you want.
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I would caution against jumping on buying in Portland until you know the area well. Some areas are very (insanely) rentable, while some are.... less than desired right now. Be sure to get a sense of the neighborhoods first.
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Good Luck!
Being a landlord is amazing financially although it certainly has it moments. We actually got started that way by buying a personal property and renting it out when my husband was transferred. I started a website talking about how we manage our homes even from out of state :) There are tons of great resources. Let me know if I can help! There are tons of great resources here too :)
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Thank you all for the insight.
My timeframe is 2 years or so to buy so I have ample time to research. Can anyone suggest areas which tend to be disireable? Any neighborhood you think might be up and coming?
Living in OC and LA, I've seen several crime ridden areas turn into absolute real estate gems. Namely Echo Park and Highland Park. Who would ever think downtown Santa Ana would become hipster?! Anyway, I'll be making several trips up there in the coming months.....thanks again,
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You can buy a house for $150k in Portland, but it won't be in a desirable or even up-and-coming area. If I had $150k to spend on rental properties, I'd probably buy two houses in Cleveland before I'd buy one house on SE 141st in Portland. I still think Portland is a great place to buy, but the price to get in is definitely high, unless you've got skills at picking up properties below retail. Wish I did!
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You can buy a house for $150k in Portland, but it won't be in a desirable or even up-and-coming area. If I had $150k to spend on rental properties, I'd probably buy two houses in Cleveland before I'd buy one house on SE 141st in Portland. I still think Portland is a great place to buy, but the price to get in is definitely high, unless you've got skills at picking up properties below retail. Wish I did!
Thank You. I guess I'll need to do more looking around. What makes these neighborhoods undesirable?
I live and work in one of the most crowded and crime prone locations in the US so I guess I just assumed anywhere in Portland would be a change from that. In LA, homes start at $370K or so.....well past what Im comfortable purchasing
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You can buy a house for $150k in Portland, but it won't be in a desirable or even up-and-coming area. If I had $150k to spend on rental properties, I'd probably buy two houses in Cleveland before I'd buy one house on SE 141st in Portland. I still think Portland is a great place to buy, but the price to get in is definitely high, unless you've got skills at picking up properties below retail. Wish I did!
Thank You. I guess I'll need to do more looking around. What makes these neighborhoods undesirable?
I live and work in one of the most crowded and crime prone locations in the US so I guess I just assumed anywhere in Portland would be a change from that. In LA, homes start at $370K or so.....well past what Im comfortable purchasing
But what people are willing to pay in rent is very different too.
Undesirable areas: high crime, high drugs, high gang activity, a good shake of human trafficking (look up Portland's rates on that... yeah), hard to get to transit, not close to grocery stores or other culture, loud, pollution, bad schools, lots of litter and graffiti. Not close to the cultural things that make portland so lovely. Either that or the suburbs, like Beaverton.
If you want an up and coming or already up and come area, you're probably talking more like $350k to get a single family home.
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Oh! And this: http://www.troll.me/images/lion-king-reinertian/look-simba-everything-the-light-touches-is-the-portland-metropolitian-area-thats-gresham-you-must-never-go-there-simba.jpg