Thinking about purchasing an apt building. Anyone here? Experiences? Advice? Will probably go with a property management company at first...

 

How many units? If it is less than 8 units, you're better off managing the property yourself.

Real Estate one of the best ways to accrue wealth, and probably right around a good time to buy, except it is very difficult to get financing these days even with an excellent credit score. I would plan on putting down anywhere from 30-40% of the purchase price of a property. Also make sure you do your homework ie. comparable rental rates, sales comparables and an overview of the market area in general. Demographics are key, the good areas are going to recover before the bad.

 

Multi-fam is doing very well right now, probably the strongest RE market - talk to Phil2, he knows what's up.

 

what kind of capital does it take to invest in an apt. building in your area?

 

yeah, pretty curious as where it is in Chicago...if it is at all...

synth, im an architect and know a good amount about property management to boot. also applying to real estate development programs for the upcoming year. if you have any questions, shoot me a PM.

 

Depends on current cash flow, historic occupancy as well as a few other factors. The debt markets are in upheaval right now, so less fundementally strong economic buildings are more difficult to finance. It also helps if you have good lender relationships. As I said previously, I would expect a person would need 30-40% down to purchase an investment property right now, possibly more.

 

I wish I had enough dough to be involved in this conversation

 

I thought about purchasing the house I lived in when I lived in Jersey City. Right up until I saw what the monthly oil bill was. Make sure you check out all the utilities before you purchase.

 

With apartments, you need to get pretty big, so you never have to personally deal with the tenants.

One of my friend owns 5 office buildings totalling about 300,000 square feet with maybe 50 office tenants. He also owns 8 crappy houses that he rents out. He tells me those 8 residential tenants give him more trouble and more lawsuits than the large office portfolio. What he does for a job, is asset and property management of his real estate holdings.

I strongly believe that equity positions in leveraged income producing real estate will hold wealth very well. Obviously, it is the debt positions that are now taking a beating.

 

How much money do you need to save up before you qualify to become the owner of an apartment building?