Friday, June 29, 2007

Mulit Unit Investing in New England

Here is my somewhat brief overview of how I go about looking to invest in smaller multi unit real estate. Some questions to start if you don’t mind. Knowing not your level of experience my apologies ahead of time if I sound too basic or advanced.

* -Do you own any multi’s now or will this be your first one?
* -Do you currently own any property?
* -Are you thinking owner occupied or strictly investment?
* -How would you rank these following items in order of priority?(Location, Price, Cash Flow, Appreciation, Quality of the units, Size of the Units)

I believe good opportunities can still be found in and around Portand Maine, but there is much to weigh and analyze in determining a good deal from a bad deal. My analysis starts simply at $100K per unit. From this point I weigh in many variables subtracting and adding value to this number to determine if the deal is priced fairly, what the upside potential may be and most importantly does it fit my agenda.

The basic variables:

* -Physical Location, the surrounding buildings, the desirability of the location (What is your target rental demographic?)
* -Systems (Heating/Plumbing/Electrical/Sewer),
* -Building (Siding/Roof/Foundation/Windows),
* -Units (Cosmetics, Floors, Walls, KItchens, Baths, Sq. Footage, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Layout, etc)

The numbers

* -Utility costs – Heat, Electric, Water/Sewar- Are utilities include or paid by tenant?
* -Real Estate Taxes -Debt service – What is your loan amount? What is your rate?
* -Repair and Vacancy Reserves, Capital Account, Leasing Costs
* -The ratios: Cap rate, NOI (Net Operating Income), Gross Margins, ROE (Return on Equity)
Here is my somewhat brief overview of how I go about looking to invest in smaller multi unit real estate. Some questions to start if you don’t mind. Knowing not your level of experience my apologies ahead of time if I sound too basic or advanced.

* -Do you own any multi’s now or will this be your first one?
* -Do you currently own any property?
* -Are you thinking owner occupied or strictly investment?
* -How would you rank these following items in order of priority?(Location, Price, Cash Flow, Appreciation, Quality of the units, Size of the Units)

I believe good opportunities can still be found in and around Portand Maine, but there is much to weigh and analyze in determining a good deal from a bad deal. My analysis starts simply at $100K per unit. From this point I weigh in many variables subtracting and adding value to this number to determine if the deal is priced fairly, what the upside potential may be and most importantly does it fit my agenda.

The basic variables:

* -Physical Location, the surrounding buildings, the desirability of the location (What is your target rental demographic?)
* -Systems (Heating/Plumbing/Electrical/Sewer),
* -Building (Siding/Roof/Foundation/Windows),
* -Units (Cosmetics, Floors, Walls, KItchens, Baths, Sq. Footage, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Layout, etc)

The numbers

* -Utility costs – Heat, Electric, Water/Sewar- Are utilities include or paid by tenant?
* -Real Estate Taxes -Debt service – What is your loan amount? What is your rate?
* -Repair and Vacancy Reserves, Capital Account, Leasing Costs
* -The ratios: Cap rate, NOI (Net Operating Income), Gross Margins, ROE (Return on Equity)