Post #3- Washers and Dryers

I'm in the market to hopefully buy some cheap washers and dryers from Lowes tomorrow night for my upcoming investment rental home. 

Here is the link to the Washer and Dryer from Lowes I am hoping to buy. 

Retail, it's going to cost a combined total of $1500. But after price matching and using a 10% coupon, I hope to get this set for under $1200 with free delivery. 

There are other washer and dryers out there, but I've been reading reviews and none that I've seen really caught my attention as the best bang for the buck, I just don't want to deal with fixing a washer or dryer 8 months from now because I bought a knock off cheap appliance for a $100 cheaper. And I figure since I'm buying front loader washer and dryer, it could be a better selling point for potential renters- I got this advice back in the day from my best-friend Sam's wife, Anne: "Women love washer and dryers, let the wife buy the washer and dryer." Hopefully that can translate to the wife convincing the husband to move in to my rental property at $1300 a month because the washer and dryer is of good quality. 

Wish me luck!

Post #2: Things to Do

As a follow up to my last post to my first investment property on Independence Ave, I have about 58 days to closing, roughly 2 months.

Outside of all the mortgage funding/process/paper work. I come to realize that I need to prepare a few things to make it ready to rent it out:

Task One:
- Purchase Energy Efficient Washer/Dryer (sorry Sears you aren't getting any of my business)
- Purchase Energy Efficient Refrigerator
- Purchase Blinds for all windows

In terms of total costs, I hope not to spend more than $2500 for the above items. Since I'm purchasing the above, I'm thinking this cost will go to my $5000 budget where I set aside for home improvement/repairs.

As of right now, I'm contemplating about buying the fridge and washer/dryer now and just store it in my garage. But maybe I might wait until the week when I close on the house on 6/15- but ideally I don't want to buy appliances that week of 6/15 and pay top price for the appliances. I'm trying to get new, energy efficient appliances at a large discount as possible.


Task Two:

Create or find a really good template for the rental application, legally complying to the state of Utah. I think what I'm going to do is go online and spend the $30 to get a good template instead of me trying to type one out. I figure its safer to buy the templates instead of me doing guess work when writing the contract up then I messed and get into a legal mess.


Speaking of Legal Messes, I've read and have decided that I am going to create a company or "LLC" for every property I buy and rent out. The reason I am doing an LLC is because I don't want the renter for some reason sue me and try to go for my personal assets. So the only thing anyone can do is only sue my LLC, which is far safer than being sued on everything I have not going by creating a LLC. I have created an LLC for this property in particular. The LLC will be called: Bentley Real Estates - Independence, LLC.



 

Post #1- My Goals

I want to start blogging for the next few years on my experiences of being a Sustainable Real Estate Investor. Hopefully I can document the highs and lows of real estate investing, which I am green in.

Here is my current situation-
I live in Provo, Utah, about 40 minutes south of Salt Lake City. Provo has 2 colleges within the vicinity of where I live- Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University. In my area, there is a definite supply of individuals and families wanting to rent. In August 2011, I purchased the new model home in my development at $159k. I got a screaming deal from negotiating, also included in the deal was a full basement, finished garage, all window blinds, $300 worth of decorations and no HOA fees for the first 3 months.

Fast forward 8 months, my job as an Executive Recruiter has treating me well financially and I've decided that one of my goals is to be able to provide for my family down the road comfortably and have my money work for me (instead of me working for my money).

Ideally I would like to have in my portfolio:
- 10 properties that I purchase in the Provo area in the next 10 years
- 25% down payment minimum on each property with my money
- Properties I purchase should be in the $130k to $180k range
- Properties need to be no more than 5 years old and renovations should not cost more than $5k upon purchase
- Each property nets me at minimum $300/mo after paying off monthly dues (mortgage/HOA/insurance/tax) from renting out the properties
- Properties need to be in an area where the demand for renting is high

Property #1- Independence Ave.
With that said, I've decided to purchase a townhouse in my area, its the same development where I live but a slightly different floor plan. Built in 2012, 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage, 1800 sq. ft., HOA is $145 and the property tax is a low $1050 a year. From what I heard from my agent, I can get approximately $1200-$1300 a month in rent (there are a few renters paying that amount). The offered price I signed a few days ago was $163.9k. So I'm gonna have to ante up 25% for the down payment by June 15.
























I will keep this blog updated as what transpires over the next few months with this property.

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Location:Humphrey Dr,St Paul,United States