Duplex Doll to Cash Flow Cow
Often times we talk about flashy real estate deals that make big bucks. You might find a beat up foreclosure for $30,000 put $15,000 into it and sell it for $85,000. Not a bad day at the office from my perspective.
To be honest those types of stories while true, also sell.
But let’s talk a little bit about real estate investments instead of real estate transactions. It was only a couple of years ago that everyone wanted out of their day job to make it big in real estate. Fast Forward to late 2008 and early 2009 and all of a sudden most folks were just happy to have that day job and hunkered back down.
It was one of those markets about 15 years ago that my friend Steve made his first purchase in real estate. He bought a duplex. I remember being mesmerized by the deal. He paid full retail value, I believe $115,000 (which was a large investment in real estate at the time.) It wasn’t a foreclosure, nothing special by all rights. It was just a retail property.
I remember Steve telling me how he was going to live in one side and rent out the other. He figured up his numbers like this:
Mortgage = $1,200 (forgot to mention he got a 15 year loan)
Rent Received = $700
Out of Pocket = $500
This is a pretty boring deal! Yeh great he was able to pay for his house with some rent from another house and it only cost him $500 for his mortgage. Big whoop!
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind.


14. Apr, 2012 











