Quote: (11-09-2012 09:48 AM)ABDada Wrote:
All the property I own is rented out at a strong positive cash flow. I've been buying small condos (under 500 square feet) for almost 20 years, and the extra monthly cash isn't exciting, but it's there.
All the property I live in (except the one in Poland) I rent from someone at below market rates.
My current main pad in Chicago is a live/work space, over 3000 square feet, two floors, on a busy and really popular street. The rent payment is about 80% off market value.
There is always property to find below market if you'e willing to build it out yourself. I can't see myself living in a place I own unless I really can't find something via the rent-cheap mechanisms I use.
The flip side is this: if you are OK with a roommate, then buying can make a lot of sense. My second small condo was 550 sq.ft, two bedrooms. I bought it in 1994 or so for $21,000 and rented the second bedroom out to a local (older) student who paid me $275 a month for it. I paid it off in 3 years or so and it's been cash flow positive every year since ($725 a month rent now).
Most people overbuy, or don't capitalize on extra space. Hell, in my current Chicago property, I have a ton of unfinished storage that I sublet to friends for all their useless shit. $400 a month in free money = $5000 a year.
How much are you paying for your live-work space? And how'd you get it to go 80% off?
The issue with getting a big raw space, building it out, and renting it is that eventually, they may jack up the rent, sell it, or terminate your lease right?