When it rains, it pours

I think I need to take a long, Long, LONG vacation. Not only is my stress level going up due to a project nearing it's due date at work (which has me working harder and longer hours), but soon as I get a deal more fall out of the sky.

I believe I mentioned in a recent blog about the house next to House #2. I forgot to mention when we were all at House #2 Tuesday, a city crew was at the house taking stuff (lawn chairs, a doghouse, etc.) out of the backyard. I'm assuming the lender has already started foreclosure procedings. I tried to contact the owner a while back, but the line was disconnected and got no answer from a letter I sent. I figured they skipped town after seeing the arrest warrant tacked on the door.

My other broker sent me a listing the other day for a house just outside Austin. It's out of my farm area, but I thought I'd run the numbers anyway. I haven't done any hard number-crunching, but it seems like a workable deal. It's listed for $140k, but he said they may take $125k just to get rid of it. He also says he has a client already lined up who wants the house and wants to do a FOUR year Lease/Purchase. They are willing to put down $3-4k and pay me $1300/mo. rent. I'm figuring I can get into the house with nothing down (or very little), but have very little soft cash flow ($50-100 at best). However, with tax incentives (mortgage interest deduction, depreciation, etc.), I'd theoritically make more each month. After the four years, and IF they purchase the house at the predetermined price, I stand to make a net profit (not counting tax incentives) of about $20-25k. Not bad for very little out-of-pocket. I told my broker I am VERY interested, but need to find 20 mins or so to run hard numbers.

And if those weren't enough, coupled with House #2 and my House #1 situation coming up, I found a 21-unit apartment complex for sale for $75k I'm looking at. It's a foreclosure, too, but it's also out-of-state. What's worse is the ad says it's completely vacant and is in need of repairs. It has the potential of making $98,000/yr gross income - at least the ad says - so it may be a diamond in the rough. Again, time is my enemy as I need to gather a LOT more info on it. I sent the listing broker an email asking them for more info. We'll see what happens. Here are some pictures.

It's funny, but I woke up this morning about 10 mins before anyone else and just laid in bed and thought how much more easy my life would be if I decided NOT to do REI. It'd stil be stressful with the kids and the JOB, but I'd have a lot less on my plate to deal with. I understood then why so many people fail in this business - even those that do end up doing one deal. It certainly isn't easy by any measure.