Investment/Ministry Oppurtunity

[Brother John]

When my family and I traveled to Greenville the other weekend to explore the town we came across this house for sale next to GPTS campus. I am not in a position to consider buying a house since Lord willing ours here in Georgia will be rented when we move to Greenville. But this would be great student housing. Pay about $1000 total a month for the house (unless you bought it outright or put money down) then rent out each of the five rooms for around $300 each totaling $1500 a month. I know it's not a huge profit but it would also be a way of supporting GPTS and a few students along the way. I may be crazy but I wanted to pass this along

100 E Main St Taylors SC - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #1221006 - Realtor.com®

 

[JonathanHunt]

Wow. That is so, so cheap. So much space. So little money. Are there no jobs down there or something?

 

[jambo]

$129 000 for a 5 bedroom house! If only you could get the same thing here. Go for it brother.

 

[Edward]

Check for zoning restrictions first. Many communities now restrict how many unrelated persons may live in a single family residential. (Generally targeting college students or illegals.) And lending rules may be different for investment properties than they are for owner-occupied.

 

[Jack K]

From a business standpoint, the rule of thumb is that rental properties are seldom a good investment merely for the rental income they produce alone. Those who make money on rental properties usually do so because the property also appreciates. Or they find it worthwhile because they can also put the property to some other use, like living on one side of the house themselves.

So be wary. It's always possible that in the current economic climate you stumbled upon an unusual deal that everyone else, including all the real estate opportunists in Greenville who know the local market and look for such things, failed to notice. But it's more likely there are good reasons why the poperty is listed at that price, and why your idea won't provide the return you hope it will. Check it out thoroughly.

 

[TimV]

Trying to collect 300 for 12 months from 5 college kids??? And keeping them from trashing the house???

 

[Edward]

Looks like it might have been an intended flip where the flipper got caught. It looked small for a 5 bedroom (and they won't give square footage), but I see that at least 2 of the bedrooms and one of the two baths were put in attic space. It started its life as a 2/1 or a 3/1. In South Carolina, I'd think that you'd also need to budget adding in some air conditioning. Watch for the discoloration (water damage?) in one of the pictured rooms, as well.

Tim's post suggests another comment - are the students who would rent a room looking for a year round lease, or are they looking for 9 or 10 months? You might end up with the place empty for a couple of months each year - that would take care of the lack of A/C.