qzhou3

I rented for two years and my tenant was an IT professional so rent had never been a problem. The rent was good enough to cover everything (mortgage, tax, and insurance). Theoretically it was a great deal as the house would be mine for free after 15 years of renting. The only investment was my down payment. But he had three dogs and my house looked so bad after two years. He also asked me to pay new AC, stove and dishwasher... I got tired of the work so sold the house last year...
I found that if you want to do real estate, it is better to buy several houses or apartments. Having one is time consuming and the income is trivial.

qzhou3

回复 25# 读读书

I love visiting open houses but investing in houses is too much work for me... If I do, I will listen to you to buy only houses...
I agree with you that minorities are better tenants... My friend has three condos in one building and all her tenants are Vietnamese. They pay rent in time...

qzhou3

回复 27# 读读书

You are a realtor - no wonder you have so much money! You folks made so much money in the 2000-2008 period! I regret for not quitting my job and working as a realtor. Last year the realtor selling my house made >600K from Feb to Aug (after paying her commission and other expenses), just in my neighborhood. She has business in other neighborhoods also. But others do not do nearly as well. This lady graduated from a top school with a marketing major

qzhou3

回复 32# 读读书

Yes, 知道你在说什么。2010年底 I went to Disney and found the condo we rented (3br, 2.5 bath), worth the same as a Mercedes Car. I looked around and many 1-2 bedroom condos worth only one Camry. I was very very tempted but did not buy because of the distance. One of my friend who was laid off during that time went there and bought 6 condos! Six condos cost only 10W. She added more later and now she is half-retired :)

Talking about vision! Sometimes it is 被逼出来的.

qzhou3

回复 35# 读读书

At least you ate some pieces of the fish :)  Getting the head is visionary!
I am a bystander

qzhou3

回复 44# 读读书

Can you recommend a few zip codes so I can search? Good schools, good location...