here’s the complex my buddy asked about, he’s already in escrow, the one I linked isn’t his, so if he falls out, that’s his problem, you can get it. I rented in that complex for 2 years, I liked it there, I paid 1500 and it was a struggle to find one for that price sometimes.
They peaked at 400k, their bottom was the 130k range, now 160k is normal and hard to find one available for more than an hour, unless it is the 1408 sq foot one, which does not have a backyard and is entirely upstairs (over the garages), the other two models of the triplex are more in demand, but they all work as rentals for 1500, they rent quick. I could have bought the one I rented for about 140k at the end of 2008, I lost so much sleep worrying about it and thinking about how nice it would be to just drop down a 40k downpayment and have a $535 P&I or a 5 year loan for 1880 P&I. Can you imagine having your mortgage be either the term or the payment of most cars. Sometimes when I’m mowing the grass and fighting gopers, or vaacuming 3200 sq feet when I only use 1,000 sq feet of it, I wish I had just bought the townhouse. Too late now, but I just wanted you to see the example of why my opinion is what it is, why I think 500k for a 2k rental is insane, I don’t even think 380k is right, I like 100-150x rent multipliers. Even if it’s at the beach, shouldn’t the fair rent be the decider of underlying value. If the place at the beach is worth more, then it should rent for more. If the place at the beach rents for half the cost of owning, then rent at the beach, if an inland house costs the same to buy or rent, then buy that house if you rent there. Formulas work everywhere, advice like “it’s a great time to buy” or “it’s a bad time to buy” that doesn’t work everywhere.