How much $$$ to keep in reserves when starting out

[Kenneth Cowan]

Im interested in this question for myself, and I'll give some details on my situation below, but I'm interested to hear what some of the experienced folks had for their experiences. I'm sure the range will vary. How much should you keep aside AFTER you've closed on your first deal for emergencies? My plan is to buy a duplex/tri/quad via a 203k and house hack for 2-3 years while I remodel each unit little by little. I'm targeting a starting savings of $25-$30k of which I'd put $15k or so into the deal. Long term BRRR model, from which I will eventually move out and continue to rent. I will have personal rainy day funds set aside from that budget, so this would just be related to the RE investing. I'm pretty risk averse so I like to have room for the unexpected. I'm going to be shopping in the W/NW Chicago suburbs. I currently own a condo near the city, which I plan to keep and rent through the process. Thoughts?

[Keishee Hill]

Kenneth Cowan beware that when you use a 203k loan that repairs that are being funded by the loan need to be repaired within 6 months after you close the loan. Also, you will need to have a license contractor be approved by the lender to complete the repairs in order for the lender to approve the loan. That being said, you may have to tweak your plan a bit, because you won't have the luxury of taking 2-3 years to fix up the place.