Hello from Upstate New York!

[Nate Monson]

Hello everyone! My name is Nate Monson and I have just started learning about real estate through reading books and and listening to the podcasts on this website! I am 23 years old and recently graduated from SUNY Cortland (located in central new york) with a bachelor's degree in sport management. I am interested in athletic administration as a career which is why I am going back to school to get my MBA. In the mean time I would like to learn as much about the real estate industry so in the near future I am prepared to enter it!

I am interested primarily in house hacking to begin investing in real estate because I plan to work full time for most of my adult life in athletic administration which I am very passionate about. After living in the first house for a year or two I am interested in buy and hold properties and a source of additional income to boost my family's income. I am from Upstate New York and I live in the capital region. I am interested in learning from local real estate investors on how they have gone about successfully producing cash flow in this area. I am not opposed to moving out of the area for investing and for living purposes, but I would love to get a feel for the market and how others have been successful doing the things I am looking to do. 

Again I am very new to this industry so this is my introduction and I look forward to learning and talking to many of you.

Thanks!

[Gini Vidal]

Hi @John Spina jr. I don't mind at all. We used a VA loan at 3.785% interest and purchased it for $149,250. Being a VA loan we did not have to put anything down but had to pay a VA funding fee of $3208, but rolled that into the loan too. With closing costs and improvements we spent about $15,580. The ARV on the house is a conservative $160,000. We rent the upstairs 2 bedroom 1 bath for $1000/month. We live in the downstairs but can rent that unit out for at least $1100/month. It is a two bedroom 1 and a half bath. After expenses we would cash flow about $367/month if both units are rented. Because we put very little cash down our ROI would be 28.28%.

We do not have cashflow while we live here but our housing costs are only $328/month because of the upstairs rental income. That includes mortgage, taxes and insurance. So we are able to save a lot faster then we were when we were renting an apartment for $800 in Cortland and we are a lot closer to my husband's job now too. 

It hasn't been two years since we bought this duplex but have saved $20,000 already for our next purchase. We are very conservative with our spending too. We are looking now for our next rental property but are looking for a tri or 4plex. It will help speed up the saving process. If we buy another duplex we want to get one with two three bedroom units to max our cashflow on it. 

If we were to do it again we probably would have bought a tri or 4plex to give us more cashflow. Then do another VA loan or an FHA loan to buy the next property with very little down so we have the cash to do improvements and build equity.

Hope this answers your quesions.