New Member in Western New York

[Cara Elford]

Hi All! I started listening to the Bigger Pockets podcast and dreaming about some real estate investment about a year ago. My husband and I are still on our journey paying off student loan debt, so I figured it would be a few years before we got into the real estate game. An opportunity to move from the Buffalo, NY area to the Rochester, NY area has just come up with my husband's new job offer and we're trying to figure out our next move and if it's time to try our hand in real estate. We're trying to determine if we should sell our current home or rent it out and what to look for in our next property in Rochester.

More Info:

We have a mortgage on a 3 bed/1 bath single family home that we got through an FHA loan. We've been in the house 6 years, and we've done a good amount of remodeling- drain tile in backyard, fenced in backyard, new high efficiency furnace, remodeled bathroom and kitchen. We're close (biking/walking distance) to one of the University of Buffalo campuses, so I think we may be able to rent the home out if we decide to move to Rochester. We aren't in the "University Heights" party neighborhood, so our home may be good for a grad student or young family. We currently have no money saved for a down-payment on a new place, so we'd like to research if taking equity out of our current home while continuing to rent it out is a feasible strategy to get us in a new place in Rochester. I don't want to stretch ourselves too thin, so please let me know if you think it's best to just sell this house to put us in a better spot for the next house we purchase.

For the new place, I think we would be looking at a short-term solution of 2-3 years before buying our "forever home." We're looking at this new job as a stepping stone, so we would likely move again. We'd be willing to house-hack to get a deal, but we have two not so well-behaved dogs, so I can't imagine living in a home where their barking would disrupt others. Does anyone have tips or experience with this? We'd also be willing to do a live-in flip. 

If you read this far, thanks! I'm excited to learn more from the members of the community and hopefully make some local connections!

[Matthew Irish-Jones]

Depending on your specific location and amenities single families are renting for $1150 to $1450 in that area.

How much equity do you have in your home? If you used an FHA loan you may not have built up enough to borrow and buy another.

I would run the numbers... can you pull out enough equity to have a down payment and have cash flow cover your refinanced mortgage?

You will also need a plan to manage the property if you are living in Rochester.

If you use a PM company you will pay 10% of rent + expenses. Normally well kept singles have a lot lower maintenance cost.

Sounds like the numbers should dictate your decision on this one.