My first house hack investment in a high cost of living area.

[Erick Sembrano]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in East Boston.

Purchase price: $820,000
Cash invested: $120,000

Bought our first multifamily property to use as a house hack. We made some updates into each unit, mostly cosmetic upgrades (fresh paint, new fixtures, repair doorbell, change bathroom vents, new door locks, new gutters, HVAC replace, etc), and live in one while renting out the others.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

House Hacking to help with one of the monthly biggest expense which is rent payment (housing).

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal with the help of my rockstar Real Estate Agent (Lien Vuong) as an on-market listing.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional Lending with ~8.5% down payment.

How did you add value to the deal?

Painted all the inside of the units (walls, trims, cabinets, doors, etc) and the exterior of the house (front door and entrance, trims, etc). Then upgraded the inside of the units with appliances to stainless, changed cabinet fixtures, new doors locks, lockings mailboxes, bathroom fixtures (lights, vents, vanities, medicine cabinets, etc), and applied high gloss to the hardwood floors.

What was the outcome?

I'm currently house hacking, living in one of the units, while renting out the other 2 units. Was able to drop down my monthly house expense to $ 271.68 while living in a high cost of living area

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

My real estate agent (Lien Vuong) is a rock star and couldn't have done my first deal without her help. Looking forward to more deals working with Lien around the Boston area.

[Erick Sembrano]

@Brian Leung I found my rockstar Real Estate Agent here in BP @Lien Vuong. Reach out to a others (look under the network tab for real estate agents) as well and find who you feel comfortable with to help you reach your goals. I'm sure there's a lot of superb Boston based real estate agents here in BP. Good luck!

@Malika Mukhamedova best of luck finding your next deal!

@Gloria Wahlroos Hey, so nice to see you! Of course I remember you, we where both at UofM for a few years, also it was fun to see you when I visited Seattle a few years back.  We should definitely connect and talk about goals and ideas. I believe you are in the right spot here in BP. Talk soon! 

@Michael Noto Thank you for your kind words and support! It helps newbies like me be reassured of what we are doing and to keep on moving forward with investing. I see that you are from Southington, CT. We frequently visit Darient, CT to visit my wife's parents. How is the multifamily investing opportunities around your area during these crazy year?