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.