Oct. 2021 House Hack Update

[Howard Chen]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Sacramento.

Purchase price: $417,092
Cash invested: $14,600

Oct. 2021 Update #2: A tenant has been secured for room 2, this tenant is also a medium term traveling professional. I reinvested proceeds from the rent collected from the first tenant, to spruce up the second bedroom (I call it the nature room) I added a full length body mirror, study desk, a few various wall decors, updated the listing pics (didn’t get to put in service the new comforter and pillows, since I’m still waiting on them to be delivered) changed two small details in my outreach marketing message, and it made all the difference in response rate from the female demographic; since the majority of travel nurses are females, I realized they would not feel safe/confident in booking from, who they presume, is a single male, so I included a profile picture of my gf and I. Second, when signing off on my outreach marketing messages, I include my gf’s name along with mine. These 2 small changes, build trust and confidence when outreaching to the prospective female demographic of travel professionals.

Note to single men: I’m in no way suggesting you to lie about your relationship status. Ultimately, when the female tenant shows up, they’ll want to meet your gf/wife/significant other, there is no way around it. If you are not in a relationship with a female, maybe look into partnering up with a fellow female investor, and become roommates with them.

Oct. 2021 Update: I’ve secured a tenant for room 1(Ocean Room) the tenant is a medium/term traveling professional.

Aug. 2021 Update: I refinanced and was able to eliminate my PMI of $250, and shave almost $100 off per month on my mortgage, locking into a rate that is 1.25% lower. Currently, I'm finalizing preparation of the 2 spare bedrooms for medium-term, month-to-month rentals specifically for traveling professionals.

2020 Update: The tenant that was initially placed, did not work out, after 2 months, the tenant moved out in Jan. 2020. COVID hit shortly after, and I’ve delayed placing any tenants.

This will be my very first property purchase, scheduled to close in early November, 2019. It is a 3br/2.5ba, purchased from Lennar Homes.

I have a tenant committed to rent out one of the bedroom for $740/month, and is interested in staying for at least the next 3 years. I also plan on setting up a commuter AirBNB for the third bedroom and hope to rent out for $50-75/day.

I was able to get $20k in down payment/closing cost assistance through a program called Neighborhood WORKS, they held a 2 day event back in May 2019 that awarded $20K to 300 families on a first come first serve basis. I waited in line the night before as I overlooked on reserving my spot online. Fortunately, they gave out number tags based on the order you were in and sent us home before the event officially started the next day. To my surprise, out of the 300 reservations online, only 25 showed up the next day. I was prepared and determined to get one of the spots for the grant as I knew it meant free equity/closing costs. After two months of providing countless paper work, screening, and phone calls, everything checked out and I was officially approved for the grant! my financing is through a 30 year fixed FHA and due to the guidelines, I still had to be out of pocket 3.5% of the purchase price.

For more details: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/850/topics/750769-first-house-hack-with-a-brand-new-home?page=1#p4414940